The Effects of the Invading Tawny Crazy Ants Ecology is the branch in biology that deals with the interactions between organisms and their environment. Tawny crazy ants are an example of ecology by the way they impact ecosystems as invasive species due to the absence of natural predators, pathogens and competitors (Kronauer, 2014). These invasive ant species were found in Texas around 2002 commonly known as tawny (Rasberry) ants and now classified as Nylanderia fulva (Ant, 2013). Tawny crazy ants affect ecosystems as an invasive species. The Red Imported Fire Ants, Solenopsis invicta, are being successfully outcompeted and even displaced by the crazy ants (Gotzek et al., 2012).
Populations are under increasing threats from humans by fragmentation of habitat, agricultural practices, chemical use such as pesticides and herbicides, invasive non-native plants, and disease caused mainly by the use of commercial bees for honey and other products (Kearns et. al 1998). To ensure that the relationship between the pollinator and the flower remain intact, conservation efforts must be effectively executed to ensure that both bees and the flowers they use are protected. History of Bees: Many hymenoptera species exist in the world. These include wasps, ants, and bees- all of which show a unique social structure and communication abilities.
Colony Collapse Disorder The colony collapse disorder of honeybees has become a very problematic issue. The Natural Resources Defense Council states that nearly that nearly one-third of all honeybee colonies in the country have vanished, putting many fruits and vegetables at risk. A controversial type of pesticide called neonicotinoids has become a prime suspect in this phenomenon, as it affects bees’ sense of direction and making it hard for them to find home. In order to prevent this disaster from continuously occurring, neonicotinoids should be banned or used more sparingly and replaced with an alternative type of pesticide. Author Brandon Keim, author of article “Controversial Pesticide Linked to Bee Collapse” states neonicotinoids began to be used in the mid-1990s as less-toxic alternatives to human-damaging pesticides.
Insect saliva inactivates blood components and manipulates host immunity The animal blood feeding is an essential event associated with the life cycle of mosquitoes. The female mosquito applies specific strategies for sucking blood from their animal hosts. The mosquito injects saliva at the site of piercing the host skin before drawing the blood. Mosquito saliva is the soup of a complex array of pharmacological agents that perform numerous important functions to facilitate the process of blood feeding [16]. During blood feeding, the damage caused to the host blood vessels usually results in vasoconstriction that may increase insect feeding time due to restricted blood flow to their mouth parts.
Chloe Mott Block 2A November 15, 2011 Ignorance is Lethal Rachel Carson, a biologist, wrote a book entitled Silent Spring that helped change American’s attitudes about their environment. In the Silent Spring passage Carson describes how farmers rid themselves of vexing or inconvenient creatures, a majority of them being birds. The farmers kill the birds by spraying a poison called parathion, which is capable of “protecting” the area in which it is administered for extended amounts of time. In the passage, Carson provides all three types of rational appeals-ethical, logical and emotional- in an effort to raise awareness and encourage action about the issue of using poisons that have the potential to kill animals. She expresses these appeals by using various rhetorical strategies such as diction and syntax.
The cane toad or Bufo Marinus is native specie to Central America and South America. In 1935, after the cane toad was intentionally introduced from Hawaii, the species began its ecologically sustainable control of the insects (greyback beetle, frenchi beetle) threatening commercial sugar cane, it continued to eradicate, but in a form as a problematic issue. Due to the animal’s large dominant size, reproductive capabilities, generalized eating habits and aggressive behavior, the cane toad phenomenon went from good to disastrous, providing a threat to biodiversity. The cane toad has been reclaimed as an ecological disaster after it has mounted a very successful intrusion into Australia and many other countries around the world. In addition,
Environmentally, a positive impact is “as generalist feeders, they can have more than one food source and other insects are their prey (University of Arkansas division of agriculture, 2006). In the South Eastern United States, fire ants eat the natural predator of the sugar cane and cotton (Roberts, 2011). When fleas and ticks are involved, fire ants eat the larval and pupal stage fleas and ticks and reduce the chances of Lyme disease and other nasty diseases (Roberts, 2011). The negative impacts of fire ants on the environment are the disfiguring of landscapes, and the stinging of people, pets and livestock (Steven Tvedten. The Best Control (2nd Edition).
1) This hostile takeover changed the EHB’s genetic code. The Africanized honey bee has also been called “killer bee” due to its’ unique defense system that has killed over a thousand people. It is not that AHB’s have more powerful venom but that they attack
This strong species is a voracious predator of insects and other small prey. Cane toads possess the capability of poisoning their predators. The introduction of this species to Australia was directed as a form of biological control. Cane toads were supposedly a ‘solution’ to the pest beetles in the sugar cane industry in 1935, before the use of agricultural chemicals became widespread. Although this ‘solution’ failed in its attempts to control the issue, cane toads were very successful at invading the ecosystems of Australia’s north.
In both European and Africanized bees, the queens are responsible for reproduction in their colonies. Their drones mate with the queen, while the workers, or sterile females, collect nectar and pollen and defend their colony. European and Africanized workers have stingers as their defense mechanism. When either type of bee stings a human or animal, it leaves both their stinger and their venom sac behind, and this soon after leads to the death of the bee. Also, although the African honey bee looks like the original European honey bee, it can be differentiated by its slightly smaller size and its more aggressive behavioral characteristics .