Red Imported Fire Ant Impacts on Upland Arthropods in Southern Mississippi (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION The invasion of non-native species into new habitats has been aided by anthropogenic transformation of land cover and land use, as well as the increasing extent and volume of global trade (Hobbs, 2000). Introductions of new species may be deliberate or accidental (McNeely, 2000), but regardless of the introduction mechanism, non-native species often have negative impacts on native biota and economic and ecological systems. Introduced species may outcompete or prey on native species, resulting in disruption to ecological communities and processes (Jenkins, 1996). Generalist invasive species may become ecological dominants, leading to trophic simplification (Vinson, 1994). In addition to ecological costs, economic costs associated with non-indigenous species are considerable. Pimentel et al. (2001), for example, estimated that the economic costs of non-indigenous species for the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, India and Brazil exceeded US $314 billion per year.