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Ant biogeography and community ecology
The Issue
Ants are Australia’s dominant faunal group in terms of biomass and ecological importance. Ant diversity and productivity are exceptionally high by world standards, particularly in arid environments, where more than 100 ant species commonly occur within a single hectare.
CSIRO Research
CSIRO has developed a global model of ant community organization, based on the classification of species into functional groups in relation to environmental stress (factors influencing productivity) and disturbance (factors removing biomass). This facilitates the prediction of ant community structure in relation to climate, vegetation, and disturbance, at biogeographical scales. The work has involved both:
- descriptions of patterns of ant community organization in Australia, North America and southern Africa in relation to climate, vegetation structure, and disturbance; and
- experimental studies of dynamic processes, especially in relation to behavioural dominance, interference competition and disturbance, within ant communities.
CSIRO in Darwin maintains the largest synoptic collection of Australian ants, with over 4,000 native species, and provides an ant identification service to ecologists, agricultural scientists and quarantine workers throughout the country.
| International Collaboration |
Ant ecologists Alan Andersen, Ben Hoffmann and Kate Parr have a strong interest in the global ecology of ant communities, seeking to predict global patterns of ant diversity, community composition and behavioural dominance in relation to environmental stress and disturbance. The work has involved: (i) descriptions of patterns of ant community organization in Australia, North America and southern Africa in relation to climate, vegetation structure, and disturbance; and (ii) experimental studies of dynamic processes, especially in relation to interference competition and disturbance, within ant communities.
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Collaborators
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