Invasive goldenrods affect abundance and diversity of grassland ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Goldenrods (Solidago sp.) are currently one of the most invasive plant species in Central Europe. They threaten abandoned semi-natural wet grasslands which are extremely vulnerable to plant succession and invasions. We assessed whether Solidago invasion affects ants, keystone organisms essential to proper ecosystem functioning and to the existence of myrmecophilous Phengaris butterflies. Ten meadows containing 60 plots with and without goldenrods were studied. We found a strong, negative dependence between the presence of goldenrod cover and the number of ant nests (more than 50 % reduction compared to control) as well as the number of species, and changes in species composition. Myrmica ants, essential hosts for Phengaris larvae, were among the most affected species by goldenrod invasion. Immediate action should be undertaken for restoration and maintenance of biodiversity hotspots affected by goldenrod invasion.

• Publication year

  2016

• Venue

  Journal of Insect Conservation

• Publication date

  2016-01-11

• Fields of study

  Biology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1007/s10841-016-9843-4
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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