Red Imported Fire Ants Reduce Invertebrate Abundance, Richness, and Diversity in Gopher Tortoise Burrows

Epperson, Deborah; Allen, Craig R.; Hogan, Katharine F. E.

doi:10.3390/d13010007

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In their review, Jackson and Milstrey (1989) list 297 arthropod species associated with gopher tortoise burrows. Since 1989, there have been numerous studies conducted that involve surveys of arthropod associates of gopher tortoise burrows ( Lago 1991 , Alexy et al 2003 , Almquist 2017 , Martinet 2017 , Hipps 2019 ), cascading effects of its role as an ecosystem engineer ( Kinlaw and Grasmueck 2011 ), and the role of fire ants on burrow commensal communities ( Epperson et al 2021 ).…”

Section: Subterraneanmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Arthropods and Fire Within the Biologically Diverse Longleaf Pine Ecosystem

Sheehan

Klepzig

2021

Annals of the Entomological Society of America

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The longleaf pine Pinus palustris Miller (Pinales: Pinaceae) ecosystem once covered as many as 37 million hectares across the southeastern United States. Through fire suppression, development, and conversion to other plantation pines, this coverage has dwindled to fewer than 2 million hectares. A recent focus on the restoration of this ecosystem has revealed its complex and biologically diverse nature. Arthropods of the longleaf pine ecosystem are incredibly numerous and diverse—functionally and taxonomically. To provide clarity on what is known about the species and their functional roles in longleaf pine forests, we thoroughly searched the literature and found nearly 500 references. In the end, we tabulated 51 orders 477 families, 1,949 genera, and 3,032 arthropod species as having been stated in the scientific literature to occur in longleaf pine ecosystems. The body of research we drew from is rich and varied but far from comprehensive. Most work deals with land management objective associated taxa such as pests of pine, pests of—and food for—wildlife (red-cockaded woodpecker, northern bobwhite quail, gopher tortoise, pocket gopher, etc.), and pollinators of the diverse plant understory associated with longleaf pine. We explored the complex role frequent fire (critical in longleaf pine management) plays in determining the arthropod community in longleaf pine, including its importance to rare and threatened species. We examined known patterns of abundance and occurrence of key functional groups of longleaf pine-associated arthropods. Finally, we identified some critical gaps in knowledge and provide suggestions for future research into this incredibly diverse ecosystem.

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Section: Subterraneanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The invasive fire ant has been documented to negatively impact both gopher tortoises ( Epperson and Heise 2003 ; Dziadzio et al 2015 , 2016 ) and the arthropod commensals that live in their burrows ( Wetterer and Moore 2005 , Epperson et al 2021 ).…”

Section: Subterraneanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arthropods and Fire Within the Biologically Diverse Longleaf Pine Ecosystem

Sheehan

Klepzig

2021

Annals of the Entomological Society of America

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“…Non‐pest Lepidoptera are decreasing in Texas because of fire ants, particularly Satyridae species (Calvert 1999). Fire ants have also been linked to declines of a federally endangered Papilionidae species in Florida, USA (Forys et al 2001, Epperson et al 2020). But fire ant effects on the broader lepidopteran community are still largely unknown.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fire ants have also been linked to declines of a federally endangered Papilionidae species in Florida, USA (Forys et al 2001, Epperson et al 2020. But fire ant effects on the broader lepidopteran community are still largely unknown.…”

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confidence: 99%

Butterfly abundance is higher in areas treated for fire ants

Geest,

Berman,

Baum

2023

J Wildl Manag

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Red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta; fire ants) are an invasive species that prey on arthropods in the southern United States. Researchers examined using fire ants to control agricultural Lepidoptera pests, but minimal research has investigated the effects of fire ants on the broader butterfly community. Three ranches in Texas, USA, with known fire ant occurrence underwent treatment to remove fire ants, creating a treated section and an untreated section for each ranch. We sampled sites using colored pan traps 3 times per sampling period during 2018 and 2019. Over 2 years, we collected 1,262 butterflies across 28 species in pan traps. Average butterfly abundance was higher in treated sites than untreated sites. The majority of species collected were in the family Hesperiidae, followed by the Pieridae family. We found Hesperiidae species more often in blue pan traps and Pieridae species more often in yellow pan traps. Butterfly species that overwinter as immature stages were more abundant in treated sites than in untreated sites, which suggests there could be a connection between fire ant presence and mortality of overwintering immature stages. Our results suggest that fire ants may negatively affect butterfly communities and differentially affect certain species. Additional research is needed to understand the effects of fire ants on butterflies and the overall pollinator community, and the effectiveness of pan traps for surveying Lepidoptera.

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“…The final paper [10] describes an unwelcome impact-that of the red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta, one of the world's most destructive invasive species. The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) of the southeastern United States is an ecosystem engineer, whose burrows provide habitat for at least 60 vertebrate and 302 invertebrate species, many of which are of conservational interest.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%