Are invasive fire ants kept in check by native aerial insectivores?
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Helms JA
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4892241 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Are invasive fire ants kept in check by native aerial insectivores?
Helms Jackson A JA Godfrey Aaron P AP Ames Tayna T Bridge Eli S ES
Biology letters 20160501 5
Aerial predator-prey interactions may impact populations of many terrestrial species. Here, we use altitude loggers to study aerial foraging in a native insectivore, the purple martin (Progne subis), in the southern USA. Purple martins fed primarily on mating queens and males of the invasive red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), and doubled their foraging efficiency by doing so. Across the USA, purple martins likely eat billions of fire ant queens each year, potentially impacting the sprea ...[more]
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