The contribution of the bark of isolated trees as habitat for ants in an urban landscape

Yasuda, Mika; Koike, Fumito

doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2009.05.008

Cited by 52 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…This result supports prior studies that indicate the presence of trees may be an important inßu-ence of ant species richness in urban areas (Pecarevic 2007, Yasuda andFomito 2009). Low species richness occurred in sparse and near total canopy cover, whereas greater species richness occurred at intermediate canopy cover.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Influences on the Structure of Suburban Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Communities and the Abundance of Tapinoma sessile

Toennisson¹,

Sanders

Klingeman

et al. 2011

env. entom.

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Urbanization can alter the organization of ant communities and affect populations of urban pest ants. In this study, we sampled ant communities in urban and suburban yards to understand the habitat factors that shape these communities and influence the abundance of a common pest species, Tapinoma sessile (Say). We used pitfall traps to sample ant communities and a combination of pitfall traps and baiting to collect T. sessile at 24 sites in Knoxville, TN. In total, we collected 46 ant species. Ant species richness ranged from seven to 24 species per yard. Ant species richness tended to be lowest near houses, whereas T. sessile abundance was highest near houses. The best predictors of ant species richness in yards were canopy cover and presence of leaf litter: ant species richness peaked at mid-levels of canopy cover and was negatively correlated with the presence of leaf litter. Tapinoma sessile abundance increased with presence of logs, boards, or landscaping timbers and leaf litter in yards. Our results indicate that ant communities and the abundance of particular pest species in these urban and suburban landscapes are shaped by many of the same factors that structure ant communities in less anthropogenically disturbed environments.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Influences on the Structure of Suburban Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Communities and the Abundance of Tapinoma sessile

Toennisson¹,

Sanders

Klingeman

et al. 2011

env. entom.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The importance of trees in disturbed habitats to maintain ant species diversity has been emphasized in several studies (Dunn 2000;Yasuda and Koike 2009). Our studies also support this conclusion and further suggest that the presence of trees may limit the impact of invasive species on native ant communities.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

High diversity in an urban habitat: are some animal assemblages resilient to long-term anthropogenic change?

2014

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Urbanization is thought to lead to the loss of biodiversity both because of habitat disturbance and the increased abundance of invasive species. However, most studies of biodiversity in cities are conducted on a short time scale, usually less than 3 years, and so miss the long-term dynamics of communities inhabiting these ecosystems. Here we use a study performed in the early 70's on North Carolina State University (Raleigh, USA) as a baseline to evaluate the long term effects of disturbance and introduced species on native ant communities. Ant species were sampled almost 40 years later using a variety of sampling techniques in order to maximize species collection. Our results show that while the number of exotic species increased, including three major invasive ants, native ant species richness remained high. Furthermore, our survey was able to add several new records for the area considered, in comparison of the 70's study, for a total of 89 species known from NCSU campus. After comparison with other studies, our results represent one of the most species-rich urban environments monitored and thus open encouraging perspective on how urban ecosystems could contribute to the preservation of the biodiversity of small-bodies organisms such as ants.

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“…The remaining area was covered by a monoculture of grass to create lawns. Previous studies show that the percentage canopy cover is an important factor influencing ant species richness [37]–[38], [41], [61]. A study by [24] demonstrated that land development can significantly affect ant diversity, even in areas that retain a substantial component of native vegetation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Urbanization on Ant Abundance and Diversity: A Temporal Examination of Factors Affecting Biodiversity

2012

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Numerous studies have examined the effect of urbanization on species richness and most studies implicate urbanization as the major cause of biodiversity loss. However, no study has identified an explicit connection between urbanization and biodiversity loss as the impact of urbanization is typically inferred indirectly by comparing species diversity along urban-rural gradients at a single time point. A different approach is to focus on the temporal rather than the spatial aspect and perform “before and after” studies where species diversity is cataloged over time in the same sites. The current study examined changes in ant abundance and diversity associated with the conversion of natural habitats into urban habitats. Ant abundance and diversity were tracked in forested sites that became urbanized through construction and were examined at 3 time points - before, during, and after construction. On average, 4.3±1.2 unique species were detected in undisturbed plots prior to construction. Ant diversity decreased to 0.7±0.8 species in plots undergoing construction and 1.5±1.1 species in plots 1 year after construction was completed. With regard to species richness, urbanization resulted in the permanent loss of 17 of the 20 species initially present in the study plots. Recovery was slow and only 3 species were present right after construction was completed and 4 species were present 1 year after construction was completed. The second objective examined ant fauna recovery in developed residential lots based on time since construction, neighboring habitat quality, pesticide inputs, and the presence of invasive ants. Ant diversity was positively correlated with factors that promoted ecological recovery and negatively correlated with factors that promoted ecological degradation. Taken together, these results address a critical gap in our knowledge by characterizing the short- and long-term the effects of urbanization on the loss of ant biodiversity.

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The contribution of the bark of isolated trees as habitat for ants in an urban landscape

Cited by 52 publications

References 46 publications

Influences on the Structure of Suburban Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Communities and the Abundance of Tapinoma sessile

Influences on the Structure of Suburban Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Communities and the Abundance of Tapinoma sessile

High diversity in an urban habitat: are some animal assemblages resilient to long-term anthropogenic change?

The Effect of Urbanization on Ant Abundance and Diversity: A Temporal Examination of Factors Affecting Biodiversity

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