中国兽类生态学的进展

对近代的兽类学来说,我国虽然从本世纪二十年代即已开始分类研究,三十年代也有了生态学的论文,但是经过抗日战争的破坏,新中国建立之始,实际上处于空白状态。在建立兽类学开始之时,就比较注意兽类生态学的研究。初期的工作自不免朴素粗放一些,但对生态学的发展起到一定的作用。代表的著作可举出纪树立等(1951)的黄鼠研究和杨新史(1951)的《家鼠及其防治》,二者都是从防治医学角度进行工作的,以后此二人也都未再作此类工作。从五十年代中期大量的工作就开始了。涉及到农、林、医、牧以及基础理论的诸多方面,今就以下各方面分述于后。     

黄肢散白蚁品级分化势能的诱导和抑制

自从Luscher(1958)发现在一种木白蚁(Kalotermes flavicollis)里移植生殖蚁的咽侧体能诱导兵蚁的发育以后(Miller,1969),随着昆虫激素(JH)及其类似物(JHA)的不断发现,合成及研究,已有愈来愈多的报道表明保幼激素及其类似物亦能诱导各种白蚁的先兵和兵蚁的发育(Luscher,1969;Hrdy,1976;Lenz,1976;等)。1976年在美国华     

蚁对植物种子的传播作用

许多种子植物依靠动物传播种子 ,称为动物传播。根据动物类群的不同 ,可分为哺乳类传播 ,鸟传播 ,鱼传播 ,蚁传播等。鸟传播和蚁传播的研究近年取得了很大的进展 ,但国内在这方面研究较缺乏 ,作者已就鸟传播作了综述报道 ,现将蚁传播的研究综述报道如下。1　蚁与植物的相互关系蚁类属膜翅目 (Ｈｙｍｅｎｏｐｔｅｒａ) ,蚁科 (Ｆｏｒｍｉｃｉ ｄａｅ) ,典型的社会性昆虫。多数蚁类是肉食性的 ,以小动物或更小的蚁类为食 ,但也有很多蚁类是植物食性的。在大多数生态系统中均有蚁类分布 ,而且蚁类数量众多 ,在森林生态系统中每 1ｈａ可达 6～10…     

蚁类在不同生境中摄食活动规律的研究

按生物量来说,在陆地生态系统中土壤动物占其首位。土壤动物的主要作用如粉碎、耕作及土壤的物理和化学性质的变更等常被忽视。众所周知,蚁类是广布的社会性土居昆虫,以其优势的种类和众多的个体同人类发生密切联系。国内有关蚁类的生态学特别是蚁类摄食活动规律的系统研究较少,而国外有关该领域的研究,则日趋活跃。本     

北京地区的兽类区系及生态地理特征

北京地区的兽类,解放前有些调查记录(Allen 1938、1940),解放后也有一些零星的调查报道(Ellerman 1951,李汝琪;1956,北京师范大学生物系动物教研组,1960;伊佩衡,1964;北京大学生物系,1964等),但工作均较局部,更缺乏生态学方面的材料。     

中国鸟类生态学的发展与现状

中国鸟类生态学的发展可分三个阶段 :2 0世纪 3 0年代至 5 0年代末的萌芽期 ;60年代初至 70年代末的成长期 ;80年代以来的蓬勃发展期。 1 990年以来 ,繁殖是我国鸟类生态学的最主要研究内容 ,论文数量比例占 2 3 5 3 % ;行为、栖息地、群落和迁徙等方面的研究有明显增长 ;鸟类食性研究的关注程度下降。本文对繁殖、行为、栖息地、种群和群落内容研究现状进行详细分析 ,并提出了今后中国鸟类生态学研究与发展应予以关注的问题     

中国鸟类生态学的发展现现状

中国鸟类生态学的发展可分三个阶段;20世纪30年代至50年代末的萌芽期;60年代初至70年代末的成长期;80年代以来的蓬勃发展期。1990年以来,繁殖是我国鸟类生态学的最主要研究内容,论文数量比例占23.53%;行为,栖息地,群落和迁徙等方面的研究有明显增长;鸟类食性研究的关注程度下降,本文对繁殖,行为,栖息地,种群和群落内容研究现状进行详细分析。并提出了今后中国鸟类生态学研究与发展予以关注的问题。     

三宝鸟繁殖期领域性的初步研究

鸟类领域性是鸟类生态学研究中一个引人入胜而又争议颇多的课题(Nice,1941;Hinde,1956)由于对鸟类的领域性与生态因素、种群密度之间关系的深入讨论(Davies,1978;Brown,1969;Wesolowski,1981),使得这一课题已成为鸟类种群生态学研究的重要内容之一。了解各种鸟类的领域性表现和特点,无论在理论上和实践上都是有一定的意义的。 我国鸟类生态学研究工作主要集中在鸟类繁殖习性和区系分布等方面,个体行为生态学     

