Challenges and a call to action for protecting European red wood ants

Abstract

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Assessing Molecular Diversity in Native and Introduced Populations of Red Wood Ant Formica paralugubris

“…This point deserves careful attention and cannot be overlooked. Paradoxically, while the populations introduced to the Apennines are expanding [ 13 ], the status of the populations in the Alps is poorly known, and there are no indications of whether they are stable, increasing, or decreasing [ 9 ]. It is likely that the massive collection of nests carried out during the last century for transplantation [ 12 ] could have caused a non-negligible reduction of their size and, hence, genetic diversity [ 44 ].…”

“…These species influence the dynamics of arthropod communities through predation and competition [ 3 ], the structure of plant and lichen communities through their action on aphids, parasites and herbivores or propagule dispersion [ 4 , 5 ] and, ultimately, they affect nutrient cycling and soil functioning [ 6 , 7 ]. Despite the key role and abundance in most of their distribution range, the conservation status of this species is raising increasing concerns as there is evidence of local decline and even local extinction [ 8 , 9 ].…”

“…While in some cases the introductions resulted in viable populations that started to expand, actively preying upon the arthropod fauna in the newly occupied areas, other attempts failed [ 12 , 13 ]. The status of most of these introduced populations, similar to that of the native populations in the Alps, is unknown, and certainly calls for further studies [ 9 ]. Studying the ecology of these introduced populations is scientifically relevant, as they are a sort of a unique long-term ecological experiment that can provide important information on community dynamics, the effect of the introduction of dominant species, and population genetics.…”

A Re-Inventory After 12 Years – Increase in Red Wood Ant Nests and Woodpecker Cavities in Nests in the West Eifel Volcanic Field Despite Climatic Changes

“…However, there is no long-term, area-wide RWA monitoring based on reliable, statistically valid GPS-data for Germany to substantiate the postulated threats and declines, as standardized and systematic monitoring of RWA has been discontinued in Germany since the 1980s. A recently published study showed the poor data situation for the different RWA species and their occurrence in most European countries (Balzani et al 2022).…”

The Effect of the Introduced Red Wood Ant Formica paralugubris on the Frequency of Ant Nests and First Plesiobiotic Association between Myrmica ruginodis (Nylander, 1846) and Lasius flavus (Fabricius, 1782)

“…They also exclude other ant species from their area (Savolainen et al, 1989;Czechowski et al, 2013;Maák et al, 2021), thus reducing the available nesting sites for founding queens. Starting in the 50s of the past century, experimental introductions of different red wood ant species have been carried out in some European countries, such as Germany and Italy, to study the suitability of red wood ants as useful predators in the fight against forest pests (Gösswald, 1951;Pavan, 1959;Balzani et al 2022b).One of the most frequently employed species in these introductions was Formica paralugubris (Seifert, 1996), which was repeatedly transplanted from its original areas in the Alps to other sites of the Italian peninsula, where they were…”