Interspecific competition predicts the potential impact of little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) invasion on resident ants in southern China  

作　　者：Lei Nie Bamisope Steve Bamisile Yuling Li Hao Ran Suhang Wang Lei Wang Yijuan Xu 

机构地区：[1]Red Imported Fire Ant Research Center,South China Agricultural University,Guangzhou,China

出　　处：《Insect Science》2023年第5期1518-1532,共15页昆虫科学（英文版）

基　　金：supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2021YFC 2600404).

摘　　要：The little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata(Roger)is a major invasive species that seriously threatens the biodiversity of invaded areas.W.auropunctata was first reported in Chinese mainland in 2022 and its impact on native species is still unknown.To evaluate the impact of W.auropunctata invasion on the ant communities in southern China,a series of interspecific competition experiments were conducted in this study.The individual aggression index and group aggression experiments showed the advantage of W.auropunctata in competition with 5 resident ants under equal worker numbers.When encountering Anoplolepis gracilipes,Camponotus nicobarensis,Tetramorium bicarinatum,Polyrhachis dives,and Solenopsis invicta,W.auropunctata gradually gained a competitive advantage with an increase in its number of workers.In the group aggression experiments with equal worker numbers,there was a negative correlation between the body length and mortality rate of resident ants.The results of the foraging behavior experiments showed that W.auropunctata was able to dominate food resources under competition with Carebara diversa,which also displayed weak competition in the group aggression bioassay.In addition,the abilities to recruit workers and retrieve food were inhibited under competition with S.invicta and T.bicarinatum.The results of the nesting behavior experiments showed that in the 24-h bout of space resource competition,W.auropunctata was dominant over C.diversa,S.invicta,and T.bicarinatum.The results of this study show that W.auropunctata has certain advantages in competition for food and space resources over resident ants in southern China,and some resident ant species may be replaced in the future.

关 键 词：AGGRESSION foraging competition interspecific competition nesting compe-tition W.auropunctata 

分 类 号：S433[农业科学—农业昆虫与害虫防治]