Does Prescribed Fire Facilitate Fire Ant Invasions in Coastal Prairies or Aid Management by Improving Mound Search Efforts?

Abstract

Abstract We established a high-intensity prescribed-fire experiment in shrub-dominated coastal prairie to quantify (1) the proportion of Red Imported Fire Ant mounds that are likely to be missed by applicators of individual mound-based chemical treatments in prairie, based on the number of mounds found in unburned prairie compared to recently burned areas, and (2) to track changes in the densities of Red Imported Fire Ant and native Red Harvester Ant mounds in response to growing-season prescribed fires conducted during drought. First, our data suggest insecticide applicators are likely to miss 48% of Red Imported Fire Ant mounds when applying individual mound treatments in shrub-infested prairie. Second, fire treatments did not increase Red Imported Fire Ant or decrease Red Harvester Ant populations. Prescribed fire may therefore provide an advantageous management option for prairie managers that does not increase densities of Red Imported Fire Ants, and maintains mound densities of Red Harvester Ants, w...