After Invasions: Can an ant takeover change the rules?

A rare before-and-after study of the invasion of an exotic species shows the newcomer swiftly disassembling the community, say ant biologists.

Before Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) swept into a nature preserve in northern California, some 20 species of native ants worked the landscape in largely segregated domains, says Nathan Sanders of Humboldt State University in Arcata, Calif.