Download Ants as ecological status indicators at Suikerbosrand Nature

WORKING
PROJECT TITLE
Ants as ecological status indicators at
Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve
CORE TEAM
MEMBER
Prof. Mark Robertson
ACADEMIC LEVEL
OF THE PROJECT
Honours
PROJECT
BACKGROUND
Managers should undertake biodiversity monitoring to
assess the impacts of their interventions on the
ecosystems they manage. Invertebrates are often
excluded from these monitoring programmes because of a
lack of the skills needed or because of a lack of
understanding of the importance of invertebrates in
ecosystems. Ants have been shown to be good indicators
of ecosystem status, they are relatively easy to sample
and identify, and they are used in monitoring programmes
worldwide. The goal of this project will be to initiate the
development of a monitoring programme for ants on
Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve in southern Gauteng
Province. The focus will be on assessing differences in ant
assemblages across a disturbance gradient and developing
minimum sampling protocols to detect those differences.
This project will be used to improve our understanding of
ant assemblages and for identifying species that can be
used as reliable indicators of disturbance in grasslands.
This is important for undertaking surveys to assess the
state of a system following restoration e.g. clearing of
alien plants or mine rehabilitation.
FURTHER READING
Andersen A.N., Hoffmann B.D. & Somes J. 2003. Ants as
indicators of mine site restoration: community recovery
at one of eight rehabilitation sites in central Queensland.
Ecological Management and Restoration 4: 12–19.
Andersen A.N., Fisher A., Hoffmann B.D., Read J.L. &
Richards R. 2004. Use of terrestrial invertebrates for
biodiversity monitoring in Australian rangelands with
particular reference to ants. Austral Ecology 29: 87–92.
www.sun.ac.za/cib
KEY CONTACTS
Prof. Mark Robertson c: 084 718 5484 e:
[email protected]
CONTACT DETAILS
OF CORE TEAM
MEMBER
Mark Robertson
Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of
Pretoria.
www.sun.ac.za/cib