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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