<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Diaz, Mireia</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Abril, Sílvia</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Enriquez, Martha L</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Gómez, Crisanto</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Assessment of the Argentine ant invasion management by means of manual removal of winter nests in mixed cork oak and pine forests</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Argentine ant</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">extirpation effects</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Invasion front</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Longterm</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Seasonal colony dynamics</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Spatial nest distribution</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2014</style></year></dates><publisher><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">SPRINGER</style></publisher><pub-location><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">VAN GODEWIJCKSTRAAT 30, 3311 GZ DORDRECHT, NETHERLANDS</style></pub-location><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">16</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">315-327</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The dynamic in Argentine ant colonies varies seasonally, influenced by biotic and abiotic factors. In winter the spatial range of the colony is contracted in large formations (winter nests) containing a large number of queens and workers. Winter nests are the clue to the species' dispersion power and the invasion of new habitats. For this reason a yearly elimination of queens and workers in winter at the edge (front) of the invasion could be a useful tool for weakening the species' dispersion and therefore limiting its establishment in new areas. Here, we determined the spatial dynamics of the Argentine ant nests during 1 year, and we assessed the invasion management by means of manual removal of winter nests for two consecutive winters, determining its effects during the following 3 years. We mapped nests found in 18 plots divided into two groups: extirpated (with removal of nests) and non-extirpated (control), along the fronts of three locations. Seasonal variation in the abundance of nests and workers, together with the two-year extirpation effects were evaluated. We found that colonies tended to follow an annual cycle of contraction and dispersion, with a decrease in the number of nests as we approached the invasion front. The extirpation was effective only in the front area, where it promoted smaller, less lasting and aggregated nests, as well as a decrease in the abundance of queens and workers. Nests also experienced a decrease during the two first winters but a recovery in the third, when no extirpation was done. Thus, a yearly perturbation should be performed to keep the expansion of the Argentine ant at a low rate, and to limit its establishment in new areas.</style></abstract></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Abril, S.</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Oliveras, J.</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Gómez, C.</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Foraging Activity and Dietary Spectrum of the Argentine Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Invaded Natural Areas of the Northeast Iberian Peninsula</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Environmental Entomology,</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Argentine ant</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">dietary spectrum</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">foraging activity</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Linepithema humile</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Quercus suber</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2007</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2007///</style></date></pub-dates></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">36</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">1166 - 1173</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">We analyzed the foraging activity and the dietary spectrum of the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile Mayr) and select native ants on cork oaks from Mediterranean open cork oak (Quercus suber) secondary forests. The study areas included invaded and noninvaded zones in close proximity. The Argentine ant's daily foraging activity was correlated to the abiotic factors studied, whereas the seasonal foraging activity was related not only to the variations in the average air temperature, but also to the trophic needs of the colony. Argentine ant workers focused their attention on protein foods during the queens' oviposition periods and during the larvae development phase, and on carbohydrate foods, such as honeydew, when males and workers were hatching. There were no significant differences over the entire year in the quantity of liquid food collected by the Argentine ant workers in comparison with the native ants studied. The solid diet of the Argentine ant on cork oaks is composed of insects, most of which are aphids. Our results have clear applications for control methods based on toxic baits in the invaded natural ecosystems of the Iberian Peninsula.</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">5</style></issue></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Abril, S</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Oliveras, J</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Gómez, C</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Foraging Activity and Dietary Spectrum of the Argentine Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Invaded Natural Areas of the Northeast Iberian Peninsula</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Environmental Entomology,</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Argentine ant</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">dietary spectrum</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">foraging activity</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Linepithema humile</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Quercus suber</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2007</style></year></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">36</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">1166-1173</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">We analyzed the foraging activity and the dietary spectrum of the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile Mayr) and select native ants on cork oaks from Mediterranean open cork oak (Quercus suber) secondary forests. The study areas included invaded and noninvaded zones in close proximity. The Argentine ant's daily foraging activity was correlated to the abiotic factors studied, whereas the seasonal foraging activity was related not only to the variations in the average air temperature, but also to the trophic needs of the colony. Argentine ant workers focused their attention on protein foods during the queens' oviposition periods and during the larvae development phase, and on carbohydrate foods, such as honeydew, when males and workers were hatching. There were no significant differences over the entire year in the quantity of liquid food collected by the Argentine ant workers in comparison with the native ants studied. The solid diet of the Argentine ant on cork oaks is composed of insects, most of which are aphids. Our results have clear applications for control methods based on toxic baits in the invaded natural ecosystems of the Iberian Peninsula.</style></abstract></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Gómez, Crisanto</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Oliveras, Jordi</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Can the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile Mayr) replace native ants in myrmecochory?</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Acta Oecologica</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">ant-plant mutualism</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Argentine ant</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Biological invasion</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Linepithema humile</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">myrmecochory</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">seed dispersal</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2003</style></year></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">24</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">47-53</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">We analyse the inﬂuence of the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile Mayr) on the seed dispersal process of the myrmecochorous plants Euphorbia characias, E. biumbellata, Genista linifolia, G. triﬂora, G. monspessulana and Sarothamnus arboreus. The observations were made in two study plots of Mediterranean cork-oak secondary forest (invaded and non-invaded by L. humile). The presence of L. humile implies the displacement of all native ant species that disperse seeds. Seed transports in the non-invaded zone were carried out by eight ant species. In the invaded zone, L. humile workers removed and transported seeds to the nest. In vertebrate exclusion trials, we observed the same level of seed removal in the invaded and non-invaded zones. Two ﬁndings could explain this result. Although mean time to seed localization was higher for native ants (431.7 s) than that for L. humile (150.5 s), the mean proportion of seeds transported after being detected was higher (50.1%) in non-invaded than in invaded (16.8%) zones. The proportion of seeds removed and transported into an ant nest after an ant-seed interaction had dramatically reduced from non-invaded (41.9%) to invaded (7.4%) zones. The levels of seed dispersal by ants found prior to invasion are unlikely to be maintained in invaded zones. However, total replacement of seed dispersal function is possible if contact iteration ﬁnally offers similar levels or quantities of seeds reaching the nests. The results obtained conﬁrm that the Argentine ant invasion may affect myrmecochory dramatically in the Mediterranean biome.</style></abstract></record></records></xml>