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Effect of fragmentation, habitat loss and within-patch habitat characteristics on ant assemblages in semi-arid woodlands of eastern Australia

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Abstract

The reliability of ants as bioindicators of ecosystem condition is dependent on the consistency of their response to localised habitat characteristics, which may be modified by larger-scale effects of habitat fragmentation and loss. We assessed the relative contribution of habitat fragmentation, habitat loss and within-patch habitat characteristics in determining ant assemblages in semi-arid woodland in Queensland, Australia. Species and functional group abundance were recorded using pitfall traps across 20 woodland patches in landscapes that exhibited a range of fragmentation states. Of fragmentation measures, changes in patch area and patch edge contrast exerted the greatest influence on species assemblages, after accounting for differences in habitat loss. However, 35% of fragmentation effects on species were confounded by the effects of habitat characteristics and habitat loss. Within-patch habitat characteristics explained more than twice the amount of species variation attributable to fragmentation and four times the variation explained by habitat loss. The study indicates that within-patch habitat characteristics are the predominant drivers of ant composition. We suggest that caution should be exercised in interpreting the independent effects of habitat fragmentation and loss on ant assemblages without jointly considering localised habitat attributes and associated joint effects.

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Acknowledgements

This research was conducted as part of Land and Water Australia Project QNR 28, with financial support from Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Water. We thank landowners for property access and Landcare members for assistance with locating study sites. We thank David Taylor, Scott Swift, Michael Kraus, Melanie Venz, Giselle Whish, Jian Wang, Tonya Hardaker and David Osborne who provided data for this study and we are grateful to Chris Burwell, Rudi Kohout and Alan Andersen for assistance with species identification. We thank Alan Andersen and two anonymous referees for their comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Horticulture and Forestry Science, Locked Bag 16, Gympie, QLD, 4570, Australia

    Valerie J. Debuse

  2. The Centre for Innovative Conservation Strategies, Griffith University, PMB 50, Gold Coast MC, QLD, 9726, Australia

    Valerie J. Debuse

  3. Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Horticulture and Forestry Science, 80, Meiers Road, Indooroopilly, QLD, 4068, Australia

    Judith King

  4. CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, 306, Carmody Road, St Lucia, QLD, 4067, Australia

    Alan P. N. House

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  1. Valerie J. Debuse
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Correspondence to Valerie J. Debuse.

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The State of Queensland's right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty free license in and to any copyright is acknowledged.

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix 1 Abundance rating of 116 morphospecies/species collected in pitfall traps in March and August 2003
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Debuse, V.J., King, J. & House, A.P. Effect of fragmentation, habitat loss and within-patch habitat characteristics on ant assemblages in semi-arid woodlands of eastern Australia. Landscape Ecol 22, 731–745 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-006-9068-0

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