University of Texas at El Paso DigitalCommons@UTEP Open Access Theses & Dissertations 2012-01-01 The mpI act of Solar Radiation on the Distribution of The Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Audrey Marie Hernando University of Texas at El Paso, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd Part of the Biology Commons, and the Environmental Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Hernando, Audrey Marie, "The mpI act of Solar Radiation on the Distribution of The Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)" (2012). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 2105. https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd/2105 This is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UTEP. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UTEP. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE IMPACT OF SOLAR RADIATION ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE RED IMPORTED FIRE ANT, Solenopsis invicta (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) AUDREY MARIE HERNANDO, M.S. Environmental Science & Engineering Program APPROVED: William P. Mackay, Ph.D., Chair Raed Aldouri, Ph.D. Jorge Gardea-Torresdey, Ph.D. Jerry Johnson, Ph.D. John Walton, Ph.D. Benjamin C. Flores, Ph.D Dean of the Graduate School. Copyright © by Audrey Marie Hernando 2012 Dedication My dissertation would not have been possible without the help and support of my family, committee, and friends. My family: my father, my sons and their families have believed in me and encouraged me. Without their tireless support, and patience, I would not have been able to complete this work. They were there to talk me into working when I felt too tired to go on, to feed me, and hold me up when I was weak and felt betrayed by my mind and body. They always loved me, no matter what. I could not have done this without the support of my committee. They did not give up on me. And…I must thank my friends, people I consider to be my family for their support and belief in me. Robert and Hilda Taylor have kept me going not only working on my dissertation but to overcome all of the challenges I’ve ever had in life. I must thank Dr. James Smash for trying his best to keep me on track. Kevin and Karen Campbell, have kept my spirit strong when I was weak. Dr. Bill Mackay, thank you for always being there for me. Thank you to the many other friends, who really believed I could do it. THE IMPACT OF SOLAR RADIATION ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE RED IMPORTED FIRE ANT, SOLENOPSIS INVICTA (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) by AUDREY MARIE HERNANDO, M.S. DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at El Paso in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Environmental Science & Engineering Program THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO December 2012 Acknowledgements I must acknowledge the help provided by my friends, Dr. Hilda Taylor, Dr. Jennifer Taylor, Dr. Thom Taylor, Dr. Andrew Page, and Abdiel Quesada. It is with their patience and help that got me through the rigors of this research. v Abstract This dissertation investigates the role of solar radiation on Solenopsis invicta, the red imported fire ant. This ant is considered a serious invasive pest in the southern United States. Four Texas cities where fire ants are found were studied: San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Wichita Falls, and the outlier, Lubbock. Shade angles were measured in eight compass directions within plots located along eight transect directions around buildings. Using the shade angle, solar radiation for different times of day and seasons were calculated. All of the cities were on the same precipitation isocline with the exception of Lubbock, Texas. The number of nests and the area of nest coverage was measured in each plot and compared to the solar radiation data. The data indicate that the time of day of lowest radiation, total radiation, and morning radiation are an important factor in number of nests found within a plot. In addition, temperature, precipitation, and distance from the building were also important in increased number and size of Solenopsis invicta nests. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................................v Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... ixi Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................................1 1.1 Background ....................................................................................................................1 1.2 Morphology....................................................................................................................4 1.3 Nests ...............................................................................................................................8 1.4 Behavior .......................................................................................................................11 1.5 Ecological Ramifications: Damage to Wildlife ...........................................................13 1.6 Ecological Ramifications: Structural Damage .............................................................14 1.7 Ecological Ramifications: Medical Ramifications ......................................................16 Chapter 2: Previous Research on Abiotic Factors ........................................................................19 2.1 Solar Radiation.............................................................................................................19 Chapter 3: Materials & Methods...................................................................................................23 3.1 Study Sites ...................................................................................................................23 vii 3.2 Protocol ........................................................................................................................25 Chapter 4: Results ........................................................................................................................23 4.1 Descriptive Statistics ....................................................................................................30 4.2 Inferential Results: Predicting Number of Nests Per Site ..........................................104 4.3 Inferential Results: Predicting Percent Nest Coverage Per Plot ................................108 4.4 Univariate Exploratory Analyses ...............................................................................111 Chapter 5: Conclusion.................................................................................................................115 References ....................................................................................................................................115 Appendix ......................................................................................................................................124 Vita…………….. .........................................................................................................................210 viii List of Tables Table 4.1: Variable Translation ..................................................................................... 94 Table 4.2: Simple Statistics For All Cities Combined … ................................................. 95 Table 4.3: Contingency Analysis of Texas City by Number ......................................... 98 Table 4.4: ANOVA: Depend Variable – No Of Nests/Plot All Citie … ......................... 99 Table 4.5: ANOVA: Dependent Variable – Coverage All Cities ................................. 100 Table 4.6: Radiation values at different times for number and coverage … ................. 101 Table 4.7: Uni & Multivariate Multi-Level Neg Binomial Regression Unadjusted .... 106 Table 4.8: Uni & Multivariate Multi-Level Neg Binomial Regression Adjusted … .... 107 Table 4.9: Univariate & Multi-Level Neg Binomial Regression Predict Coverage ...... 110 Table 4.10: Exploratory Unajusted Multi-Level Neg Binomial Reg Number………. .. 113 Table 4.11: Exploratory Unajusted Multi-Level Neg Binomial Reg Coverage ........... 114 ix List of Figures Figure 1.1: The expansion of the distribution of S. invicta.. ............................................... 3 Figure 1.2: A side view of a worker of Solenopsis invicta ................................................. 5 Figure 1.3: Head of a Solenopsis invicta worker ................................................................ 6 Figure 1.4. A range of worker ants is shown along with a queen ..................................... 7 Figure 1.5: Profile diagram of an imported fire ant mound. ............................................... 9 Figure 1.6: Red Imported Fire Ant Mound ....................................................................... 10 Figure 1.7: Fire