Composition of harvested seeds and seed selection by the invasive tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Taiwan
Journal
Arthropod-Plant Interactions
Journal Volume
12
Journal Issue
4
Pages
623-632
Date Issued
2018
Author(s)
Abstract
Solenopsis geminata (F.) is an invasive ant that is widely distributed in weedy areas and agricultural fields in Taiwan. Previous studies have found that S. geminata harvests the seeds of numerous plants. In the present study, we further investigated the composition of harvested seeds in ant nests and seed selection by workers. The seed caches in S. geminata nests sampled in eight areas in Taiwan suggest that the seeds harvested by workers were diverse and belonged to 52 plant species in 17 plant families. Twenty-three species (44%) belong to the family Gramineae, and most of the seeds weighed from 0.02 to 2.29?mg, which might suggest that these are the main seeds harvested by S. geminata from their habitat. Ten common species with similar seed weights were used to compare the seed preferences of workers from two experimental sites. The results suggest that the seed preference was different between the two experimental sites. The seeds of Casuarina equisetifolia showed the most obvious difference in seed removal speed, which might suggest that S. geminata potentially prefers the encountered seed species in the habitat. The various plant species in the ant nests and seed preference suggest that fire ants easily accept newly encountered plant species. As more than half of the plant species (52%) and the total seed number (63%) belonged to exotic species, the role of S. geminata might be negative because it tends to harvest exotic seeds and has a high opportunity to improve the establishment of exotic seedlings. ? 2018, Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature.
Subjects
ant; grass; invasive species; nest; preference behavior; seed predation; seedling; Taiwan; Casuarina equisetifolia; Formicidae; Hymenoptera; Poaceae; Solenopsis geminata
SDGs
Type
journal article