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Did alien ants initiate a population explosion of a coccoid plant pest on an islet in the Coral Sea?

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Abstract

The composition of the ant fauna of a Coral Sea islet, North East Herald Cay, is reported for several years from 1995 to 2007. A major change in composition was first noted in 2007 but probably occurred earlier. Tetramorium lanuginosum, present in 1997 and in previous years, was not found in 2007. Instead, Tetramorium bicarinatum, recorded for the first time in 2006, was abundant in 2007. This change, together with drier conditions, may have initiated a population explosion of a pest coccoid that caused serious damage to the tree, Pisonia grandis. Tetramorium bicarinatum also reduced the abundance of surface-active arthropods compared to their abundance when it was absent. Ants and other invertebrates on three other islets in the Coral Sea are also documented for 2007 and support the dominance effects of T. bicarinatums.

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Fig. 1

Notes

  1. Specimens identified as T. bicarinatum, in the Queensland Museum collected in May 2006 from NEHC, leg. C. Freebairn.

References

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Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to the Department of Environment, Heritage and Water Resources for part funding, and for fieldwork on Magdelaine and Coringa, to colleagues, Robert Taylor and Brian Heterick for confirmation of ant identifications and to referees for suggestions as to improving the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Management, School of Science and Engineering, University of Ballarat, Ballarat, VIC, 3350, Australia

    Penelope Greenslade

  2. School of Biology, Australian National University, Acton, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia

    Penelope Greenslade

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  1. Penelope Greenslade
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Correspondence to Penelope Greenslade.

Additional information

Addendum to: Climate variability, biological control and an insect pest outbreak on Australia’s Coral Sea islets: lessons for invertebrate conservation. Journal of Insect Conservation 12: 333–342.

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Greenslade, P. Did alien ants initiate a population explosion of a coccoid plant pest on an islet in the Coral Sea?. J Insect Conserv 14, 419–421 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-010-9268-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-010-9268-4

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