Low Genetic Diversity in Linepithema Humile Important in Reducing/Eliminate the Aggression between Ants

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Low Genetic Diversity in Linepithema Humile Important in Reducing/Eliminate the Aggression between Ants

Introduction

The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, is an invasive species native to South America. In its native range, L. humile is multi-colonial maintaining distinct territorial boundaries with aggression between colonies occurring across relatively small spatial scales. Within introduced populations, however, L. humile is uni-colonial; producing large multiple-queen colonies that lack clear boundaries due to a general absence of intraspecific aggression. Of all known invasive ants, Argentina ant is undoubtedly the most successful and damaging, according to a ranking of Animal Planet Channel is the most extreme swarm the world, affecting greatly to invaded ecosystems. It has expanded throughout much of the world has spread throughout the Mediterranean coast, severely affecting the local fauna of ants and other arthropods, such as dragonflies.

The Argentine ant is tiny, extremely aggressive, and adaptable and facilitated these characteristics, it also spread over almost the entire world. Probably using ship-loads of soil and agricultural products reached the Animals Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South Africa and founded new colonies. They can reach the magnitude of millions of animals and can extend over vast areas. In California, extends such a "super-colony" of San Diego in the south to San Francisco to the north.

The power of this invasive species is reflected when scientists in California spotted a colony of Argentine ants stretching from the border with Mexico to Ukiah, about 160 km north of San Francisco. There is also a colony that covers northern Italy, southern France and reaches the Spanish Atlantic coast; it has been ranked at 6000 km.

Hypothesis

On the other hand one can assume that Argentine ants are finished with all native ant species that have invaded the place, producing drastic changes in the ecosystem. These ants are native habitat in ant colonies and periodically between different nests struggle for control of territory, producing a natural regulation of population. However, this does not happen when they invade lands farthest reaching gigantic form colonies (super colonies), covering large tracts of hundreds or thousands of miles.

Correlation Analysis

Correlations

Colony partitioning

colony fragments

Environmental condition

imposition of prey-derived

Colony partitioning

Pearson Correlation

1

.964**

.998**

.993**

Sig. (2-tailed)

.000

.000

.000

N

12

12

12

12

colony fragments

Pearson Correlation

.964**

1

.971**

.984**

Sig. (2-tailed)

.000

.000

.000

N

12

12

12

12

Environmental condition

Pearson Correlation

.998**

.971**

1

.998**

Sig. (2-tailed)

.000

.000

.000

N

12

12

12

12

imposition of prey-derived

Pearson Correlation

.993**

.984**

.998**

1

Sig. (2-tailed)

.000

.000

.000

N

12

12

12

12

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

From the above correlation table it can be observed that the correlation between Colony partitioning and colony fragments (r = 0.964, P = .000), Colony partitioning and Environmental condition (r = 0.998, P = 0.000) and Colony partitioning and imposition of the prey-derived (r = 0.993, P = 0.000) reported in the table is positive and significantly different from 0 because the p-value of 0.000 is lower than 0.05.

Regression Analysis

The coefficient of determination (R ²) is an indicator for judging the quality of a linear regression, single or multiple. On a value between 0 and 1, it measures the fit between the model and observed data. While the R² has its flaws but its usefulness is matched only by ...