Abstract
Recently, masses of the ant Formica (Serviformica) fuscocinerea (Forel) have been occurring at numerous sites in Southern Germany. Although F. fuscocinerea is native to Southern Germany, these mass occurrences resemble ant invasions in density and dominance. This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms that promote sudden mass occurrence of a previously inconspicuous ant species within its native range. To estimate the competitive dominance of F. fuscocinerea, species occurrence and abundance considering biotic and abiotic parameters were studied in a natural habitat where F. fuscocinerea co-occurred with two other common ant species, Myrmica ruginodis (Nylander) and Lasius niger (Linnaeus). To understand the species’ distribution in the field, laboratory experiments on interspecific competition were conducted. Finally, the colony structure of F. fuscocinerea was investigated with intraspecific aggression tests. Formica fuscocinerea dominated an area that, as indicated by strongly frequented foraging trails on the trees, provided important food sources, e.g. trophobionts, to the ants. Other ant species coexisted only at the periphery of the F. fuscocinerea range. Laboratory experiments revealed F. fuscocinerea as highly dominant species. Additionally, F. fuscocinerea showed a complete lack of intraspecific aggression between ants originating from distances up to 58 km, indicating weak or nonexistent behavioral boundaries among ants of physically separated nests. Since extraordinarily high worker densities, strong interspecific dominance and a lack of colony boundaries within supercolonies are considered to be important traits of several invasive ant species we conclude that the same traits also promote the dominance of F. fuscocinerea.
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Abbreviations
- AI :
-
aggression index
- EIC :
-
exploitative and interference competition
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Acknowledgments
In memoriam of AP’s and VZ’s supervisor and co-author of this manuscript Volker Witte, who passed away much too early in summer 2015.
We thank M. Guevara for assistance in the field and in the laboratory. We are grateful to N. Dingemanse, C. von Beeren, T. Czaczkes, S. Lizon à l’Allemand, M. Mair, S. Pohl, D. Schweinfest, W. von Thienen and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the manuscript. This study was supported by a grant from the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) to AP (AZ 20009/030).
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AP participated in the design of the project, performed the collection of the data, participated in the analysis of the data, and drafted the manuscript. VZ participated in the design of the project, and performed the data collection, and participated in the analysis of the data. VW conceived of the study and participated in its design and in the analysis of the data, and helped to draft the manuscript. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Volker Witte died on July 14, 2015 before publication of this work was completed.
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Pohl, A., Ziemen, V. & Witte, V. Mass Occurrence and Dominant Behavior of the European Ant Species Formica fuscocinerea (Forel). J Insect Behav 31, 12–28 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-017-9654-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-017-9654-9