Distribution of yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) and notes on other ant species at Wake Atoll, 6–21 October 2023

Simple item page
dc.coverage.spatialWake Atoll
dc.coverage.temporal6–21 October 2023
dc.creatorPlentovich, Sheldon
dc.creatorPeck, Robert
dc.creatorSachs, Elyse
dc.date.accessioned2024-11-04T22:15:53Z
dc.date.available2024-11-04T22:15:53Z
dc.date.issued2024-10-31
dc.description.abstractWake 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.
dc.formatTechnical Report
dc.format.extent20 pages
dc.identifier.citationPlentovich, 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
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10790/5394
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherUniversity of Hawai'i at Hilo
dc.rightshttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-NC/1.0/
dc.subjectAnoplolepis gracilipes
dc.subjectinvasive species
dc.subjectPacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument
dc.subjectseabirds
dc.subjectyellow crazy ants
dc.subjectWake Atoll
dc.titleDistribution of yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) and notes on other ant species at Wake Atoll, 6–21 October 2023
dcterms.rightsWork cannot be altered. Creative commons.
dcterms.typeText
prism.endingpage17
prism.publicationnameHawai'i Cooperative Studies Unit Technical Report Series
prism.startingpagei
prism.volume111

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
TR111_Plentovich_2024_Distribution of yellow crazy ants and notes on other ants at Wake Atoll Oct 2023.pdf
Size:
1.93 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.73 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Hawaii Cooperative Studies Unit (HCSU)