Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Different behavioural strategies among seven highly invasive ant species

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biological Invasions Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ants figure prominently among the worst invasive species because of their enormous ecological and economic impacts. However, it remains to be investigated which species would be behaviourally dominant when confronted with another invasive ant species, should two species be introduced in the same area. In the future, many regions might have suitable environmental conditions for several invasive ant species, as predicted under climate change scenarios. Here, we explored interactions among several highly invasive ant species, which have been shown to have overlapping suitable areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance in interference competition of seven of the world’s worst invasive ant species (Anoplolepis gracilipes, Paratrechina longicornis, Myrmica rubra, Linepithema humile, Lasius neglectus, Wasmannia auropunctata and Pheidole megacephala). We conducted pairwise confrontations, testing the behaviour of each species against each of the six other species (in total 21 dyadic confrontations). We used single worker confrontations and group interactions of 10 versus 10 individuals to establish a dominance hierarchy among these invasive ant species. We discovered two different behavioural strategies among these invasive ants: three species displayed evasive or indifferent behaviour when individuals or groups were confronted (A. gracilipes, Pa. longicornis, M. rubra), while the four remaining species were highly aggressive during encounters and formed a linear dominance hierarchy. These findings contrast with the widespread view that invasive ants form a homogeneous group of species displaying the ‘invasive syndrome’, which includes generally aggressive behaviour. The dominance hierarchy among the four aggressive species may be used to predict the outcome of future competitive interactions under some circumstances. Yet, the existence of several behavioural strategies renders such a prediction less straightforward.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abril S, Gomez CG (2011) Aggressive behaviour of the two European Argentine ant supercolonies (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) towards displaced native ant species of the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. Myrmecol News 14:99–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Adler F, LeBrun E, Feener D Jr (2007) Maintaining diversity in an ant community : modeling, extending, and testing the dominance-discovery trade-off. Am Nat 169:323–333

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arnan X, Cerdá X, Retana J (2012) Distinctive life traits and distribution along environmental gradients of dominant and subordinate Mediterranean ant species. Oecologia 170:489–500

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bacon SJ, Aebi A, Calanca P, Bacher S (2014) Quarantine arthropod invasions in Europe: the role of climate, hosts and propagule pressure. Divers Distrib 20:84–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bang A, Deshpande S, Sumana A, Gadagkar R (2010) Choosing an appropriate index to construct dominance hierarchies in animal societies: a comparison of three indices. Anim Behav 79:631–636

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barbieri RF, Grangier J, Lester PJ (2015) Synergistic effects of temperature, diet and colony size on the competitive ability of two ant species. Austral Ecol 40:90–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertelsmeier C, Luque GM, Courchamp F (2013a) Increase in quantity and quality of suitable areas for invasive species as climate changes. Conserv Biol 27:1458–1467

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bertelsmeier C, Luque GM, Courchamp F (2013b) Global warming may freeze the invasion of big-headed ants. Biol Invasions 15:1561–1572

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertelsmeier C, Luque GM, Hoffmann BD, Courchamp F (2015) Worldwide ant invasions under climate change. Biodivers Conserv 24:117–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bestelmeyer BT (2000) The trade-off between thermal tolerance and behavioural dominance in a subtropical South American ant community. J Anim Ecol 69:998–1009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackburn TM, Cassey P, Lockwood J (2009) The role of species traits in the establishment success of exotic birds. Glob Change Biol 15:2852–2860

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blight O, Provost E, Renucci M et al (2010) A native ant armed to limit the spread of the Argentine ant. Biol Invasions 12:3785–3793

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buczkowski G, Bennett GW (2008a) Aggressive interactions between the introduced Argentine ant, Linepithema humile and the native odorous house ant, Tapinoma sessile. Biol Invasions 10:1001–1010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buczkowski G, Bennett GW (2008b) Detrimental effects of highly efficient interference competition: invasive argentine ants outcompete native ants at toxic baits. Environ Entomol 37:741–747

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carpintero S, Reyes-López J (2008) The role of competitive dominance in the invasive ability of the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile). Biol Invasions 10:25–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cerdá X, Retana J, Cros S (1997) Thermal disruption of transitive hierarchies in Mediterranean ant communities. J Anim Ecol 66:363–374

  • Cerdá X, Retana J, Manzaneda A (1998) The role of competition by dominants and temperature in the foraging of subordinate species in Mediterranean ant communities. Oecologia 117:404–412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cerdá X, Angulo E, Caut S, Courchamp F (2012) Ant community structure on a small Pacific island: only one native species living with the invaders. Biol Invasions 14:323–339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cerdá X, Arnan X, Retana J (2013) Is competition a significant hallmark of ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) ecology? Myrmecol News 18:131–147

