Discovery-dominance trade-off among widespread invasive ant species.
Details
State: Public
Version: Final published version
Serval ID
serval:BIB_6A0FF3FE3ECC
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Discovery-dominance trade-off among widespread invasive ant species.
Journal
Ecology and Evolution
ISSN
2045-7758 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
2045-7758
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2015
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
5
Number
13
Pages
2673-2683
Language
english
Abstract
Ants are among the most problematic invasive species. They displace numerous native species, alter ecosystem processes, and can have negative impacts on agriculture and human health. In part, their success might stem from a departure from the discovery-dominance trade-off that can promote co-existence in native ant communities, that is, invasive ants are thought to be at the same time behaviorally dominant and faster discoverers of resources, compared to native species. However, it has not yet been tested whether similar asymmetries in behavioral dominance, exploration, and recruitment abilities also exist among invasive species. Here, we establish a dominance hierarchy among four of the most problematic invasive ants (Linepithema humile, Lasius neglectus, Wasmannia auropunctata, Pheidole megacephala) that may be able to arrive and establish in the same areas in the future. To assess behavioral dominance, we used confrontation experiments, testing the aggressiveness in individual and group interactions between all species pairs. In addition, to compare discovery efficiency, we tested the species' capacity to locate a food resource in a maze, and the capacity to recruit nestmates to exploit a food resource. The four species differed greatly in their capacity to discover resources and to recruit nestmates and to dominate the other species. Our results are consistent with a discovery-dominance trade-off. The species that showed the highest level of interspecific aggressiveness and dominance during dyadic interactions.
Keywords
Behavioral dominance, biological invasions, discovery?dominance trade-off, exploitation, exploration, invasive ants
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
25/07/2016 9:19
Last modification date
20/08/2019 15:24