Stealthy invaders: the biology of Cardiocondyla tramp ants

Heınze, Jürgen; Cremer, Sylvia; Eckl, N.; Schrempf, Alexandra

doi:10.1007/s00040-005-0847-4

Cited by 70 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…The absence of sl-CSD protects queens that mate with close relatives from diploid male load and probably contributes to the success of Cardiocondyla as invasive tramp species (Heinze et al, 2006). Inbred queens of C. obscurior did not suffer decreased colony founding ability, productivity or longevity, and sex ratios were similar to those in control colonies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

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Sex determination and inbreeding depression in an ant with regular sib-mating

2006

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Haplodiploidy is one of the most widespread mechanisms of sex determination in animals. In many Hymenoptera, including all hitherto investigated social species, diploid individuals, which are heterozygous at the sex locus, develop as females, whereas haploid, hemizygous individuals develop as males (single-locus complementary sex determination, sl-CSD). Inbreeding leads to homozygosity at the sex locus, resulting in the production of diploid males, which are usually sterile and constitute a considerable fitness cost. Nevertheless, regular inbreeding without diploid male production is known from several solitary wasps, suggesting that in these species sex is not determined by sl-CSD but alternative mechanisms. Here, we examine sex determination in an ant with regular inbreeding, Cardiocondyla obscurior. The almost complete absence of diploid males after 10 generations of brother-sister mating in the laboratory documents for the first time the absence of sl-CSD and CSD with two or a few unlinked sex loci in a species of social Hymenoptera. Queens, which mated with a brother, appeared to decrease the number of males in their brood, as expected from the relatedness relationships under inbreeding. In contrast, some colonies began to show signs of an inbreeding depression after several generations of sib-mating, such as shortened queen life span, higher brood mortality, and a shift to more male-biased sex ratios in some colonies, presumably due to lower insemination capability of sperm.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…The number of worker pupae and eggs produced was recorded twice per week and all sexual pupae were removed and counted until the death of the queen (mean: 31 weeks). Cardiocondyla workers do not have ovaries (Heinze et al, 2006) and all eggs are therefore laid by the queen.…”

Section: Inbreeding Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex determination and inbreeding depression in an ant with regular sib-mating

2006

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“…The social structure of C. obscurior colonies in the field is characterized by highly variable queen numbers, intra-nest mating and the exchange of individuals between nests (Heinze & Delabie 2005;Heinze et al 2006). We used 16 field colonies to rear two different colony types (eight colonies each) over 4 years, i.e.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid anti-pathogen response in ant societies relies on high genetic diversity

et al. 2010

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Social organisms are constantly exposed to infectious agents via physical contact with conspecifics. While previous work has shown that disease susceptibility at the individual and group level is influenced by genetic diversity within and between group members, it remains poorly understood how group-level resistance to pathogens relates directly to individual physiology, defence behaviour and social interactions. We investigated the effects of high versus low genetic diversity on both the individual and collective disease defences in the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior. We compared the antiseptic behaviours (grooming and hygienic behaviour) of workers from genetically homogeneous and diverse colonies after exposure of their brood to the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. While workers from diverse colonies performed intensive allogrooming and quickly removed larvae covered with live fungal spores from the nest, workers from homogeneous colonies only removed sick larvae late after infection. This difference was not caused by a reduced repertoire of antiseptic behaviours or a generally decreased brood care activity in ants from homogeneous colonies. Our data instead suggest that reduced genetic diversity compromises the ability of Cardiocondyla colonies to quickly detect or react to the presence of pathogenic fungal spores before an infection is established, thereby affecting the dynamics of social immunity in the colony.

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“…Although the detrimental, and often severe, impacts of some invasive ant species are well known (Holway et al 2002), just as for all taxa that are being accidentally transported to novel locations, it is completely unclear what effect, if any, most species may have (Simberloff 2011). Of all the non-endemic ant species on the island, only one, P. megacephala, is known to have serious negative impacts, which is why it is currently subject to an eradication campaign, and three other common tramp species, Cardiocondyla nuda, Ochetellus glaber and Tetramorium bicarinatum are known only as minor pests (Lester et al 2003;Heinze et al 2006;Wetterer 2009). For the other species that are exotic to Lord Howe Island there is little information that can used to predict their impacts on native flora and fauna.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ant species accumulation on Lord Howe Island highlights the increasing need for effective biosecurity on islands

Hoffmann¹,

Graham²,

Smith³

2017

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Islands are particularly noteworthy for global conservation because of the high number of species they host, the high levels of species endemism, and the large number and proportion of species at risk of extinction. Much of the conservation threat on islands is from invasive species. Whilst biosecurity is an increasing focus of attention for authorities globally, species are continuing to establish in new locations outside of their native ranges. Among invasive species, ants are a prominent taxon, especially on islands. Over the past decade, following the detection of one of the world's worst invasive ant species, African big-headed ant Pheidole megacephala, the environmental management authority on world-heritage-listed Lord Howe Island has focused attention on invasive ants. This detection influenced the creation of biosecurity measures to prevent further incursions of exotic species, particularly ants. Despite these efforts, over the following decade numerous ant species were collected on the island for the first time, indicating a serious biosecurity problem. Here, we investigate the chronosequence of ant introductions to Lord Howe Island to quantify the extent and nature of the island's ant biosecurity problem. A total of 45 species have been collected on the island and of these, 12 are considered to be endemic, and a further seven are possibly native. Nineteen of the 26 introduced species (42% of the total fauna and 73% of the introduced fauna) were only found for the first time in the last 15 years. All but two of the species that are not native to Lord Howe Island are native to the Australian mainland, indicating that the biosecurity threat comes from the transport of goods from the Australian mainland. We suggest that the pattern of accelerating ant species accumulation on Lord Howe Island is probably not an isolated phenomenon, and that it is probably occurring on most islands globally that are habitable by ants and visited by people.

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Stealthy invaders: the biology of Cardiocondyla tramp ants

Cited by 70 publications

References 54 publications

Sex determination and inbreeding depression in an ant with regular sib-mating

Sex determination and inbreeding depression in an ant with regular sib-mating

Rapid anti-pathogen response in ant societies relies on high genetic diversity

Ant species accumulation on Lord Howe Island highlights the increasing need for effective biosecurity on islands

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