Exotic thistles increase native ant abundance through the maintenance of enhanced aphid populations

Lescano, María Natalia; Farji‐Brener, Alejandro G.

doi:10.1007/s11284-011-0842-3

Cited by 22 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…Comparison to other published results is difficult owing to the still small number of studies on the effects of invasive plants on ant communities and the equivocality of their results. It seems that the invasive plants producing food which is used by ants, such as nutritious seeds, for example, or plants that enhance aphid populations may favour native ant populations (Alba-Lynn and Henk 2010; Lescano and Farji-Brener 2011). However, this is not always the case, as it was demonstrated by French and Major (2001), who showed that the exotic plant Acacia saligna, which produces ant-dispersed seeds, did not affect the species richness of ants and negatively affected their abundance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive alien plants affect grassland ant communities, colony size and foraging behaviour

et al. 2013

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Ants are dominant members of many terrestrial ecosystems and are regarded as indicators of environmental changes. However, little is known about the effects of invasive alien plants on ant populations, particularly as regards the density, spatial distribution and size of ant colonies, as well as their foraging behaviour. We addressed these questions in a study of grassland ant communities on five grasslands invaded by alien goldenrods (Solidago sp.) and on five non-invaded grasslands without this plant. In each grassland, seven 100 m 2 plots were selected and the ant colonies counted. Ant species richness and colony density was lower in the plots on the invaded grasslands. Moreover, both of these traits were higher in the plots near the grassland edge and with a higher number of plant species in the grasslands invaded by goldenrods but not in the non-invaded ones. On average, ant colony size was lower on the invaded grasslands than the non-invaded ones. Also, ant workers travelled for longer distances to collect food items in the invaded areas than they did in the non-invaded ones, even after the experimental removal of some ant colonies in order to exclude the effect of higher colony density in the latter. Our results indicate that invasive alien goldenrods have a profound negative effect on grassland ant communities which may lead to a cascade effect on the whole grassland ecosystem through modification of the interactions among species. The invasion diminishes a major index of the fitness of ants, which is a colony's size, and probably leads to increased foraging effort of workers. This, in turn, may have important consequences for the division of labour and reproductive strategies within ant colonies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive alien plants affect grassland ant communities, colony size and foraging behaviour

et al. 2013

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“…Conversely, abundance of ants increases in invaded areas relative to native sagebrush (Ostoja et al 2009), which may result from increases in seeds or reduced seed predation by rodents in invaded areas (Anderson & MacMahon 2001). In the Patagonia steppe, activity of tending ants increases with invasive thistles due to a concomitant increase in aphids (Lescano & Farji-Brener 2011). Because ants represent diverse functional groups and are relatively easy to identify, research on this group can provide important insights.…”

Section: Effects On Antsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Invasive Plants on Arthropods

Litt

Cord

Fulbright

et al. 2014

Conservation Biology

153

148

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Non-native plants have invaded nearly all ecosystems and represent a major component of global ecological change. Plant invasions frequently change the composition and structure of vegetation communities, which can alter animal communities and ecosystem processes. We reviewed 87 articles published in the peer-reviewed literature to evaluate responses of arthropod communities and functional groups to non-native invasive plants. Total abundance of arthropods decreased in 62% of studies and increased in 15%. Taxonomic richness decreased in 48% of studies and increased in 13%. Herbivorous arthropods decreased in response to plant invasions in 48% of studies and increased in 17%, likely due to direct effects of decreased plant diversity. Predaceous arthropods decreased in response to invasive plants in 44% of studies, which may reflect indirect effects due to reductions in prey. Twenty-two percent of studies documented increases in predators, which may reflect changes in vegetation structure that improved mobility, survival, or web-building for these species. Detritivores increased in 67% of studies, likely in response to increased litter and decaying vegetation; no studies documented decreased abundance in this functional group. Although many researchers have examined effects of plant invasions on arthropods, sizeable information gaps remain, specifically regarding how invasive plants influence habitat and dietary requirements. Beyond this, the ability to predict changes in arthropod populations and communities associated with plant invasions could be improved by adopting a more functional and mechanistic approach. Understanding responses of arthropods to invasive plants will critically inform conservation of virtually all biodiversity and ecological processes because so many organisms depend on arthropods as prey or for their functional roles, including pollination, seed dispersal, and decomposition. Given their short generation times and ability to respond rapidly to ecological change, arthropods may be ideal targets for restoration and conservation activities.

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“…Consequently many of the exotic species that are expanding along disturbed areas, as well as many of the native species, may be subjected to herbivory by this ant. Also, several exotic and native species share the same aphid species, which are very common in the study site (Farji-Brener et al 2009;Lescano and Farji-Brener 2010). Other studies have also reported the attack of introduced plants by generalist aphids (Memmott et al 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Foliar herbivory and its effects on plant growth in native and exotic species in the Patagonian steppe

Pirk

Farji‐Brener

2012

Ecological Research

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Studies of herbivory and its consequences on the growth of native and exotic plants could help elucidate some processes involved in plant invasions. Introduced species are likely to experience reduced herbivory in their new range due to the absence of specialist enemies and, thus, may have higher benefits if they reduce the investment in resistance and increase their compensatory capacity. In order to evaluate the role of herbivory in disturbed areas within the Patagonian steppe, we quantified and compared the leaf levels of herbivory of four native and five exotic species and recorded the associated insect fauna. We also performed greenhouse experiments in which we simulated herbivory in order to evaluate the compensatory capacity of native and exotic species under different herbivory levels that resembled naturally occurring damage. Natural herbivory levels in the field were similar between the studied exotic and native plants. Field observations confirmed that they both shared some herbivore insects, most of which are generalists. In the greenhouse experiments, both exotic and native plants fully compensated for herbivory. Our results suggest that the studied exotic plants are not released from herbivory in the Patagonian steppe but are able to fully compensate for it. The capacity to recover from herbivory coupled with other potential adaptations, such as a better performance under disturbance and greater competitive ability than that of the native species, may represent some of the mechanisms responsible for the success of plant invasion in the Patagonian steppe.

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Exotic thistles increase native ant abundance through the maintenance of enhanced aphid populations

Cited by 22 publications

References 75 publications

Invasive alien plants affect grassland ant communities, colony size and foraging behaviour

Invasive alien plants affect grassland ant communities, colony size and foraging behaviour

Effects of Invasive Plants on Arthropods

Foliar herbivory and its effects on plant growth in native and exotic species in the Patagonian steppe

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