Open AccessInvasive ants influence native lizard populations
Author(s) -
Darracq Andrea K.,
Smith Lora L.,
Oi David H.,
Conner L. Mike,
McCleery Robert A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
ecosphere
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.255
H-Index - 57
ISSN - 2150-8925
DOI - 10.1002/ecs2.1657
Subject(s) - lizard , invasive species , introduced species , ecology , biology , geography , zoology
The red imported fire ant ( Solenopsis invicta ; hereafter RIFA ) is an invasive predator found on four continents, namely South America, North America, Australia, and Asia. Red imported fire ants are implicated in the decline of native invertebrates and vertebrates throughout their invaded range. We used the eastern fence lizard ( Sceloporus undulatus ) as a model species to understand the influence of RIFA s on native reptiles in the southeastern United States. Our objective was to quantify the effects of RIFA s on fence lizard recruitment and survival. We experimentally stocked populations of fence lizards into eight enclosures with either ambient or reduced numbers of RIFA s from May 2012 to October 2013. Fitting Link‐Barker models, we found that the RIFA treatment affected fence lizard recruitment ( f ), but not survival (Φ). Recruitment was 1.6 times greater in the enclosures with reduced numbers of RIFA s than in those with ambient numbers. Red imported fire ants likely affect reptiles with analogous life history strategies to those of fence lizards similarly. Consequently, RIFA s may have undesirable consequences for the biodiversity of reptiles in the southeastern United States and on other continents with established RIFA populations.