title: Where and how Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) spreads in Corsica?
abstract: The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Dolichoderinae), is one of the most widespread invasive ant species in the world. When established in optimal habitat, this species usually excludes most other local ants and can heavily impact other arthropods as well. Although Argentine ants have been present in southern Europe for more than 100 years, they were first noted in Corsica, a French Mediterranean island, in 1957 in only one urban station. In this study, we aimed to map precisely their geographical distribution in Corsica and to quantify their presence by using an infestation index. We recorded changes in the distribution of Argentine ants in Corsica over the past decade. Argentine ants appeared to be well established within their introduced range and spreading along the Corsican coasts principally through Human-mediated jump-dispersal but not homogenously.
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, Institut Méditerranéen d'Ecologie et de Paléoécologie, université Paul-Cézanne, Aix-en-Provence, France. olivierblight@aol.com
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Blight
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Orgeas
authors.forename: Marielle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Renucci
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tirard
authors.forename: Erick
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Provost
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000502:physiology*; D001118:Argentina; D004463:Ecology; D005602:France; D006802:Human Activities; D006801:Humans; D013045:Species Specificity