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Colony-structure variation and interspecific competitive ability in the invasive Argentine ant

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Abstract

The success of some invasive species may depend on phenotypic changes that occur following introduction. In Argentine ants ( Linepithema humile) introduced populations typically lack intraspecific aggression, but native populations display such behavior commonly. We employ three approaches to examine how this behavioral shift might influence interspecific competitive ability. In a laboratory experiment, we reared colonies of Forelius mccooki with pairs of Argentine ant colonies that either did or did not exhibit intraspecific aggression. F. mccooki reared with intraspecifically non-aggressive pairs of Argentine ants produced fewer eggs, foraged less actively, and supported fewer living workers than those reared with intraspecifically aggressive pairs. At natural contact zones between competing colonies of L. humile and F. mccooki, the introduction of experimental Argentine ant colonies that fought with conspecific field colonies caused L. humile to abandon baits in the presence of F. mccooki, whereas the introduction of colonies that did not fight with field colonies of Argentine ants resulted in L. humile retaining possession of baits. Additional evidence for the potential importance of colony- structure variation comes from the Argentine ant’s native range. At a site along the Rio de la Plata in Argentina, we found an inverse relationship between ant richness and density of L. humile (apparently a function of local differences in colony structure) in two different years of sampling.

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Acknowledgements

In California, we thank B. Mata and K. Mai for help in the laboratory and I. Kay for permission to work at the University of California Elliot Chaparral Reserve. We would especially like to thank T.J. Case for his invaluable intellectual contributions to this project and for generously providing laboratory space. In Argentina, we thank R. Venguet for her gracious hospitality, I.C. Quilmes, N.D. Tsutsui, and the staff of the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve (especially A. Ruidiaz and F. Caeiro). Comments by T.J. Case, A. Kay, L. Lach, P. Nonacs, K. Roy, J.A. Rosenheim, P. Schilman, N.D. Tsutsui, and several anonymous reviewers substantially improved the manuscript. This research was made possible through grants from the USDA (NRIGCP award 99–35302–8675 to D.A.H. and NRIGCP award 00–35302–9417 to A.V.S.) and NSF (DEB-9610306 to T.J.C.), and a fellowship from the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science (to A.V.S.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    David A. Holway

  2. Department of Entomology and Department of Animal Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Andrew V. Suarez

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  1. David A. Holway
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  2. Andrew V. Suarez
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Correspondence to David A. Holway.

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Holway, D.A., Suarez, A.V. Colony-structure variation and interspecific competitive ability in the invasive Argentine ant. Oecologia 138, 216–222 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1414-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1414-1

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