Arboreal myrmecofauna of Warsaw parks

Abstract

W ojciech C z e c h o w s k i , W iesława C z e c h o w s k a , Jan in a P a l m o w s k a Arboreal myrmecofauna of Warsaw parks [W ith 4 tables in the text] Abstract. Nesting of ants in tree trunks in Warsaw parks was studied. In 3 parks studied a total of 677 trees was inspected, and 237 nests of 8 ant species were recorded. The most frequently recorded were colonies of Lasius brunneus (L atr.)-40,5%, Myrmica laevinodis N y l.-29.5%, and L. niger (L.)-26.6%. The ant nests were found in trees belonging to 36 species. The most frequently inhabited trees were limes-25%, maples-20%, and oaks-16% of all colonies. Z oocoenological investigations in the h ab itats of urb an green in W arsaw were carried o u t in the seventies (C z e c h o w s k i 1986, 1990a). They vielded, am ong others, several m yrm ecological papers (P i s a r s k i , C z e c h o w s k i 1978, P i s a r s k i 1981, 1982, C z e c h o w s k i , P i s a r s k i 1990, C z e c h o w s k i 1990b). They were m ade on the basis of m aterial from B arber pitfall trap s and soil sam ples-the stan d ard m ethods of estim ating the ab u n d an ce of the epigeic and soil fauna. A part from this three W arsaw p ark s were searched in 1976 for ant-hills situated (com pletely or partially) in the wood (touchw ood, under the bark) of grow ing trees. T he results of these studies are given in the present paper. The objects of the investigations were: a su b u rb an m an o r park (5 ha) in U rsynów an d two central parks the-Saxon G ard en (O gród Saski) (16 ha) and Łazienki K rólew skie (86 ha); in all of them the tree stands are rich, differentiated in respect o f age and species, and they are m ore o r less carefully cultivated. M ore detailed geo b o tan ic characteristics of these parks are given in a p aper by K u b i c k a et al. (1986). 677 trees were inspected in all the parks: 97 in U rsynów , 100 in the Saxon G ard en an d 480 in the Łazienki park. O ld trees potentially suitable as nesting places for ants were taken into consideration. In a few cases, particularly lush bushes were inspected, too. RESULTS Ant-hills were found in 209 trees, i.e. in 31% of those inspected. 237 nests were recorded th ere (some trees had 2 o r 3 colonies of different species). T he percentage of trees inhabited by ants was not the sam e in the tree stands of p articu lar parks. In the Saxon G a rd e n there were 22 trees (22%) w ith a t least one nest, in U rsynów-27

Species diversity and nestedness of ant assemblages in an urban environment

“…The data originated from an extensive survey of the species composition of the fauna in four urban biotopes in Warsaw Pisarski & Czechowski, 1978;Vepsäläinen & Pisarski, 1982;Pisarski & Vepsäläinen, 1987;Czechowski et al, 1990;Czechowski & Pisarski, 1990;Czechowski, 1991;Czechowska & Czechowski, 2003;Czechowski & lipiski, 2008) for which the main determinants of spatiotemporal patterns in species composition and abundance were unknown.These biotopes differ greatly from each other in terms of the type and intensity of human pressure and degree of habitat transformation, and provide an opportunity to study the diversity of ant assemblages along a gradient of urbanization. More specifically, we (1) investigate the structure of ant assemblages recorded in the main types of urban green areas in Warsaw.…”

Green infrastructure of a city and its biodiversity: take Warsaw as an example

“…For example, raking leaf litter intensively has a serious reducing effect on the species richness of snails (Klausnitzer 1987(Klausnitzer , 1989, worms (Kasprzak 1986), julides (Jędryczkowski 1982), spiders (Krzyżanowska et al 1981), cicada (Chudzicka 1982, carabid beetles (Czechowski 1982) and parasite wasps (Garbarczyk 1982). Locally the species spectrum of carabid beetles, click beetles and springtails shifted towards underground living species, due to intensive measures of management (Czechowski 1982, Nowakowski 1982, Sterzyńska 1982, while the spectrum of ant species shifted towards species which live in trees (Czechowski et al 1990). The poverty of invertebrates on such localities is of great disadvantageous for many mammal species and birds (Dickman 1987, Mulsow 1982 respectively; see Fig.…”