Is cooperation relevant to ant invasiveness? Insights from cooperative food transport

Abstract

Cooperative behavior can enhance fitnessand ecological success. However, its role in facilitatingbiological invasions remains underexplored. Toassess the occurrence and importance of intraspecificcooperation in invasive species, we examine cooperativetransport—working together to move largeobjects—across ant species. Specifically, we evaluateits prevalence in the world’s top invasive ants andcompare its occurrence between invasive and noninvasivespecies using a previously published datasetof ants from East Asia. Additionally, we conducta field experiment comparing cooperative transportin the invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile)and a non-invasive, ecologically similar species(Dorymyrmex tener). Our literature review, complementedby experiments with the invasive Wasmanniaauropunctata, confirms that cooperative transportis present in all five of the world’s most invasive antspecies. In the analyzed dataset, all invasive speciesexhibited cooperative transport, whereas only 60%of the non-invasive species did. In the field experiments,L. humile cooperatively transported more baitsand showed greater accuracy toward its nests than D.tener. This cooperative ability may contribute to theinvasion success of L. humile by enhancing resourceacquisition and competitive dominance. Our findingssuggest that cooperative transport is more prevalentamong ants than previously reported and may be particularlycommon in invasive species. However, furtherresearch with a broader representation of globalant diversity and a larger sample size is needed to validatethis pattern. Intraspecific cooperation could playa key role in invasion success, highlighting the needto incorporate cooperative behavioral traits into studiesof species invasions and management strategies.