Using ants as bioindicators in land management: simplifying assessment of ant community responses

Abstract

Summary1. The indicator qualities of terrestrial invertebrates are widely recognized in the context of detecting ecological change associated with human land-use. However, the use of terrestrial invertebrates as bioindicators remains more a topic of scientific discourse than a part of land-management practice, largely because their inordinate numbers, taxonomic challenges and general unfamiliarity make invertebrates too intimidating for most land-management agencies. Terrestrial invertebrates will not be widely adopted as bioindicators in land management until simple and efficient protocols have been developed that meet the needs of land managers. 2. In Australia, ants are one group of terrestrial insects that has been commonly adopted as bioindicators in land management, and this study examined the reliability of a simplified ant assessment protocol designed to be within the capacity of a wide range of land managers. 3. Ants had previously been surveyed intensively as part of a comprehensive assessment of biodiversity responses to SO 2 emissions from a large copper and lead smelter at Mt Isa in the Australian semi-arid tropics. This intensive ant survey yielded 174 species from 24 genera, and revealed seven key patterns of ant community structure and composition in relation to habitat and SO 2 levels. 4. We tested the extent to which a greatly simplified ant assessment was able to reproduce these results. Our simplified assessment was based on ant 'bycatch' from bucket-sized (20-litre) pitfall traps used to sample vertebrates as part of the broader biodiversity survey. We also greatly simplified the sorting of ant morphospecies by considering only large (using a threshold of 4 mm) species, and we reduced sorting time by considering only the presence or absence of species at each site. In this manner, the inclusion of ants in the assessment process required less than 10% of the effort demanded by the intensive ant survey. 5. Our simplified protocol reproduced virtually all the key findings of the intensive survey. This puts effective ant monitoring within the capacity of a wide range of land managers.

A comparison of the leaf-litter ant fauna in a secondary atlantic forest with an adjacent pine plantation in southeastern Brazil

“…It is the dominant ant taxon of the New World ground assemblages and has been highlighted as an ideal focal group for the assessment of local ant biodiversity (Wilson 2003). The strong negative responses of Pheidole species to forest modification indicates that the genus should be also evaluated as a surrogate for assessment of ant community responses to habitat modifi cation, in the context of simplifying the protocol in studies on ecological change associated with human land-use (Andersen et al 2002).…”

“…Ants are commonly used as a focal group of insect biodiversity studies (Wolters et al 2006) and environmental monitoring work (Andersen et al 2004, Hoffmann & Andersen 2003, Yves et al 2004, because they are ubiquitous, diverse and abundant (Wilson & Hölldobler 2005), sensitive to habitat changes (Andersen et al 2002), have a straightforward taxonomy , and because of the general ease with which they can be studied , Philpott & Armbrecht 2006. This study describes the results of an analysis of the leaflitter ant fauna found in an area reforested with Pinus elliottii in relation to an adjacent relatively old undisturbed secondary Atlantic Forest, both localized in southeastern Brazil.…”

Ant species distribution along a topographic gradient in a "terra-firme" forest reserve in Central Amazonia

“…Besides the high abundance, ants are a diverse group, with more than 12,500 described species (Antbase.org, 2009). Ants have also been widely used as bioindicators in land management (Andersen et al, 2002), because of their roles as seed dispersers (Hughes (Dyer & Letourneau, 1999), and ecosystems engineers (Folgarait, 1998). The use of ants or other organisms as bioindicators is more useful when supported by relationships with environment changes at spatial scales relevant to the management of biological reserves.…”

O conhecimento local sobre a fauna edáfica e suas relações com o solo em agroecossistema familiar de base ecológica: um estudo de caso

“…As variáveis biológicas e químicas altamente correlacionadas entre si foram: Formicidae e Araneae; Chilopoda e capacidade de troca de cátions; Enchytraeidae e manganês. Formigas e aranhas podem ser consideradas sensíveis às práticas de manejo, sendo que a utilização de práticas inadequadas refletem na comunidade de aranhas (ANDERSEN et al, 2002), porém, nesta pesquisa, estes grupos apresentaram uma baixa densidade. A presença de formigas pode refletir na fase de recuperação do solo, com uma variabilidade de hábitos alimentares e vivendo em agregados com alta densidade (ANDERSEN et al, 2002).…”