Monitoring of ant species surrounding the ports of South Korea

By

Kim, Dayeong
Lee, Heejo
Kim, Nanghee
Jang, Beom-Jun
Kim, Dong Eon

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-1-20

Original Publication

Biodiversity data journal

Volume

13

Pages

1--19

Subjects

Alien ants , Nylanderia bourbonica , Paratrechina longicornis , port investigation , Solenopsis geminata , Solenopsis invicta , Trichomyrmex destructor

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia Pensoft Publishers [2013]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e142634

 

Abstract

The introduction and spread of invasive insects is accelerating worldwide owing to human activities, such as trade and transportation development; in particular, ports are hubs and routes for invasive insects, including ants. We surveyed ant populations in eight ports from 2021 to 2023 using pitfall traps. A total of 316,975 ants belonging to four subfamilies, 26 genera and 44 species were identified as Tetramorium tsushimae, Lasius niger, Brachyponera chinensis and Nylanderia flavipes. The statistical analysis showed that the highest values by index were for the Incheon Port (0.25), the diversity index was for the Daesan Port (2.00), the evenness index was for the Daesan Port (0.71) and the richness index was for the Gamman Port (2.13). Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis (NMDS) indicated that ants around the Ports of Gamman, Ulsan and Gwangyang had more dominant species than those around the other ports. Five species of alien ants, including Solenopsis invicta, Solenopsis geminata, Paratrechina longicornis, Trichomyrmex destructor and Nylanderia bourbonica were identified at Gamman Port, Paratrechina longicornis at Ulsan Port and Gwangyang Port. This study provides comprehensive insights into the distribution and status of ants around ports, offering foundational data for the early detection of alien ants to reduce the risk of their settlement and spread and to respond proactively.