Some Lizard Species Consume Fire Ants; How Is This Consumption Habit Affecting the Species' Survival?

In new research, study authors discovered that lizards-eating fire ants, venous and invasive pests that exist in many parts of the world, could gain some prediction from their stinging bites.

A ScienceAlert report specified that, by digesting and processing the ants, including their venom, the immune system of the lizards may turn primed to combat it, a bit "like having ant venom vaccine."

Such a study suggests native species can adjust to shield themselves from the invaders, enabling them to co-exist, instead of being eradicated by change in ecology.

According to Penn State biologist Tracy Lankilde, they know that lizards from areas that have fire ants have different immune profiles compared to lizards in places without them.

The biologist also explained that, since the immune system is quite crucial for survival, they wanted to identify if the difference in immune profiles can be directly attributed to lizards often frequently being stung by ants eating fire ants or anything else.

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Study on Eastern Fence Lizards

The study published in Biological Invasions was carried out on eastern fence lizards, also called Sceloporus undulatus, which are native to the eastern US.

Essentially, fire ants or Solenopsis invicta are native to South America and are considered as invasive pest in the US. Their bites stimulatie an immune response in a wide range of lizard species. For eastern fence lizards, in particular, a sufficient dose of fire ant poison can be deadly.

Essentially, ants have existed in the same range as lizards for seven decades, and researchers noticed that the latter has a different immune profile from eastern fence lizards that do not live close to fire ants.

Consequently, they carried out research, exposing the so-called "naive" lizards to fire ant venom. For a three-week period, one group of lizards, the Fed group, was fed fire ants, and another group, the Stung group, comprising 18 lizards, was bitten by fire ants thrice each week.

Measures of Immune System Analyzed

After three weeks, a similar USA News report said, the lizards were analyzed for six different measures of the immune system. Catherine Tylan of Penn State, a biologist who led the study, said they performed a comprehensive assessment of most branches of the immune system, which include measures of the innate immune system, resources that an individual is born with, and the adaptive system, which is developing immune resources from exposure to foreign substances like an infection or vaccine.

This, added Tylan, allowed them to see how different immune resources are allotted in response to fire ant exposure.

Compared to the Stung group, the Fed lizards were found to have three elevated measures. In addition, they were found to have an increase in white blood type also known as "basophils" which is accountable for inflammatory reactions during an immune response, an increase in an immunoglobulin antibody or IgM that is known for responding to fire ant venom, as well as an increase in complement activity, which is supporting the immune response of the body.

Adjusting to Changing Ecological Conditions

Identifying how fire ants are altering the immune profile of the lizards provides information on one way in which native species can adjust to changing ecological conditions, a similar Phys.org report specified.

The potentially protective impacts of sub-lethal consumption of poisonous or venomous invasive species, according to the study investigators, may allow native populations to survive and coexist with these rather deadly invaders.

Related information about lizards eating ants is shown on MyBackyardBirding's YouTube video below:

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