What is it about?
Fire ants are considered serious invasive pests worldwide, affecting both human and animal biodiversity. Contrastingly, they do not cause problems so often in their native territory, where nature keeps them at bay. Until... the extent of human disturbances unbalance their environment to the point that they can run awry. This paper describes how a native fire ant is expanding towards forested fragments through heavy-traffic highways, and apparently spreading from a sea port.
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Why is it important?
Understanding how biological invasions progress can help us save a lot of money and preserve nature. This is a world-top invasive pest species that may be causing more damage in their homeland than previously thought.
Perspectives
This is a rare study connecting the population structure of fire ants in their native range with their invasive potential. There is much more that can be done in this area, as most studies with the species come from areas where they are alien invaders.
Dr Eduardo G P Fox
IBCCF / UFRJ
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Facet of Human Impact: Solenopsis invicta Buren, 1972 Spreading around the Atlantic Forest, Diversity, February 2023, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/d15020194.
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