title: Decreased small mammal and on-host tick abundance in association with invasive red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta).
abstract: Invasive species may impact pathogen transmission by altering the distributions and interactions among native vertebrate reservoir hosts and arthropod vectors. Here, we examined the direct and indirect effects of the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) on the native tick, small mammal and pathogen community in southeast Texas. Using a replicated large-scale field manipulation study, we show that small mammals were more abundant on treatment plots where S. invicta populations were experimentally reduced. Our analysis of ticks on small mammal hosts demonstrated a threefold increase in the ticks caught per unit effort on treatment relative to control plots, and elevated tick loads (a 27-fold increase) on one common rodent species. We detected only one known human pathogen (Rickettsia parkeri), present in 1.4% of larvae and 6.7% of nymph on-host Amblyomma maculatum samples but with no significant difference between treatment and control plots. Given that host and vector population dynamics are key drivers of pathogen transmission, the reduced small mammal and tick abundance associated with S. invicta may alter pathogen transmission dynamics over broader spatial scales.
authors.affiliation: Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Adrian A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3412-0487
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Castellanos
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawai'i at Mãnoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew C I
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Gabriel L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Hamer
authors.affiliation: Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, Eagle Lake, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Morrow
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Micky D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Eubanks
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Pete D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Teel
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4955-048X
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hamer
authors.affiliation: Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA jlight2@tamu.edu.
authors.forename: Jessica E
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6462-3045
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Light
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants; D001179:Arthropod Vectors; D017753:Ecosystem; D007306:Insecticides; D058865:Introduced Species; D007814:Larva / Q000382:microbiology; D008322:Mammals / Q000469:parasitology*; D009758:Nymph / Q000382:microbiology; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013781:Texas; D013987:Ticks / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D007306:Insecticides
keywords: ecology; invasive species; species interactions; tick-borne pathogens; vector