McGlynn Terrence P
Am Nat. 1999 Dec;154(6):690-699. doi: 10.1086/303270.
I compare the sizes of non-native and native ants to evaluate how worker size may be related to the ability of a species to invade new habitats. I compare the size of 78 non-native ant species belonging to 26 genera with the size of native congeneric species; native ants are larger than non-native ants in 22 of 26 genera. Ants were sorted by genera into fighting and nonfighting groups, based on observations of interspecific interactions with other ant species. In all of the genera with monomorphic worker castes that fight during competition, the non-native species were smaller than the native species. The genera that engage in combat had a higher frequency of significantly smaller size in non-native ants. I selected Wasmannia auropunctata for further studies, to compare native and non-native populations. Specimens of W. auropunctata from non-native populations were smaller than conspecific counterparts from its native habitat. I consider hypotheses to explain why non-native ants are smaller in size than native ants, including the role of colony size in interspecific fights, changes in life history, the release from intraspecific fighting, and climate. The discovery that fighting non-natives are smaller than their closest native relatives may provide insight into the mechanisms for success of non-native species, as well as the role of worker size and colony size during interspecific competition.
我比较非本地蚂蚁和本地蚂蚁的大小，以评估工蚁大小可能如何与物种入侵新栖息地的能力相关。我将属于26个属的78种非本地蚂蚁物种的大小与本地同属物种的大小进行比较；在26个属中的22个属中，本地蚂蚁比非本地蚂蚁大。根据对与其他蚂蚁物种的种间相互作用的观察，蚂蚁按属被分为战斗组和非战斗组。在所有具有单型工蚁等级且在竞争中会战斗的属中，非本地物种比本地物种小。参与战斗的属中，非本地蚂蚁显著更小的频率更高。我选择了金刻沃氏蚁进行进一步研究，以比较本地和非本地种群。来自非本地种群的金刻沃氏蚁标本比来自其原生栖息地的同种蚂蚁小。我考虑了一些假设来解释为什么非本地蚂蚁比本地蚂蚁体型小，包括蚁群大小在种间战斗中的作用、生活史的变化、种内战斗的解除以及气候因素。战斗的非本地蚂蚁比其最亲近的本地亲属小这一发现，可能为非本地物种成功的机制以及工蚁大小和蚁群大小在种间竞争中的作用提供见解。