    Google Scholar 

  • Chazeau J, Potiaroa T, Bonnet de Larbogne L, Konghouleux J, Jourdan H (2000) La “fourmi électrique” Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger) en Nouvelle-Calédonie: expression de l’invasion, moyens d’une maîtrise de la nuisance en milieu agricole, praticabilité d’une préservation des milieux naturels. Convention Territoire de Nouvelle-Calédonie/IRD/1999. Conventions Sciences de la Vie, Zoologie Appliquée, IRD Nouméa, vol 10, pp 63

  • Dejean A, Moreau CS, Kenne M, Leponce M (2008) The raiding success of Pheidole megacephala on other ants in both its native and introduced ranges. CR Biol 331:631–635

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dussutour A, Simpson SJ (2008) Description of a simple synthetic diet for studying nutritional responses in ants. Insectes Soc 55:329–333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Errard C, Delabie JHC, Jourdan H, Hefetz A (2005) Intercontinental chemical variation in the invasive ant Wasmannia auropunctata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) a key to the invasive success of a tramp species. Naturwissenschaften 92:319–323

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Essl F, Dullinger S, Rabitsch W et al (2011) Socioeconomic legacy yields an invasion debt. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108:203–207

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fellers J (1987) Interference and exploitation in a guild of woodland ants. Ecology 68:1466–1478

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzpatrick MC, Weltzin JF, Sanders NJ, Dunn RR (2007) The biogeography of prediction error: why does the introduced range of the fire ant over-predict its native range? Glob Ecol Biogeogr 16:24–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fluker S, Beardsley J (1970) Sympatric associations of three ants: Iridomyrmex humilis, Pheidole megacephala and Anoplolepis longipes in Hawaii. Ann Entomol Soc Am 63:1290–1296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foucaud J, Orivel J, Fournier D et al (2009) Reproductive system, social organization, human disturbance and ecological dominance in native populations of the little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata. Mol Ecol 18:5059–5073

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hölldobler B, Lumsden CJ (1980) Territorial strategies in ants. Science 210:732–739

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holway DA (1998) Factors governing rate of invasion: a natural experiment using Argentine ants. Oecologia 115:206–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holway DA (1999) Competitive mechanisms underlying the displacement of native ants by the invasive Argentine ant. Ecology 80:238–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holway DA, Lach L, Suarez AV et al (2002) The causes and consequences of ant invasions. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 33:181–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Human KG, Gordon DM (1996) Exploitation and interference competition between the invasive Argentine ant, I.inepithema humile, and native ant species. Oecologia 105:405–412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (2012) Global invasive species database. www.issg.org/database. Accessed 24 Jan 2014

  • Kabashima J, Greenberg L, Rust M, Paine T (2007) Aggressive interactions between Solenopsis invicta and Linepithema humile (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) under laboratory conditions. J Econ Entomol 100:148–154

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kirschenbaum R, Grace JK (2008) Agonistic responses of the tramp ants Anoplolepis gracilipes, Pheidole megacephala, Linepithema humile, and Wasmannia auropunctata (Hymenoptera : Formicidae). Sociobiology 51:673–683

    Google Scholar 

  • Krushelnycky PD, Gillespie RG (2010) Correlates of vulnerability among arthropod species threatened by invasive ants. Biodivers Conserv 19:1971–1988

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lach L, Hooper-Bui LM (2010) Consequences of Ant Invasions. In: Lach L, Parr CL, Abbott KL (eds) Ant Ecol. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 261–286

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Breton J (2003) Etude des interactions entre la fourmi Wasmannia auropunctata et la myrmécofaune: comparaison d’une situation en zone d’introduction: la Nouvelle-Calédonie et d’une situation en zone d’origine: la Guyane Française. Thèse de doctorat, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse 3; IRD, 233 p

  • Le Breton J, Orivel J, Chazeau J, Dejean A (2007) Unadapted behaviour of native, dominant ant species during the colonization of an aggressive, invasive ant. Ecol Res 22:107–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LeBrun EG, Tillberg CV, Suarez AV et al (2007) An experimental study of competition between fire ants and Argentine ants in their native range. Ecology 88:63–75

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lessard J-PP, Dunn RR, Sanders NJ (2009) Temperature-mediated coexistence in temperate forest ant communities. Insectes Soc 56:149–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lester PJ, Abbott KL, Sarty M, Burns K (2009) Competitive assembly of South Pacific invasive ant communities. BMC Ecol 9:3

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lester PJ, Stringer LD, Haywood J (2010) The role of resource dispersion in promoting the co-occurrence of dominant and subordinate ant species. Oikos 119:659–668

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lieberburg I, Kranz P, Seip A (1975) Bermudian ants revisited: the status and interaction of Pheidole Megacephala and Iridomyrmex Humilis. Ecology 56:473–478

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowe S, Browne M, Boudjelas S, De Poorter M (2000) 100 of the world's worst invasive alien species: a selection from the global invasive species database. Invasive Species Specialist Group, Auckland, p 12

  • Miravete V, Roura-Pascual N, Dunn RR, Gomez C (2014) How many and which ant species are being accidentally moved around the world? Biol Lett 10:20140518

