Ant Abundance and Dune Plant Conditions, Mae's Beach, LA, to St. Joseph Peninsula, FL, Summer 2010.

We are addressing scientific questions about community change resulting from presumed stressors arising from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and various response efforts. We expect to quantify and understand the effects of stressors (i.e., hydrocarbons, dispersants, freshwater diversion) and remediation-related human activities on marsh and adjacent open water communities. Specifically, we are measuring the effects of stressors in insect and spider populations, soil strength, marsh grass above ground and root biomass, and mollusks (in the marsh and adjacent open water). Stressors have both direct (toxicity) and indirect effects because, as hydrocarbons degrade, these compounds enter food webs via primary consumers such as insects/spiders and mollusks. This dataset records the presence of ants on coastal dunes.