Boreal Sand Hills are Areas of High Diversity for Boreal Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

James Glasier,Scott Nielsen,John Acorn,Jaime Pinzon

doi:10.3390/d11020022

Abstract

The boreal forest in Canada comprises a wide variety of ecosystems, including stabilized (overgrown) sand dunes, often referred to as sand hills. Globally, sandy soils are known for supporting a high diversity of invertebrates, including ants, but little is known for boreal systems. We used pitfall trap sampling in sand hill, aspen parkland and peatland ecosystems to compare their ant diversity and test the prediction that areas with sandy soils have higher invertebrate diversity compared to more mesic/organic soils. Overall, sand hills had ~45% more ant species compared to other sampled ecosystems from Alberta. Similar to other studies, local canopy cover within sand hills was found to be inversely related to ant species richness and diversity. Although sand hills are rare across the region, they are high biodiversity areas for ants, with the sand hills of north-central Alberta having higher species richness of ants compared to other studied areas in Canada.

Highlights

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are an important component of northern temperate ecosystems in the Nearctic [1]
Sand hills are often defined as sand dunes that have been stabilized by vegetation [5]
Our objectives were three-fold: (1) test the prediction that ant diversity is higher on sand hills compared to more common aspen parkland and peatland forest types; (2) test the prediction that ant diversity is inversely related to canopy cover within the sand hill ecosystem; and (3) compare ant faunas in the central Alberta sand hills with other similar faunas in the northern Holarctic

Summary

Introduction

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are an important component of northern temperate ecosystems in the Nearctic [1] They act as predators and prey, and influence soil turnover, nutrient cycling, the breakdown of wood, and dispersal of herbaceous seeds [2,3,4]. They are often the most numerous ground dwelling invertebrates, and are useful for measuring levels of biodiversity [4]. Despite their ecological importance, little research has been done on the diversity of ants in the northern temperate areas of North America, especially the prairie provinces of Canada. In Alberta, Canada, sand dunes first formed at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation, about 11,000 years ago [6]

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