Community Organisation, Biogeography and Seasonality of Ants in an Open Forest of South-eastern Queensland

1997 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 523 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Vanderwoude ◽  
A. N. Andersen ◽  
A. P. N. House
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Functional Group ◽  
Group Composition ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Community Organisation ◽  
Eucalypt Forest ◽  
Eastern Australia

The biogeography and structure of ant communities were examined over a 12-month period at a dry open eucalypt forest in south-eastern Queensland. Three sites were monitored, each with a distinct long-term burning history: burned annually since 1952, burned periodically since 1973, and unburned since 1946. A total of 89 species from 42 genera was recorded over all trapping periods, with the richest genera being Iridomyrmex, Camponotus and Pheidole, each with eight species. Site species richness was 74, 63 and 43, respectively, at the annually burned, periodically burned and the unburned site. We compared the ant community in this forest with those at other forested sites in eastern Australia. Overall, the south-eastern Queensland community was located on the overlap between the Bassian and Torresian zones (not dominated by either element), while the functional-group composition resembled those of both tropical savannas and cool-temperate woodlands. There were readily discernible differences between sites in terms of biogeographical and functional-group composition; and between the unburned site and both burned sites in terms of abundance and species richness. The relative abundance of Iridomyrmex spp. increased with burning frequency while the relative abundance of Bassian species decreased with burning frequency. Species richness and abundance at the burned sites were similar, but substantially higher than at the unburned site. The community characteristics of the three sites were readily distinguishable, indicating that ant communities may play a valuable role in detecting ecological changes in forested landscapes in south- eastern Queensland.

Ant community responses to experimental fire and logging in a eucalypt forest of south-eastern Australia

2009 ◽  
Vol 258 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan N. Andersen ◽  
Trent D. Penman ◽  
Natacha Debas ◽  
Mickal Houadria
Keyword(s):  
Community Responses ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eucalypt Forest ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Diversity components and assembly patterns of plant functional traits determine community spatial stability under resource gradients in a desert steppe

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhao Na ◽  
Wang Zhengwen ◽  
Shao Xinqing ◽  
Wang Kun
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Nutrient Availability ◽  
Functional Group ◽  
Group Composition ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Spatial Stability ◽  
Trait Diversity ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Functional Trait Diversity

The diversity–stability relationship has been addressed and debated for decades, but how this relationship is affected by nutrient availability remains contentious. In the present study we assessed the effects of plant diversity, in terms of species richness, functional group composition and functional trait diversity, on the spatial stability of net primary productivity (NPP) following nitrogen and phosphorus application. In addition, we explored how functional traits at the species level contribute to the spatial stability of NPP. The results support the hypothesis that greater diversity leads to higher spatial stability. This relationship was highly dependent on soil nutrient availability, and increasing species richness or functional trait diversity significantly increased spatial variation of NPP under a high N fertilisation level. The effects of high mineral fertilisation rates may perhaps have masked the effects of plant diversity. Although species richness or functional trait diversity of the original and modified communities from which species with particular functional traits had been removed were significantly different, there were no differences in the coefficients of variation in the NPP of those communities. The lack of difference demonstrated that the relationship between spatial variability and biodiversity depended on the measure of diversity applied and that the functional group composition exerted a stronger effect than other diversity measures. Further analyses revealed that spatial stability of NPP was enhanced with increased diversity in vegetative plant height, rooting depth and the presence of legume, and diminished with diversity in the root system type and life cycle under some fertilisation treatments. The present study demonstrates that the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is variable with different diversity, identity and environmental factors. Evaluating the contribution of particular traits to community stability will ultimately help us better understand the mechanisms underlying the diversity–stability relationship.

Impact of fire regimes, logging and topography on hollows in fallen logs in eucalypt forest of south eastern Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Collins ◽  
Ross A. Bradstock ◽  
Elizabeth M. Tasker ◽  
Robert J. Whelan
Keyword(s):  
Fire Regimes ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eucalypt Forest ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

scholarly journals Seasonal patterns of bison diet across climate gradients in North America

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph M. Craine
Keyword(s):  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Dietary Protein ◽  
Protein Intake ◽  
Functional Group ◽  
Group Composition ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Dietary Quality ◽  
Fecal Material ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Warm Season Grasses

