Asymmetric Competition and Population Dynamics in the Fire Ant

火蚁的不对称竞争和种群动态

• 批准号: 8920710
• 负责人: Walter Tschinkel
• 金额: $ 19.5万
• 依托单位: Florida State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1990
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1990-01-15 至 1993-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=8920710&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Asymmetric; Competition; Population; Dynamics; Fire

The fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, tends to colonize newly disturbed land in large numbers, creating initially very dense populations of newly founded colonies. As these colonies grow, they compete with one another through brood-stealing and territorial warfare. The resulting colony mortality causes the population to self-thin as colonies and their territories grow. Large colonies expand at the expense of small ones. By a combination of experimental and statistical methods, Dr. Tschinkel will determine how colony size differences are created and how they and initial colony density affect the density, spacing and size distribution of colonies during thinning. He will also study the factors which predict growth and survivorship of individual colonies and the behavioral aspects of competition. This research will make important contributions to understanding population dynamics of these social insects, especially the importance of colony size and similarities between ant and plant populations. In addition, the work has practical implications since attempts at fire ant control or management have often failed because of the poor understanding of its population dynamics. This study will help fill this gap and thus improve future control strategies.

红火蚁，Solenopsis invicta，倾向于新的殖民地 大量扰动的土地， 新建立的殖民地。 随着这些殖民地的成长， 它们通过偷取幼仔相互竞争， 领土战争。 由此产生的蜂群死亡率导致 随着殖民地及其领土的增长，人口会自我减少。 大殖民地的扩张是以牺牲小殖民地为代价的。 通过实验和统计相结合的方法， 钦克尔博士将确定蜂群大小的差异 以及它们和初始菌落密度如何影响 菌落的密度、间距和大小分布 变薄 他还将研究预测增长的因素 个体群体的存活率以及 竞争的方面。 这项研究将为 了解这些群居昆虫的种群动态， 特别是蜂群大小和 蚂蚁和植物种群。 此外，该工作具有实用性 由于试图控制或管理火蚁， 经常失败，因为对它的理解不足。 种群动态 这项研究将有助于填补这一空白， 改善未来的控制策略。