The structure and biogeography of rainforest ant communities in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia

The ant faunas of eight rainforest patches in the seasonally arid Kimberley region are described from the results of pitfall traps, litter extractions, biscuit and tuna baits, beating vegetation and general hand-collections. Sampling was conducted during the dry season (June) of 1988, with supplemen...

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Main Authors: Majer, Jonathan, Anderson, A. N.
Format: Book Chapter
Published: 1991
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32363
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author Majer, Jonathan
Anderson, A. N.
author_facet Majer, Jonathan
Anderson, A. N.
author_sort Majer, Jonathan
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The ant faunas of eight rainforest patches in the seasonally arid Kimberley region are described from the results of pitfall traps, litter extractions, biscuit and tuna baits, beating vegetation and general hand-collections. Sampling was conducted during the dry season (June) of 1988, with supplementary litter samples collected dUring the following wet season. A total of 102 species (19-41 per patch, mean 33) from 33 genera were recorded, with the richest genera being Pheldole (13 species), Monomonum (12) and Polyrhachis (10). Arid-adapted genera such as tridomyrmex and Melophorus were Virtually absent. Forty-six species were considered to belong to Torreslan taxa, three to Eyrean taxa, five to Basslan taxa, and 48 to widespread taxa. Surrounding open sclerophyll habitats support a far greater proportion of Eyrean taxa, and lesser proportion of Torresian taxa. This survey provides baseline data for monitoring any future change In the Kimberley rainforest habitats.
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publishDate 1991
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-323632017-01-30T13:30:36Z The structure and biogeography of rainforest ant communities in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia Majer, Jonathan Anderson, A. N. The ant faunas of eight rainforest patches in the seasonally arid Kimberley region are described from the results of pitfall traps, litter extractions, biscuit and tuna baits, beating vegetation and general hand-collections. Sampling was conducted during the dry season (June) of 1988, with supplementary litter samples collected dUring the following wet season. A total of 102 species (19-41 per patch, mean 33) from 33 genera were recorded, with the richest genera being Pheldole (13 species), Monomonum (12) and Polyrhachis (10). Arid-adapted genera such as tridomyrmex and Melophorus were Virtually absent. Forty-six species were considered to belong to Torreslan taxa, three to Eyrean taxa, five to Basslan taxa, and 48 to widespread taxa. Surrounding open sclerophyll habitats support a far greater proportion of Eyrean taxa, and lesser proportion of Torresian taxa. This survey provides baseline data for monitoring any future change In the Kimberley rainforest habitats. 1991 Book Chapter http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32363 restricted
spellingShingle Majer, Jonathan
Anderson, A. N.
The structure and biogeography of rainforest ant communities in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia
title The structure and biogeography of rainforest ant communities in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia
title_full The structure and biogeography of rainforest ant communities in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia
title_fullStr The structure and biogeography of rainforest ant communities in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia
title_full_unstemmed The structure and biogeography of rainforest ant communities in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia
title_short The structure and biogeography of rainforest ant communities in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia
title_sort structure and biogeography of rainforest ant communities in the kimberley region of north-western australia
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32363