Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

The effects of urbanization on ant communities and myrmecochory in Manitoba, Canada

Urban Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

With the increase in urbanization globally, there is an increased need to understand the ecology of forest fragments in urban and urbanizing landscapes. Although urban forests are known to be relatively lacking in plants whose seeds are dispersed by ants, little is known about the effects of urbanization on the community composition and behaviour of forest dwelling ants. Ant communities in forest fragments along an urban–rural gradient were described using a rapid quadrat search technique and multivariate analysis. Interactions between the ants and seeds of the myrmecochorous Viola pubescens within a subset of these forests were described using a series of cafeteria experiments. Urbanization was found to be associated with changes in microhabitat characteristics and a concomitant simplification of the ant community. Despite this, the removal rate of V. pubescens seeds actually increased in urban forests, which may be a result of the foraging behaviour of the remaining species.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. Although M. detritinodis is considered to be a defunct species name (Bolton 1995), this name is expected to be resurrected in an upcoming revision of the genus (A. Francoeur, personal communication) Specimens were identified as M. detritinodis using these newly identified characteristics.

References

  • Abensperg-Traun M, Smith GT, Arnold GW, Steven DE (1996) The effects of habitat fragmentation and livestock grazing on animal communities in remnants of gimlet Eucalyptus salubris woodland in the western Australian wheatbelt. I. Arthropods. J Appl Ecol 33:1281–1301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andersen AN, Morrison SC (1998) Myrmecochory in Australia’s seasonal tropics: effects of disturbance on distance dispersal. Aust J Ecol 23:483–491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beattie AJ (1985) The evolutionary ecology of ant–plant mutualisms. Cambridge University Press, New York, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Beattie AJ, Culver DC (1981) The guild of myrmecochores in the herbaceous flora of West Virginia forests. Ecology 62:107–115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beattie AJ, Culver DC (1983) The nest chemistry of two seed-dispersing ant species. Oecologia 56:99–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bestelmeyer BT, Wiens JA (2001) Ant biodiversity in semiarid landscape mosaics: the consequences of grazing vs. natural heterogeneity. Ecol Appl 11:1123–1140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolger DT, Scott TA, Rotenberry JT (1997) Breeding bird abundance in an urbanizing landscape in coastal southern California. Cons Bio 11:406–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolger DT, Suarez AV, Crooks KR, Morrison SA, Case TJ (2000) Arthropods in urban habitat fragments in southern California: area, age, and edge effects. Ecol Appl 10:1230–1248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolton B (1995) A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll CR, Janzen DH (1973) Ecology of foraging by ants. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 4:231–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke KR (1993) Non-parametric multivariate analysis of changes in community structure. Aust J Ecol 18:117–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole DN (1993) Minimizing conflict between recreation and nature conservation. In: Smith DS, Hellmund PC (eds) Ecology of greenways: design and function of linear conservation areas. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota, pp 105–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Culver DC, Beattie AJ (1978) Myrmecochory in Viola: dynamics of seed–ant interactions in some West Virginia species. J Ecol 66:53–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Culver DC, Beattie AJ (1980) The fate of Viola seeds dispersed by ants. Am J Bot 67:710–714

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickman CR (1987) Habitat fragmentation and vertebrate species richness in an urban environment. J Appl Ecol 24:337–351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fellers JH (1987) Interference and exploitation in a guild of woodland ants. Ecology 68:1466–1478

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Françoeur, A (1973) Révision taxonomique des espèces néarctiques du groupe fusca, genre Formica. Mém Soc Entomol Québec 3:1–316

  • Germaine SS, Wakeling BF (2001) Lizard species distributions and habitat occupation along an urban gradient in Tucson, Arizona, USA. Bio Cons 97:229–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibb H, Hochuli DF (2002) Habitat fragmentation in an urban environment: large and small fragments support different arthropod assemblages. Biol Cons 106:91–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez C, Espadaler X (1998) Myrmecochorous dispersal distances: a world survey. J Biogeogr 25:573–580

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gorb SN, Gorb EN (1999) Effects of ant species composition on seed removal in deciduous forest in eastern Europe. Oikos 84:110–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenslade PJM, Greenslade P (1977) Some effects of vegetation cover and disturbance on a tropical ant fauna. Insect Soc 24:163–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heithaus ER (1986) Seed dispersal mutualism and the population density of Asarum canadense, an ant-dispersed plant. In: Estrada A, Fleming TH (eds) Frugivores and seed dispersal. Dr. W. Junk, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp 199–210

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoehne LM (1981) The groundlayer vegetation of forest islands in an urban–suburban matrix. In: Burgess RL, Sharpe, DM (eds) Forest island dynamics in man-dominated landscapes. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 41–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Lessard J-P, Buddle CM (2005) The effects of urbanization on ant assemblages (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) associated with the Molson Nature Reserve, Quebec. Can Entomol 137:215–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levings SC (1983) Seasonal, annual, and among-site variation in the ground ant community of a deciduous tropical forest: some causes of patchy species distribution. Ecol Monogr 53:435–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linnet Geomatics International Inc. (1994) Land information navigator: orthophotos and datasets. Winnipeg Land Information Navigator, Winnepeg, Manitoba

  • McDonnell MJ, Pickett STA (1990) Ecosystem structure and function along urban–rural gradients: an unexploited opportunity for ecology. Ecology 71:1232–1237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinney ML (2002) Urbanization, biodiversity and conservation. BioScience 52:883–890

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moffatt SFM (2001) Impacts of land use on the riparian forest along the Assiniboine River. MSc thesis, University of Manitoba: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

  • Moffatt SF, McLachlan SM, Kenkel NC (2004) Impacts of land use on riparian forest along an urban–rural gradient in southern Manitoba. Plant Ecol 174:119–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parody JM, Cuthbert FJ, Decker EH (2001) The effect of 50 years of landscape change on species richness and community composition. Global Ecol Biogeogr 10:305–313

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petal J (1978) The role of ants in ecosystems. In: Brian MV (ed) Production ecology of ants and termites. Cambridge University Press, New York, USA, pp 293–325

    Google Scholar 

  • Pudlo RJ, Beattie AJ, Culver DC (1980) Population consequences of changes in ant–seed mutualism in Sanguinaria canadensis. Oecologia 46:32–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Punttila P, Haila Y, Pajunen T, Tukia H (1991) Colonisation of clearcut forests by ants in the southern Finnish taiga: a quantitative survey. Oikos 61:250–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice WR (1989) Analysing tables of statistical tests. Evolution 43:223–255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson GR, Yurlina ME, Handel SN (1994) A century of change in the Staten Island flora: ecological correlates of species losses and invasions. B Torrey Bot Club 121:119–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders CJ (1964) The biology of carpenter ants in New Brunswick. Can Entomol 96:894–909

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute (1988) SAS procedures guide, release 6.03 edition. SAS Institute Inc., North Carolina, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Savolainen R, Vepsäläinen K (1988) A competition hierarchy among boreal ants: impact on resource partitioning and community structure. Oikos 51:135–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shochat E, Stefanov WL, Whitehouse MEA, Faeth SH (2004) Urbanization amd spider diversity: influences of human modification of habitat structure and productivity. Ecol Appl 14:268–280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith BH, DeRivera CE, Bridgman CL, Woida JJ (1989) Frequency-dependent seed dispersal by ants of two deciduous forest herbs. Ecology 70:1645–1648

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stradling DJ (1987) Nutritional ecology of ants. In Slansky F, Rodriguez JG (eds) Nutritional ecology of insects, mites, spiders, and related invertebrates. Wiley, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, pp 927–970

    Google Scholar 

  • Suarez AV, Bolger DT, Case TJ (1998) Effects of fragmentation and invasion on native ant communities in coastal southern California. Ecology 79:2041–2056

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson B (2003) Effects of urbanization on seed dispersal in riparian forests. MSc thesis, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

  • Wang C, Strazanac JS, Butler L (2001) Association between ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and habitat characteristics in oak-dominated mixed forests. Environ Entomol 30:842–847

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler GC, Wheeler J (1963) The ants of North Dakota. University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler GC, Wheeler J (1977) North Dakota ants updated. Desert Research Institute, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Willson MF (1993) Dispersal mode, seed shadows, and colonization patterns. Vegetatio 107/108:261–280

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson EO (1955) A monographic revision of the ant genus Lasius. Bull Mus Comp Zool, Harvard 113(1):1–201 (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zar JH (1974) Biostatistical analysis. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the landowners, including the City of Winnipeg and Province of Manitoba, for providing access to their properties; Kevin Jacobs, Megan Ostrum, Sara Tosczak, and Pam Wong for assistance with field research and André Francoeur and Bill Preston for assistance with ant identification. This manuscript benefited from comments by two anonymous reviewers on an earlier draft. This research was supported by funds from the National Science and Engineering Research Council and Manitoba Conservation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bill Thompson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Thompson, B., McLachlan, S. The effects of urbanization on ant communities and myrmecochory in Manitoba, Canada. Urban Ecosyst 10, 43–52 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-006-0013-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-006-0013-4

Keywords

Navigation