Distribution of yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) and notes on other ant species at Wake Atoll, 6–21 October 2023
Date
2024-10-31
Contributor
Advisor
Department
Instructor
Depositor
Speaker
Researcher
Consultant
Interviewer
Narrator
Transcriber
Annotator
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Hawai'i at Hilo
Volume
111
Number/Issue
Starting Page
i
Ending Page
17
Alternative Title
Abstract
Wake Atoll, located in the central Pacific Ocean, is a tropical coral atoll comprised of three islands totaling 696 ha of emergent land. Wake Atoll supports at least 17 species of non-native ants, but one species, the yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), is especially harmful to ecosystems, including seabirds, which are federally protected species and nest throughout Wake Atoll. Our objective was to map the distribution of yellow crazy ants (YCA) across Wake Atoll to provide U.S. Air Force managers with information that could inform an eradication strategy for this species. In addition, we documented the presence of other ant species
identified during our survey. We used a 50 x 50-m cell-based sampling grid to survey for YCA and other ant species. YCA were widespread across the atoll, occupying all three islands and were detected in 566 of the 3,675 (15.4%) cells surveyed, covering an area of about 142 ha. The highest proportion of cells containing YCA was on Wilkes Island (99 of 400 cells or 24.8%), followed by Wake Island (395 of 2,760 cells or 14.3%) and Peale Island (72 of 518 cells or 14.0%). YCA detections on Wilkes Island were restricted to Wilkes South (99 of 202 cells or 49.0%); no YCA were found on Wilkes North, an important area that supports the most diverse assemblage of nesting seabirds on Wake Atoll. Based on technologies developed to eradicate YCA from Johnston Atoll and elsewhere, eradicating YCA from Wake Atoll appears technically feasible. The occurrence of discrete populations (i.e., clusters of occupied cells separated from other clusters of occupied cells) within and among islands could allow a stepwise strategy where the short-term outcome of the treatment of one population is independent of the outcome of another treatment. Without action, the high-density YCA population on Wilkes South could breach the narrow (~50 m), sometimes dry, channel separating Wilkes North and South, posing a serious threat to nesting seabirds present on Wilkes North. Eradicating YCA from Wilkes South would create a buffer from YCA and reduce the threat of northward movement of YCA. We also detected 12 ant species other than YCA during our survey, including Lepisiota frauenfeldi, a new record for the atoll.
Description
Keywords
Anoplolepis gracilipes, invasive species, Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, seabirds, yellow crazy ants, Wake Atoll
Citation
Plentovich, S., R. Peck, and E. Sachs. 2024. Distribution of yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) and notes on other ant species at Wake Atoll, 6–21 October 2023. Hawai‘i Cooperative Studies Unit Technical Report HCSU-111. University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. 20 pages. http://hdl.handle.net/10790/5394
Extent
20 pages
Format
Technical Report
Geographic Location
Wake Atoll
Time Period
6–21 October 2023
Related To
Related To (URI)
Table of Contents
Rights
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/
Work cannot be altered. Creative commons.
Work cannot be altered. Creative commons.
Rights Holder
Local Contexts
Collections
Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.