The influence of fire, vegetation age and Argentine ants (Iridomyrmex humilis) on ant communities in Swartsboskloof

Ants are sensitive to disturbance and it has been suggested that their species composition and abundance may be used as an index of the conservation status of natural systems (Fox 1981; Majer 1983; Majer et al. 1984). In this study we determined the effects of various disturbance factors on indigeno...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Majer, Jonathan, Kock de, A., Giliomee, J., Pringle, K.
Format: Book Chapter
Published: 1992
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/15721
Description
Summary:Ants are sensitive to disturbance and it has been suggested that their species composition and abundance may be used as an index of the conservation status of natural systems (Fox 1981; Majer 1983; Majer et al. 1984). In this study we determined the effects of various disturbance factors on indigenous ant communities in Swartboskloof. We examined whether fire, vegetation age and the presence of the Argentine ant had any effect on ant community composition and abundance.