Structure of Ant Communities in Declining Hemlock Stands at Harvard Forest 2003

In biomass and ecological dominance, ants are the most important invertebrate taxon in terrestrial ecosystems and they can alter significantly fundamental processes and dynamics of soil ecosystems. Relative to deciduous stands, hemlock stands are depauperate in ant species that are linked to differences in rates of soil turnover and nutrient mineralization between these forest types. In both hemlock and deciduous stands, we will document ant species richness and abundance; assess their role in soil nutrient cycling; determine temporal trajectories of ant community assembly as hemlock declines following woolly adelgid infestation, and is subsequently replaced by birch; and discover how these trajectories influence nutrient availability during this transition. For more details see: Ellison, A. M., J. Chen, D. Dz, C. Kammerer-Burnham, and M. Lau. 2005. Changes in ant community structure and composition associated with hemlock decline in New England. Pages 280-289 in B. Onken and R. Reardon, editors. Proceedings of the 3rd Symposium on Hemlock Woolly Adelgid in the Eastern United States. US Department of Agriculgure - US Forest Service - Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team, Morgantown, West Virginia.