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Ant Community Change Across a Ground Vegetation Gradient in North Florida’S Insect Longleaf Pine Flatwoods

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Ant Community Change Across a Ground Vegetation Gradient in North Florida’S Insect Longleaf Pine Flatwoods Journal of Lubertazzi D, Tschinkel WR. 2003. Ant community change across a ground vegetation gradient in north Florida’s Insect longleaf pine flatwoods. 17pp. Journal of Insect Science, 3:21, Available online: insectscience.org/3.21 Science insectscience.org Ant community change across a ground vegetation gradient in north Florida’s longleaf pine flatwoods David Lubertazzi1 and Walter R. Tschinkel2 1 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3043 2 Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4370 [email protected] Received 14 January 2003, Accepted 12 June 2003, Published 24 July 2003 Abstract Ant communities in longleaf pine habitats are poorly known and hence the naturally occurring ant assemblages of a large portion of southeastern North America are not well understood. This study examined the diverse ant community found in the longleaf pine flatwoods of north Florida and tested how ant diversity changes along a herbaceous ground cover gradient. Restoring the ground cover to its original floral composition is an important focus of longleaf pine conservation and hence it is important to understand how native faunal communities vary with ground cover variation. Using 4 sampling methods, we characterized the ant community and analyzed its within- habitat variation among 12 study sites. We found the highest plot species richness (55 species) and within-habitat species richness (72 species) ever recorded for North American ants. The ants formed three distinct communities. The low-diversity arboreal and subterranean assemblages varied little across forest stands while the diversity of the species-rich ground foraging ant community was negatively correlated with percent herbaceous cover. The imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (monogyne form), was unexpectedly found to be abundant in high herbaceous cover sites. Floral restoration of the pine flatwoods, which is increasing the proportion of herbaceous cover, is likely to cause an increase in the abundance of the imported fire ant. Keywords: Formicidae, Pinus palustris, Solenopsis invicta, conservation biology, ant community Abbreviation: ANF Apalachicola National Forest Introduction pine habitats is among the highest known for any temperate zone plant communities (Peet and Allard 1993), studies of faunal Community level studies of ants in longleaf pine (Pinus communities in these habitats are rare (reviews in Hermann 1993; palustris) habitats have investigated subsets of the overall ant Stout and Marion 1993). Animal research has focused on a few community (Tschinkel 1988; Prather 1997; Tschinkel and Hess threatened or economically important species such as Picoides 1999) or produced checklists of species found in a particular area borealis (red cockaded woodpecker, Walters 1991), Gopherus (Van Pelt 1956; Deyrup and Trager 1986; Campbell 1996). Little polyphemus (gopher tortoise, Aresco and Guyer 1999) and Colinus work has been done to examine the entire ant community across virginianus (bobwhite quail, Rosene 1969). Effective preservation numerous sites in any specific longleaf pine habitat. We therefore of remnant longleaf pine forests demands more research to catalog know little about the ant communities that, until recently, occurred resident species, to understand species associations, and to identify naturally throughout a large part of the southeastern United States. organisms that need special attention because of their rarity or Learning more about longleaf pine ant communities is endemism. Carefully planned community studies can efficiently fill important not only to further our understanding of North American some of these needs and add to our general knowledge of these ants but also to guide current longleaf pine conservation efforts. habitats. Before Europeans arrived in North America longleaf pine covered Studying the ant community can also help us understand over 30 million hectares and dominated the Atlantic and Gulf coastal an important component of longleaf pine ecosystems. Social insects plains. Today longleaf pine is found in less than 3% of its historical often constitute more than half of all the insect biomass in many range (Frost, 1993) and what does remain forms some of North terrestrial habitats (Wilson 1990) and ants in particular are one of America’s most threatened habitats (Noss 1989; Simberloff 1993; the most well represented groups (Hölldobler and Wilson 1990; Collins 2001). While the floral diversity found in some longleaf Tobin 1995; Longino and Colwell 1997). A large body of literature Lubertazzi D, Tschinkel WR. 2003. Ant community change across a ground vegetation gradient in north Florida’s longleaf pine flatwoods. 