Habitat association and coexistence of endemic and introduced ant species in Galápagos Islands
- Author
- Nina Wauters, Wouter Dekoninck, Frederik Hendrickx (UGent) , Henri W Herrera and Denis Fournier
- Organization
- Abstract
- 1. We investigated ant communities in all main vegetation zones of the model island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos archipelago (155 collection points, spread over 21 sites; 28 ant species collected), and evaluated the distribution, coexistence, and effect of environmental factors in a community composed of endemic, probably endemic, and introduced ants of the New World and exotic origin. 2. Introduced species were the most frequent, occurring in 98% of the samples, yet endemic and probably endemic species still occurred in 54% of the samples, and constituted one of three most common species. The present study revealed that the habitat type along with altitude and the tree cover are the primary factors shaping ant community composition. Little evidence was found for a competitively structured assemblage of ant species. 3. The present study confirmed the predominance of two dominant invasive species, Solenopsis geminata Fabricius and Wasmannia auropunctata Roger, whose abundances are negatively correlated. The abundance of S. geminata is positively correlated with the overall species richness, and with the proportion of other introduced species. The presence of both invasive ants is associated with a low evenness of ant communities. 4. The present study (i) stresses the dominance of introduced species and the relative resistance of endemic species, (ii) highlights the on-going processes of species introductions and (iii) points out the need for adequate monitoring and conservation of the pristine and threatened environments that constitute the Galapagos Islands.
- Keywords
- Ant communities, biological invasions, Formicidae, Solenopsis geminata, Wasmannia auropunctata, SANTA-CRUZ ISLAND, RED FIRE ANT, HYMENOPTERA-FORMICIDAE, NATIVE ANTS, WASMANNIA-AUROPUNCTATA, ASSEMBLY RULES, TRAMP ANT, ELEVATIONAL GRADIENTS, SOLENOPSIS-GEMINATA, ARGENTINE ANTS
Downloads
-
(...).pdf
- full text
- |
- UGent only
- |
- |
- 356.39 KB
Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8122986
- MLA
- Wauters, Nina, et al. “Habitat Association and Coexistence of Endemic and Introduced Ant Species in Galápagos Islands.” ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, vol. 41, no. 1, 2016, pp. 40–50, doi:10.1111/een.12256.
- APA
- Wauters, N., Dekoninck, W., Hendrickx, F., Herrera, H. W., & Fournier, D. (2016). Habitat association and coexistence of endemic and introduced ant species in Galápagos Islands. ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, 41(1), 40–50. https://doi.org/10.1111/een.12256
- Chicago author-date
- Wauters, Nina, Wouter Dekoninck, Frederik Hendrickx, Henri W Herrera, and Denis Fournier. 2016. “Habitat Association and Coexistence of Endemic and Introduced Ant Species in Galápagos Islands.” ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY 41 (1): 40–50. https://doi.org/10.1111/een.12256.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Wauters, Nina, Wouter Dekoninck, Frederik Hendrickx, Henri W Herrera, and Denis Fournier. 2016. “Habitat Association and Coexistence of Endemic and Introduced Ant Species in Galápagos Islands.” ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY 41 (1): 40–50. doi:10.1111/een.12256.
- Vancouver
- 1.Wauters N, Dekoninck W, Hendrickx F, Herrera HW, Fournier D. Habitat association and coexistence of endemic and introduced ant species in Galápagos Islands. ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY. 2016;41(1):40–50.
- IEEE
- [1]N. Wauters, W. Dekoninck, F. Hendrickx, H. W. Herrera, and D. Fournier, “Habitat association and coexistence of endemic and introduced ant species in Galápagos Islands,” ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 40–50, 2016.
@article{8122986, abstract = {{1. We investigated ant communities in all main vegetation zones of the model island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos archipelago (155 collection points, spread over 21 sites; 28 ant species collected), and evaluated the distribution, coexistence, and effect of environmental factors in a community composed of endemic, probably endemic, and introduced ants of the New World and exotic origin. 2. Introduced species were the most frequent, occurring in 98% of the samples, yet endemic and probably endemic species still occurred in 54% of the samples, and constituted one of three most common species. The present study revealed that the habitat type along with altitude and the tree cover are the primary factors shaping ant community composition. Little evidence was found for a competitively structured assemblage of ant species. 3. The present study confirmed the predominance of two dominant invasive species, Solenopsis geminata Fabricius and Wasmannia auropunctata Roger, whose abundances are negatively correlated. The abundance of S. geminata is positively correlated with the overall species richness, and with the proportion of other introduced species. The presence of both invasive ants is associated with a low evenness of ant communities. 4. The present study (i) stresses the dominance of introduced species and the relative resistance of endemic species, (ii) highlights the on-going processes of species introductions and (iii) points out the need for adequate monitoring and conservation of the pristine and threatened environments that constitute the Galapagos Islands.}}, author = {{Wauters, Nina and Dekoninck, Wouter and Hendrickx, Frederik and Herrera, Henri W and Fournier, Denis}}, issn = {{0307-6946}}, journal = {{ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY}}, keywords = {{Ant communities,biological invasions,Formicidae,Solenopsis geminata,Wasmannia auropunctata,SANTA-CRUZ ISLAND,RED FIRE ANT,HYMENOPTERA-FORMICIDAE,NATIVE ANTS,WASMANNIA-AUROPUNCTATA,ASSEMBLY RULES,TRAMP ANT,ELEVATIONAL GRADIENTS,SOLENOPSIS-GEMINATA,ARGENTINE ANTS}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{1}}, pages = {{40--50}}, title = {{Habitat association and coexistence of endemic and introduced ant species in Galápagos Islands}}, url = {{http://doi.org/10.1111/een.12256}}, volume = {{41}}, year = {{2016}}, }
- Altmetric
- View in Altmetric
- Web of Science
- Times cited: