Nie Lei, Bamisile Bamisope Steve, Li Yuling, Ran Hao, Wang Suhang, Wang Lei, Xu Yijuan
Red Imported Fire Ant Research Center, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
Insect Sci. 2023 Oct;30(5):1518-1530. doi: 10.1111/1744-7917.13170. Epub 2023 Feb 1.
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.
小火蚁（Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger)）是一种主要的入侵物种，严重威胁着入侵地区的生物多样性。小火蚁于2022年首次在中国大陆被报道，其对本地物种的影响尚不清楚。为了评估小火蚁入侵对中国南方蚂蚁群落的影响，本研究进行了一系列种间竞争实验。个体攻击指数和群体攻击实验表明，在工蚁数量相等的情况下，小火蚁在与5种本地蚂蚁的竞争中具有优势。当遇到长足蚁（Anoplolepis gracilipes）、尼科巴弓背蚁（Camponotus nicobarensis）、双隆骨铺道蚁（Tetramorium bicarinatum）、弓背蚁（Polyrhachis dives）和红火蚁（Solenopsis invicta）时，小火蚁随着工蚁数量的增加逐渐获得竞争优势。在工蚁数量相等的群体攻击实验中，本地蚂蚁的体长与死亡率呈负相关。觅食行为实验结果表明，在与长足盲猛蚁（Carebara diversa）的竞争中，小火蚁能够占据食物资源，长足盲猛蚁在群体攻击生物测定中也表现出较弱的竞争力。此外，在与红火蚁和双隆骨铺道蚁的竞争中，小火蚁招募工蚁和获取食物的能力受到抑制。筑巢行为实验结果表明，在24小时的空间资源竞争中，小火蚁对长足盲猛蚁、红火蚁和双隆骨铺道蚁具有优势。本研究结果表明，小火蚁在中国南方与本地蚂蚁竞争食物和空间资源方面具有一定优势，未来一些本地蚂蚁物种可能会被取代。
