Abstract
Ant assemblages were studied under the influence of chemical, coal and cement dust, lead-zinc and metallurgical industry wastes in Kuzbass, Russia. The distribution of nests of various ants’ species, types of nests, dimensional characteristics and their share by areas were analyzed. It has been revealed that with the increase of anthropogenic impact, the size of the ground parts of the ant nests decreases, and the number of underground nests grows. The predominance of L. niger and M. rubra nests in the ant assemblages indicates a high degree of anthropogenic stress, and a decrease in their share appears to be an indicator of a decrease in anthropogenic impact. We conclude that the number of nests of the genus Lasius, the ratio of underground and dome (in the form of earthen mounds and mounds from plant residues) nests, and the linear dimensions of nests can be used as a bioindicator of the industrial emissions’ impact on biocenosis.
Published Version
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