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parr C, Gibb H (2012) The discovery-dominance trade-off is the exception rather than the rule. J Anim Ecol 81:233–241

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Passera L (1994) Characteristics of tramp species. In: Williams D (ed) exotic ants: biology, impact, and control of introduced species. Westview Press, Boulder, CO, pp 23–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Philibert A, Desprez-Loustau M-L, Fabre B et al (2011) Predicting invasion success of forest pathogenic fungi from species traits. J Appl Ecol 48:1381–1390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pyšek P, Jarošík V, Hulme PE et al (2012) A global assessment of invasive plant impacts on resident species, communities and ecosystems: the interaction of impact measures, invading species’ traits and environment. Glob Change Biol 18:1725–1737

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabitsch W (2011) The hitchhiker’s guide to alien ant invasions. Biocontrol 56:551–572

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roura-Pascual N, Brotons L, Peterson AT, Thuiller W (2009) Consensual predictions of potential distributional areas for invasive species: a case study of Argentine ants in the Iberian Peninsula. Biol Invasions 11:1017–1031

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowles AD, O’Dowd DJ (2007) Interference competition by Argentine ants displaces native ants: implications for biotic resistance to invasion. Biol Invasions 9:73–85. doi:10.1007/s10530-006-9009-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sagata K, Lester PJ (2009) Behavioural plasticity associated with propagule size, resources, and the invasion success of the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile. J Appl Ecol 46:19–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santini G, Tucci L, Ottonetti L, Frizzi F (2007) Competition trade-offs in the organisation of a Mediterranean ant assemblage. Ecol Entomol 32:319–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarty M, Abbott KL, Lester PJ (2006) Habitat complexity facilitates coexistence in a tropical ant community. Oecologia 149:465–473

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simberloff D, Martin J-L, Genovesi P et al (2013) Impacts of biological invasions: what’s what and the way forward. Trends Ecol Evol 28:58–66

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spicer Rice ES, Silverman J (2013a) Propagule pressure and climate contribute to the displacement of Linepithema humile by Pachycondyla chinensis. PLoS One 8:e56281

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spicer Rice ES, Silverman J (2013b) Submissive behaviour and habituation facilitate entry into habitat occupied by an invasive ant. Anim Behav 86:497–506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suarez AV, McGlynn TP, Tsuitsui ND (2010) Biogeographic and taxonomic patterns of introduced ants. In: Lach L, Parr CL, Abbott KL (eds) Ant Ecol. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 233–244

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanner CJ, Adler FR (2009) To fight or not to fight: context-dependent interspecific aggression in competing ants. Anim Behav 77:297–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas ML, Holway DA (2005) Condition-specific competition between invasive Argentine ants and Australian Iridomyrmex. J Anim Ecol 74:532–542

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wittman SE (2014) Impacts of invasive ants on native ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Mymecol News 19:111–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittman SE, Sanders NJ, Ellison AM et al (2010) Species interactions and thermal constraints on ant community structure. Oikos 119:551–559

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Phil Lester and two anonymous referees for their comments und suggestions on the manuscript, Jessica Purcell for language editing, Gloria Luque, Camille Leclerc, Cyrian Courchamp for their help in the lab, Sébastien Ollier for help with the statistical analyses. This paper was supported by Région Ile-de-France (03-2010/GV-DIM ASTREA), Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR, 2009 PEXT 010 01) and BiodivERsa Eranet grants. L.D. is funded by the FRIA (Fonds pour la Recherche dans l’Industrie et dans l’Agriculture) and a Newton International Fellowship. This work has also benefited from an Investissement d’Avenir grant managed by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (CEBA, ANR-10-LABX-25-01).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique & Evolution (ESE), UMR CNRS 8079, Univ. Paris Sud, Bâtiment 362, 91405, Orsay, France

    Cleo Bertelsmeier, Amaury Avril, Amandine Confais, Noémie Saint Germès & Franck Courchamp

  2. Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Seville, Spain

    Olivier Blight

  3. Unité d’Ecologie Sociale, Univ. Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Lise Diez

  4. UMR CNRS - IRD - UAPV, Centre IRD Nouméa, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d’Écologie marine et continentale (IMBE), Aix-Marseille Université, BP A5, 98848, Nouméa Cedex, New Caledonia

    Hervé Jourdan

  5. CNRS, UMR Ecologie des forêts de Guyane, AgroParisTech, CIRAD, INRA, Univ. De Guyane, Univ. Des Antilles, Campus Agronomique, BP 316, 97379, Kourou Cedex, France

    Jérôme Orivel

Authors
  1. Cleo Bertelsmeier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Amaury Avril
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Olivier Blight
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Amandine Confais
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Lise Diez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Hervé Jourdan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jérôme Orivel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Noémie Saint Germès
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Franck Courchamp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cleo Bertelsmeier.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (PDF 81 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bertelsmeier, C., Avril, A., Blight, O. et al. Different behavioural strategies among seven highly invasive ant species. Biol Invasions 17, 2491–2503 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-015-0892-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-015-0892-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation