Response of a temperate grassland ant community to burning

• Published in: Insectes sociaux 2022-02, Vol.69 (1), p.137-142
• Main Authors: Bonoan, R. E., McCarthy, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ants; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Burning; Controlled burning; Ecological function; Entomology; Grasslands; Life Sciences; Natural disturbance; Nesting; Pitfall traps; Plant diversity; Prairies; Prescribed fire; Short Communication; Terrestrial ecosystems
• ISSN: 0020-1812; 1420-9098
• DOI: 10.1007/s00040-022-00851-x

Ants are important components in terrestrial ecosystems and influence many ecosystem functions. In temperate grasslands, ants likely influence both invertebrate and plant diversity. We examined how fire, a natural disturbance in Pacific Northwest prairies, affects ant communities. In the Pacific Northwest, fire (i.e., prescribed burning) is also a common management strategy in maintaining shortgrass prairies. Using pitfall traps, we found a significant interaction of burning and location (i.e., north, middle, south) on the prairie. At the southern end of the prairie, burned plots had significantly more ants and higher diversity compared with paired unburned plots. This effect of burning, however, was not found in middle or northern areas of the prairie. These differences are likely driven by the nesting ecology of the dominant ant in the different parts of the prairie ( Tapinoma sessile in the north and middle and Formica obscuripes ) and/or distance to forest edge. To our knowledge, this is only the third study describing a prairie ant community in the Pacific Northwest, and the first to investigate effects of burning on such a community.