Effects of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, on the structure and diversity of the ant community in a human disturbed area
Author of the article:QI Guo-Jun1** HUANG Yong-Feng1 CEN Yi-Jing2 Lü Li-Hua1***
Author's Workplace：1. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of High Technology for Plant Protection/ Plant ProtectionResearch Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China; 2. College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Key Words：Solenopsis invicta Buren, human disturbed area, resettlement area, community structure, diversity
Abstract： [Objectives] In order to provide a scientific basis for better control of the fire ant, the effects of Solenopsis invicta Buren on the structure and diversity of an ant community were studied in a human disturbed area. [Methods] Ant species diversity and abundance were investigated in an outside resettlement area (non human disturbed area) and an inside resettlement area (human disturbed area, including dwelling area, grass lawn and barren land), in Baoliang Village, Huadong Town, Huadu District, Guangzhou City, and the community structure dominant species, species diversity, evenness and richness index of the ant community determined. [Results] (1) 25 ant species were collected in the outside resettlement area where Tapinoma melanocephalum Fabricius and Pheidole megacephala Fabricius were the dominant species. 13 ant species were collected in the inside resettlement area where S. invicta was the dominant species. Colonization by S. invicta significantly reduced the diversity, evenness and richness of the ant community within the resettlement area, while the dominance index and the dominance concentration index of the ant community significantly increased compared to that of the community in the outside resettlement area, where S. invicta had a limited impact on the agricultural ecosystem. (2) The proportion of S. invicta in the ant community was more than 90% in grass lawn and barren land, but only 29.11% in dwelling areas. S. invicta was the dominant species in grass lawns and barren land, and there were significant differences in the dominance index and dominance concentration index between ant communities in grass lawn and barren land and those in dwelling areas. S. invicta was most abundant in scarcely-disturbed barren land, followed by occasionally disturbing grass lawn, but was only lightly distributed in frequently disturbing dwelling areas. [Conclusion] During simultaneous colonization by invasive and native ant species, the invasive ant S. invicta significantly reduced the diversity of the ant community in a human disturbed area. The occurrence of S. invicta was inversely proportional to the level of disturbance caused by daily human activity.