17pp. 2 Journal of Insect Science, 3:21, Available online: insectscience.org/3.21 documenting the various ecological roles ants fill in terrestrial in twelve sites. The aims of our work were to establish the species ecosystems (Beattie 1985; Wilson 1990; Gotwald 1995) highlights composition of the longleaf pine flatwoods ant community, to the important direct and indirect effects ants can have on many determine its dominant species, and to assess how ant diversity organisms. Within longleaf pine habitats ants are likely to interact changes along a herbaceous ground cover gradient. We specifically with many resident species and affect populations of a diverse focused on examining the ant community across this gradient collection of flora and fauna. because this habitat characteristic is an important focus of One important role filled by ants in a longleaf pine contemporary longleaf pine conservation. ecosystem has already been found. Hess and James (1998) discovered that the arboreal ant Crematogaster ashmeadi is the Materials and Methods dominant food item in the diet of the adult endangered Red Cockaded Woodpeckers of the Apalachicola National Forest (ANF). This Study Area/Study sites finding has stimulated research investigating C. ashmeadi’s The ANF lies in the Big Bend region of Florida and contains autecology (Hahn and Tschinkel 1997; Baldacci and Tschinkel 1999; over 50,000 ha of longleaf pine forest. Pine flatwoods (Abrahamson Tschinkel 2002) and the arboreal ant community of the ANF’s pine and Hartnett 1992), our focal study habitat, develop on slightly forests (Prather 1997; Hess and James 1998; Tschinkel and Hess undulating, sandy plains with a high water table, and are common 1999). The more diverse ant community found beneath the trees here (Fig 1). Under natural conditions, these stands once contained has not been studied. widely spaced old growth longleaf pine trees (Platt et al. 1988) and Our research examined the complete ant community found a grass-dominated ground cover. Contemporary longleaf pine in the ANF’s pine flatwoods. We sampled ants, using four methods, forests, in contrast, are almost exclusively second growth stands, Figure 1. Pine flatwoods of the Apalachicola National Forest. (A & B). Stands with a high percentage of herbaceous vegetation. (C & D). Stands with a woody plant dominated ground cover. A B C D Lubertazzi D, Tschinkel WR. 2003. Ant community change across a ground vegetation gradient in north Florida’s longleaf pine flatwoods. 17pp. 3 Journal of Insect Science, 3:21, Available online: insectscience.org/3.21 are more densely stocked, and contain populations of younger, smaller trees (Noel et al. 1998). Anthropogenic changes to the natural fire regime have also decreased the dominance of herbaceous plant cover in many ANF longleaf pine stands (James et al. 1997, U.S. Department of Agriculture 1999a). Current ANF management plans call for restoring and maintaining longleaf pine stands in a state that “falls within the natural variation of this habitat type” (U.S. Department of Agriculture 1999b). To this end, the Forest Service has decreased logging to increase the average tree age and size. Restoring the ground cover, and maintaining it in a more natural state, is being attempted through the use of prescribed fire. The natural fire regime once suppressed the growth and establishment of understory woody plants, stimulated herbaceous plant growth and reproduction, and did little harm to mature longleaf pine trees. The Forest Service is mimicking this process by trying to burn the ground vegetation, Figure 2. Sampling grid design used to sample the ant community within during the growing season, every three years (Ferguson 1998, U.S. each plot. Department of Agriculture 1999a). It is not known how this management will affect resident animal communities. The twelve study sites we sampled from were chosen from were sorted from the cups in the lab, identified to species, and their a larger pool of 24 pine flatwood stands. Prior sampling, for an abundance recorded. unrelated study (James et al. 1997), allowed us to classify these Ground baiting. Ground foraging ants were sampled by stands into low, medium, or high grassy cover and we randomly placing baited tubes at each bait station within a plot. Baits consisted selected four sites from each of these classes. Seven of our study of 1 cm x 9 cm glass tubes containing a small portion of Spam, a sites, and all four sites with high herbaceous cover, were located in protein rich food source readily consumed by most omnivorous ants. the Apalachicola Ranger District. Of the two management districts Bait tubes were placed within 5 cm of a bait station with the lip of in the ANF, the Apalachicola Ranger District historically the tube touching
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