Effects of Red Imported Fire Ants on arthropod community associated with Green-flowered Milkweed plants occupied by Monarch Butterfly eggs and larvae.

• In Event: Poster Presentation and Judging for: Anthropology; Botany; Conservation Ecology; Environmental Science; Freshwater Science; Geosciences; Mathematics & Computer Science; Neuroscience; Physics & Eng; Science Education; Terrestrial Ecology & Management.
  In Poster Session: Conservation Ecology Poster Session

Abstract

Declines in Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) populations have resulted in an interest in the potential effects of Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA) (Solenopsis invicta) on the survival of monarch larvae in Texas. A pilot study conducted in 2016 suggested that RIFA may facilitate monarch survival through indirect effects. Such indirect effects would depend strongly on the inter- and intra-guild interactions among arthropods on and surrounding the host plants. This study addresses the hypothesis that RIFA might cause a density-dependent trophic cascade in the milkweed arthropod community that effects monarch survival. The study will identify major components in the system and look at the relationship between RIFA and these components. These relationships will assist in making management decisions regarding the ecological communities that host monarch larvae in Texas.

Authors

• Kalynn Hudman, Texas A&M University - Commerce

• Howard Crenshaw, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

• Jeremy Mayhew, Texas Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

• Jeff Kopachena, Texas A&M University- Commerce