Sappington James D
South River High School, 201 E. Central Avenue, Edgewater, MD, USA.
Ecotoxicology. 2018 Nov;27(9):1179-1187. doi: 10.1007/s10646-018-1976-7. Epub 2018 Sep 5.
Much research has focused on the effects of neonicotinoids on honey bees, however, relatively few studies have investigated their effects on ants, a taxonomically-related eusocial insect of high ecological importance. This study quantified how dietary exposures to environmentally-relevant levels of a neonicotinoid insecticide (imidacloprid) affected foraging and nest building of the western harvester ant over 14 days. Using a replicated design, statistically-significant reductions in ant foraging success (50% or greater) occurred at concentrations as low as 50 ppb compared to controls. Both the number of ants entering the maze and the percentage of foraging ants able to locate food were impacted by imidacloprid exposure. Ants exposed to 50 ppb also took three times longer than controls to find food in a test maze. This concentration is among the lowest levels of imidacloprid reported to affect ants and is well within the range of concentrations found in pollen and nectar of imidacloprid-treated plants. Ant foraging success was also impaired at comparable levels as those reported for the honey bee. Although more refinement and research are needed, results from this study suggest that the western harvester ant may be useful for screening the effects of neurotoxic chemicals on their navigation and foraging, two behaviors which are critical to maintaining colony health of ants and the ecological services they provide.
许多研究都聚焦于新烟碱类对蜜蜂的影响，然而，相对较少的研究调查了它们对蚂蚁的影响，蚂蚁是一种在分类学上相关且具有高度生态重要性的群居昆虫。本研究量化了在14天内，饮食接触环境相关水平的新烟碱类杀虫剂（吡虫啉）如何影响西部收获蚁的觅食和筑巢行为。采用重复设计，与对照组相比，低至50 ppb的浓度就导致蚂蚁觅食成功率出现统计学上的显著降低（50%或更高）。进入迷宫的蚂蚁数量和能够找到食物的觅食蚂蚁百分比均受到吡虫啉暴露的影响。暴露于50 ppb的蚂蚁在测试迷宫中找到食物的时间也比对照组长三倍。该浓度是报道的影响蚂蚁的吡虫啉最低水平之一，且完全处于吡虫啉处理过的植物花粉和花蜜中的浓度范围内。蚂蚁的觅食成功率在与蜜蜂报道的可比水平时也受到损害。尽管还需要更多的细化研究，但本研究结果表明，西部收获蚁可能有助于筛选神经毒性化学物质对其导航和觅食的影响，这两种行为对于维持蚂蚁群落健康及其提供的生态服务至关重要。