AbstractNorth American plains bison (Bison bison) have been reintroduced across their former range, yet we know too little about their current diet to understand what drove their past migrations as well as observed continental-scale variation in weight gain and reproduction. In order to better understand the seasonal diets of bison at the continental scale, bison fecal material was collected monthly from April to September in 2019 across 45 sites throughout the conterminous United States. Fecal material was analyzed for dietary quality using near infrared spectroscopy and dietary composition with DNA metabarcoding. As observed in previous research, dietary quality peaked in June and was on average greatest for sites with cold, wet climates. Yet, in April, dietary quality was highest in warmer regions, likely reflecting earlier phenology of plants in southern than northern regions. Independent of climate and season, bison that consumed more warm-season grasses had lower dietary protein concentrations. Interpreting the relative abundance of sequences from different plant species as the relative intake of protein from those species, only 38% of bison protein intake came from grasses. An equal amount of dietary protein came from legumes (38%) and 22% from non-leguminous forbs. Seasonal shifts in bison diet were also clear, in part, following the phenology of functional groups. For example, cool-season grass protein intake was highest in May, while legume protein intake was highest in August. Comparing data taken in June and September 2018 in a previous study with corresponding data in 2019, on average, June [CP] was 20% higher in 2019 than 2018, while September [CP] did not differ between years. Dietary functional group composition was generally similar in amounts and relationships with climate between years, yet in September 2019, legumes contributed 20% more protein and warm-season grasses 14% less than in September 2018. In all, this research demonstrates that bison consistently rely on eudicots for protein with the functional group composition of their diet in some ways consistent across space and time, but also spatially and temporally variable. The early-season inversion of plant quality gradients would have been a strong driver of migratory behavior for large numbers of bison optimizing protein intake. As most bison currently experience protein deficiency, optimizing protein intake under current non-migratory conditions will require increasing the relative abundance of high-protein species such as N2-fixing species.

Hypogeal fungi in the diet of the long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) in mixed-species and regrowth eucalypt forest stands in south-eastern Australia

1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 321 ◽  
Author(s):  
AW Claridge ◽  
MT Tanton ◽  
RB Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Species ◽  
Forest Site ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Percentage Occurrence ◽  
Eucalypt Forest ◽  
Faecal Analysis ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Autumn And Winter ◽  
Potorous Tridactylus ◽  
South Eastern Australia

The diet of the long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus), a medium-sized ground-dwelling marsupial, was monitored (using faecal analysis) in a multiaged eucalypt forest site, and a regrowth eucalypt forest site in south-eastern Australia. In the multiaged forest P. tridactylus was primarily mycophagous, consuming the sporocarps (fruiting bodies) of at least 58 fungal species. Most of these taxa were hypogeal (underground fruiting) basidiomycetes thought to form mycorrhizae on the roots of a variety of plants. The percentage occurrence of fungus in faeces decreased in spring and summer and increased in autumn and winter. This pattern was opposite to the changing occurrence in faeces of other food types, and the percentage occurrence of spores of a major fungus species. At the regrowth forest site the quantity of fungus in faeces of P. tridactylus was lower but more constant over time. There were also differences in the percentage occurrence of spores of at least two fungal species. Additionally, the diversity of fungal taxa found as spores in faeces at the regrowth site was significantly lower (on average) than that recorded in faeces from the multiaged site. Differences in the fungal diets of the two P. tridactylus populations may be partially attributable to the disturbance (fire and logging) histories of each site.

Condition of fenced and unfenced remnant vegetation in inland catchments in south-eastern Australia

2008 ◽  
Vol 56 (7) ◽  
pp. 590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue V. Briggs ◽  
Nicola M. Taws ◽  
Julian A. Seddon ◽  
Bindi Vanzella
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Remnant Vegetation ◽  
Vegetation Condition ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Native Species Richness ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Considerable areas of remnant native vegetation have been fenced in the last decade to manage grazing by domestic stock. This study investigated vegetation condition in comparative fenced and unfenced remnant vegetation in the mid–upper Murrumbidgee and Lachlan catchments in south-eastern Australia. Native species richness, native groundcover and overstorey regeneration were higher at fenced than at unfenced sites. Area of bare ground was lower at fenced sites. Exotic groundcover did not differ between fenced and unfenced sites. Native species richness was higher at sites fenced for longer and with no stock grazing; neither native nor exotic groundcover at fenced sites was related to time since fencing or stock grazing pressure. Some tree species regenerated at both fenced and unfenced sites (Blakely’s red gum, Eucalyptus blakelyi; tumbledown gum, E. dealbata, long-leaved box, E. goniocalyx; red stringbark, E. macrorhyncha), some regenerated at few fenced and few unfenced sites (white box, E. albens; yellow box, E. melliodora) and some regenerated at fenced sites but not at unfenced sites (grey box, E. microcarpa; mugga ironbark, E. sideroxylon; white cypress pine, Callitris glaucophylla). Although less robust than pre- and postfencing monitoring, the comparisons reported here provide a logistically feasible and relatively inexpensive assessment of effects of the sizeable public investment in fencing on vegetation condition.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document