Professor and Chair of Biology Miami University Oxford, Ohio
Ant species are sensitive to environmental changes due to species selective resource use. Environmental variation may be more pronounced in areas of forest management, causing changes to tree species composition and forest structure. This study aimed to understand how forest management influences ground-dwelling ant species diversity and composition along topographic gradients. We hypothesized that ant species diversity and composition would be altered by disturbances caused by forest management practices, resulting in an increase in more generalist and opportunistic ant species caused by changes in tree species composition, canopy cover, and litter biomass. The study was conducted 2018-2021 in Morgan-Monroe and Yellowwood State Forests of southern Indiana as part of a landscape-level experimental study of forest management practices. We sampled ant communities using a nested hierarchical design, with 50-m transects on high and low slopes within clearcut and adjacent unmanaged areas. Ants were collected from both pitfall traps and leaf litter samples using the Winkler extraction method. Environmental predictor variables were collected along each transect, including litter biomass, soil moisture, and tree species composition. Effects of environmental predictors on ant abundance and functional diversity were measured as well as ant species composition. Cosmopolitan forest species, such as Aphaenogaster rudis, were prevalent across all samples, while opportunistic species, such as Solenopsis molesta, were found in areas of forest management. Community composition within unmanaged areas was a subset of the community found following management. Findings from this study can provide insight into the recovery of invertebrate biodiversity and composition following forest disturbances.