|
|
Article: Behavioral interactions between fire ants and vertebrate nest predators at two black-capped vireo nests.
- Article from:
- Wilson Bulletin
- Article date:
- June 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Wilson Ornithological Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) is an invasive species that occurs throughout much of the southern United States (Porter et al. 1991, Callcott and Collins 1996, O'Keefe et al. 2000), where it poses a serious threat to terrestrial communities (Wojcik et al. 2001, Holway et al. 2002). It preys upon birds (Sikes and Arnold 1986, Allen et al. 1995, Kopachena et al. 2000), small mammals (Killion et al. 1995, Ferris et al. 1998), and reptilian eggs and hatchlings (Mount et al. 1981, Buhlmann and Coffman 2001, Parris et al. 2002). Fire ants may reduce population densities of small mammals (Killion et al. 1995, Ferris et al. 1998) and cause shifts in small mammal ...