New research is indicating that invasive foreign ants that have hitched rides on global imports are slowly becoming the dominant species in the state of Florida.
Populations of non-native leaf-litter ants have skyrocketed in the Sunshine State in recent years — with native populations falling alongside them, SWNS reported.
The number of non-native ants has nearly doubled in the past half-century in some areas, the study suggested.
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This may be due to the fact that they're willing to cooperate with other species and bring them into their huge colonies, the study said — while native ants tend to reject outsiders.
But researchers fear that the decline in certain species of leaf-litter ants — which act as seed spreaders and specialized predators — could impact these already threatened ecosystems in the southeastern part of the state.
The U.S. study team analyzed data tracking leaf-litter ants from 1965 to 2019, SNWS reported.
In later years, data showed non-native ants represented nearly a third (30%) of the 177 ground-dwelling species detected across the entire state. Their dominance grew most dramatically in southern regions, where non-native ant populations rose from 43% to 73% over the 54 years of the study.
These invading non-native ants are estimated to have arrived with goods imported to Florida from across the globe.
The study was published in the journal Current Biology.
It points toward a potential future of the state being dominated by an empire of ants not native to the state — while native numbers dwindle into insignificance.
On the character of the tiny critters, Professor Andrew Suarez, of the University of Illinois, said, "Leaf-litter ants tend to be very small, just a few millimeters in length; so moving through soil, leaves and other litter is like climbing over hills for them."
He added, "Many of them are small specialist predators, like trap-jaw ants of the genus Strumigenys, which are solitary hunters that specialize in catching small arthropods like springtails."
Prof. Suarez, one of the lead authors of the study, added that the ants rely on the "litter" that accumulates under trees and plants.
"These communities are sensitive to habitat loss, especially the loss of canopy trees," he said.
"They also are very susceptible to heat and water stress, as they require humid environments."
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While the native ants and their would-be invaders share many traits and likely perform a lot of the same ecosystem services, the researchers say studies have not yet proven whether the growing population of non-natives will fill the same niches essential to the natural ecology of the area.
Ant expert Dr. Douglas Booher, a research entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and another lead architect of the study, said he worries about the consequences of the invading ants' rise to dominance in the region.
He said, "Our biggest worry is that the loss of a few key species that act as specialized predators or seed-dispersers could have ecological consequences for these already threatened ecosystems."
However, one area where the native and non-native ants do differ is when it comes to teamwork.
The research team tested the different ants' ability and willingness to tolerate and work alongside each other by collecting more than 300 live colonies in artificial nests and observing their cooperation — or lack thereof.
Most of the non-native ants were shown to adopt other ants from different colonies to work together.
But most native ants tended to reject outsiders and keep themselves to themselves.
This difference in willingness to cooperate may give non-native ants a significant advantage over their native relatives, Dr. Booher said.
He explained, "We collected more than 300 live ant colonies and set them up in artificial nests."
He said that by "marking individuals of the same species from different colonies and introducing them to one another, we evaluated if workers from different colonies were adopted or excluded. By accepting and cooperating with ants from various nests, non-native ants effectively act like a single unified colony over a large landscape."
Though there are still said to be far more native than non-native leaf-litter ants in Florida, Booher admitted the foreign ants are becoming "more abundant and common."
"This concerning trend has increased steadily over the past 54 years," he added.
"Across all regions of Florida, non-native species have doubled in collection frequency."
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Corrie Moreau, a professor of entomology and of ecology and evolution at Cornell University in New York, said studies like this are crucial in understanding the loss and diversification of species, SWNS also reported.
She said, "Only through comparing past species diversity and abundance with current data can we really understand how biodiversity is changing through time."
Prof. Suarez added, "While we are starting to appreciate just how bad insect declines are globally, we often don’t have species-level data for many groups. By looking at trends for individual species over long periods, we can get an idea of the possible ecological consequences of these patterns."
