Effect of Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta) Presence on Success and Depredation of American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) Nests: Potential Value of a Non-native Invasive Species

摘要

Red Imported Fire Ants (Solenopsis invicta; hereafter, fire ants) are an ant species endemic to South America that has become a globally invasive species (Buren 1972; Allen et al. 2004). Since their establishment, fire ants have had negative impacts on many wildlife species, particularly at the neonatal stage (Landers et al. 1980; Montgomery 1996; Allen et al 1997; Allen et al. 2004). However, these studies also have found that oviparous species, especially reptiles and amphibians, are much more vulnerable to deleterious impacts by fire ants due to life history characteristics such as egg-laying, the disturbance associated with egg-laying, and delayed hatchling emergence (Allen et al. 2004).