Hemlock Removal Experiment - Ant Assemblages

Data

• hf118-01: ants

Overview

• Lead: Aaron Ellison
• Investigators:
• Contact: Aaron Ellison
• Start date: 2003-06-01
• End date: ongoing
• Location: Simes Tract (Harvard Forest)
• Latitude: +42.47 to +42.48
• Longitude: -72.22 to -72.21
• Elevation: 200 to 240 meters
• Taxa: Dolichoderinae, Formicidae, Formicinae, Myrmicinae, Ponerinae, Aphaenogaster rudis, Tsuga candensis
• Research topic: plot, community
• Study type: long-term measurement
• LTER core area: populations, disturbance
• Keywords: ants, assembly rules, hemlock
• Release date: 2009
• EML version: knb-lter-hfr.118.10
• Revisions: data updated 2009-11-10
• Related links:
• The Ants of New England
• Hemlock Removal Experiment - Ant Diversity and Vegetation Composition
• Hemlock Removal Experiment - Understory Vegetation
• Inventory of Ants at the Black Rock Forest (Cornwall, NY)
• Structure of Ant Communities in Declining Hemlock Stands
• Abstract:

  Ants comprise a considerable amount of animal biomass in terrestrial ecosystems and play major roles in ecological processes ranging from seed dispersal to soil turnover. Invasion by the hemlock woolly adelgid will transform late-successional hemlock forests into earlier successional mixed hardwood– white pine forests or red-maple wetlands. Understanding how ant assemblages vary in different habitat types allows for predictions of how hemlock decline could alter the composition of ant assemblages, with implications for a wide range of ecosystem processes. As part of the Hemlock Removal Experiment at the Simes Tract, we annually monitor ant species composition and abundance.

• Methods:

  A permanent 10 x 10-m grid with 25 equally-spaced sample stations was established near the center of each of the 8 plots in the Hemlock Removal Experiment. Pitfall traps (200-ml cups) are buried flush with the soil surface at each point and capped. Caps are removed for sampling - in June, July, and August in 2003-2005; July and August in 2006; and July only since 2007 - 10 ml of soapy water placed in each cup, and cups left open for 48 hours in dry weather. Trap contents are removed and caps replaced after 48 hours. After pitfall trapping is complete, baits (30 g of crumbled Pecan Sandies cookies on white index cards) are placed at the 25 points and allowed to accumulate ants for 1 hour. Representative individuals are collected from each bait station. Three 3-L litter samples are collected from random locations in the large plots, outside of the sample grid, and sifted in the field. Any ants found in the sifted litter are collected. Plots are walked haphazardly for 1 person-hour and additional foraging ants encountered are collected.

• Use:

  This dataset is released to the public and may be freely downloaded. Please keep the designated Contact person informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation or collaboration with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset must include proper acknowledgement. For more information on LTER Network data access and use policies, please see: http://www.lternet.edu/data/netpolicy.html.

• Citation:

  Ellison A. 2009. Hemlock Removal Experiment - Ant Assemblages. Harvard Forest Data Archive: HF118.

Detailed Metadata

hf118-01: ants

1. Year: year (YYYY)
2. Date: date (YYYMMDD)
3. Block: block
   • Valley: plots 1-3, 8
   • Ridge: plots 4-7
4. Plot: plot number
5. Treatment: treatment type
   • Girdled: girdled
   • Logged: logged
   • HemlockControl: hemlock control
   • HardwoodControl: hardwood control
6. TrapType: trap type
   • bait: from bait stations
   • hand: hand-collected
   • litter: from litter sample
   • pitfall: pitfall cup
7. TrapNum: 1-25, applies only to pitfall cups
8. Genus: genus of ant
9. Species: species of ant
10. Code: species code (combination of genus and species)
11. Abundance: how many (number )
12. SpecCode: code in Biota Database