Ant abundance and functional classification in Eucalyptus salubris woodlands across a time since fire chronosequence, Great Western Woodlands SuperSite, 2012

Brief description

Recurrent fire is a dominant disturbance in Mediterranean-climate landscapes. As vegetation recovers after fire its composition and structure systematically changes, affecting the availability of resources for fauna and mediating physical conditions. According to the habitat accommodation model, these changes drive a succession of animal species, which enter and leave according to their habitat requirements. The Great Western Woodlands region (http://www.tern-supersites.net.au/supersites/gwwl) supports the world’s largest remaining area of Mediterranean-climate woodland, which in mosaic with mallee, shrublands and salt lakes cover an area of 160 000 km2. Eucalyptus woodlands in this region are typically fire-sensitive, and fire return intervals recorded over recent decades have been much shorter than the long-term average. This has led to considerable conservation concern regarding the loss of mature woodlands, and has highlighted a need to better understand how animal communities change with time since fire. Using a time since fire chronosequence exceeding 300 years in non-resprouting Eucalyptus salubris woodlands, we sampled ant species abundance and richness in spring 2012 and classified species into functional groups. Further details on the study objectives, data and findings can be found in Gosper et al. (2015).
Gosper CR, Pettit MJ, Andersen AN, Yates CJ, Prober SP (2015) Multi-century dynamics of ant communities following fire in Mediterranean-climate woodlands: are changes congruent with vegetation succession? Forest Ecology and Management 342, 30-38. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2015.01.006