Growing Industries, Growing Invasions? The Case of the Argentine Ant in Vineyards of Northern Argentina.

Maria Schulze-Sylvester,José Corronca,Carolina Paris

doi:10.3390/insects9010011

Abstract

The invasive Argentine ant causes ecological and economic damage worldwide. In 2011, this species was reported in vineyards of Cafayate, a wine-producing town in the Andes, Argentina. While the local xeric climate is unsuitable for Argentine ants, populations could establish in association with vineyards where human activity and irrigation facilitate propagule introduction and survival. In 2013–2014, we combined extensive sampling of the area using ant-baits with monitoring of the change in land use and vineyard cultivated area over the past 15 years. Our results revealed that the species has thus far remained confined to a relatively isolated small area, owing to an effective barrier of dry shrublands surrounding the infested vineyards; yet the recent expansion of vineyard acreage in this region will soon connect this encapsulated area with the rest of the valley. When this happens, vulnerable ecosystems and the main local industry will be put at risk. This case provides a rare opportunity to study early invasion dynamics and reports, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time, the Argentine ant in high altitude agroecosystems.

Highlights

The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (L. humile) (Mayr, 1868), is native to the Paraná River watershed [1], but its invasive range covers parts of Europe, North America, South Africa, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Hawaii, Easter Island, Azores, Madeira, Gran Canary, and other oceanic islands [2]
These figures are in accordance with our observations in situ and using satellite pictures, which yielded an increase of 88.6% over a similar period
The overall distribution of vineyard land shifted from a situation where up to two-thirds of all vineyards were situated to the south of Cafayate in 2003 into the present situation where vineyards are distributed at the northern and southern sides of the town (Figure 1C)

Summary

Introduction

The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (L. humile) (Mayr, 1868), is native to the Paraná River watershed [1], but its invasive range covers parts of Europe, North America, South Africa, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Hawaii, Easter Island, Azores, Madeira, Gran Canary, and other oceanic islands [2]. Linepithema humile drives changes in the populations of other arthropods (e.g., flies, beetles, spiders, and wasps) which can subsequently lead to impacts on a great variety of other taxa, such as plants, birds, and reptiles [4,5]. Owing to their mutualistic relationship with several honeydew-excreting hemipterans (e.g., scales, aphids, mealybugs), the Argentine ant is considered a pest organism in agriculture. Researchers in California, South Africa, and New Zealand recommend control of L. humile in order to control mealybugs in vineyards [6,7,9,10]

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion