Differences in nest structure influence the importance of Formica rufa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) wood ant nests as refugia for earthworms

作者：Carpenter Daniel^*; Sherlock Emma; Sandhu Ramandeep; Eggleton Paul

来源：Journal of Natural History, 2013, 47(35-36): 2305-2309.

DOI：10.1080/00222933.2012.763063

• wood ants
• earthworms
• ant nests
• refugia
• ecosystem engineers

A previous study on the nests of the wood ant species Formica aquilonia in Finland showed them to be summer refugia for two species of earthworms in Finland. They showed that earthworm abundance and biomass were greater in nests than in surrounding soil and leaf litter, emphasizing the importance of the ants as ecosystem engineers. In this study nests of the closely related wood ant, Formica rufa in southern England were sampled to investigate whether earthworms use the nests in a similar way. Few earthworms were found in the wood ant nests sampled. The reason for these differences was probably because F.rufa nest structure was dry and lacked the moist decomposing layer found in the nests of F.aquilonia. We conclude that F.rufa nests are not used by earthworms as summer refugia in southern England. This re-emphasizes the difficulties of generalizing across closely related taxa and within biogeographical regions.

• 出版日期2013-9-1