中国西北地区蚂蚁区系特征

于1997－2000年对宁夏、甘肃、青海及内蒙古西北部地区进行了系统的蚁类标本采集,获得标本1000余号,并对其进行了系统的分类鉴定,获得蚂蚁3亚科16属79种。本调查区蚁类区系组成呈现以下特征：古北界分布的有15属,代表属为蚁属、红蚁属、毛蚁属、原蚁属、箭蚁属、收获蚁属等;东洋界分布的有9属,代表属为火蚁属、细胸蚁属、酸臭蚁属、光胸臭蚁属和弓背蚁属等;在种级水平上,古北界分布的有79种,东洋界分布的仅17种。蒙新区分布的成分有15属,其中以铺道蚁属、原蚁属及箭蚁属为主体,蚁属和心结蚁属次之;区分布的成分有4属,以蚁属和毛蚁属为主体;东北区分布的成分有5属,蚁属和毛蚁属为主体;华北区分布的成分有15属,其中以蚁属、红蚁属和毛蚁属为主体,仅心结蚁属无分布;华中区、华南区和西南区分布的成分均不明显。在种级水平,华北区和蒙新区分布的成分为主体,分别占51和49种,其次为华中区、青藏区和东北区的成分,分别占17、15和15种,华南区和西南区的成分最少,分别为8和5种。在区系分类的基础上,根据优势种、特有种,并结合植被、地形、地貌将调查区划分为6个蚁类区：黄土高原蚁类区、荒漠蚁类区（其下设4个蚁类亚区;荒化草原蚁类亚区、草原化茺蚁类亚区、典型荒蚁类亚区和荒漠绿洲蚁类亚区）、荒漠沼泽蚁类区、高寒灌草丛蚁类区、贺兰山蚁为区和六盘山蚁类区。利用主成分分析对不同草原类型的蚂蚁群落进行了相似性分析,结果表明：荒漠化草原群落、草原化荒漠群落、典型荒漠群落和荒漠绿洲群落明显靠近,构成荒类集团,荒漠森林草原（贺兰山）群落明显远离于荒漠类群,反而与典型草原（黄土高原区）群落靠近,这与蚁类区划结果是十分吻合的。此外,利用主成分分析对79种蚂蚁划分为10个生态种组。     

中国厚结猛蚁属(膜翅目:蚁科)十三种蚂蚁的形态测量学研究

【目的】为了探索形态测量学方法在蚁科昆虫分类中的应用价值和我国厚结猛蚁属Pachycondyla种间的系统发育关系,对国内保存有标本的厚结猛蚁属13种进行了形态测量学研究。【方法】选取厚结猛蚁属13种各9个个体进行测量,以体长(TL)、头长(HL)、头宽(HW)、触角柄节长(SL)、前胸背板宽(PW)性状特征及头长宽比(CI)、触角柄节比(SI)共12个度量特征为变量,进行主成分分析和聚类分析。【结果】研究表明,3个主成分在头长、头宽、头长宽比及触角柄节比有较高的载荷值,差异显著。聚类结果显示,13种厚结猛蚁聚成4支:第1支(短背厚结猛蚁P.brevidorsa(Xu)、拟黑厚结猛蚁P.melanaria(Emery)、红足厚结猛蚁P.rufipes(Jerdon)和列氏厚结猛蚁P.leeuwenhoeki(Forel))与第2支(片突厚结猛蚁P.lobocarena Xu、郑氏厚结猛蚁P.zhengi Xu和敏捷厚结猛蚁P.astute Smith)的相似度最高,亲缘关系最近;与第3支(多毛厚结猛蚁P.pilosior(Wheeler)、安南厚结猛蚁P.annamita(Andrè)、邵氏厚结猛蚁P.sauteri(Forel)和爪哇厚结猛蚁P.javana(Mayr))的相似度次之,亲缘关系较远;与第4支(中华厚结猛蚁P.chinensis(Emery)和黄足厚结猛蚁P.luteipes(Mayr))相似度最低,亲缘关系最远。聚类关系与传统分类的结果基本一致:中华厚结猛蚁与黄足厚结猛蚁外部形态特征相似,聚为一支;郑氏厚结猛蚁、敏捷厚结猛蚁、邵氏厚结猛蚁、爪哇厚结猛蚁与片突厚结猛蚁外部形态特征相似,聚为另一支,亲缘关系较近。【结论】研究结果证明形态测量学方法具有很好的应用价值,适用于蚁科昆虫分类研究。     

Comparison of the ant communities of annually inundated and terra firme forests at Trombetas in the Brazilian Amazon

Summary The composition of the ant community was assessed along standardized 100 m transects in annually flooded Varzea forest and in terra firme forests on sandy soil (Flanco forest) and on claytopped mesas (Planalto forest). Standardized samples were taken by unit-time hand collecting (day and night times), sweeping, beating, baiting and by Winkler sacks. A total of 156 species, representing 49 genera were found, of which 98, 88 and 55 were respectively found in the Planalto, Flanco and Varzea forests. Species lists are presented and the ant community composition and species richness are compared between the three forests. By considering the nesting and foraging habits of the various species, the differences in overall community composition are related to the forest type and susceptibility to inundation of the three forests which were surveyed.The data confirm the view that tropical rain forests support an extremely diverse ant fauna and comparisons with other forested areas suggest that ant species richness declines in subtropical and temperate rain forests. Although alpha diversity is high, species turnover between forests is lower than expected, suggesting that ant species richness in this forested region is not as great as is implied in some published estimates of global arthropod diversity.     

Do lianas shape ant communities in an early successional tropical forest?

Almost half of lowland tropical forests are at various stages of regeneration following deforestation or fragmentation. Changes in tree communities along successional gradients have predictable bottom‐up effects on consumers. Liana (woody vine) assemblages also change with succession, but their effects on animal succession remain unexplored. Here we used a large‐scale liana removal experiment across a forest successional chronosequence (7–31 years) to determine the importance of lianas to ant community structure. We conducted 1,088 surveys of ants foraging on and living in trees using tree trunk baiting and hand‐collecting techniques at 34 paired forest plots, half of which had all lianas removed. Ant species composition, β‐diversity, and species richness were not affected by liana removal; however, ant species co‐occurrence (the coexistence of two or more species in a single tree) was more frequent in control plots, where lianas were present, versus removal plots. Forest stand age had a larger effect on ant community structure than the presence of lianas. Mean ant species richness in a forest plot increased by ca. 10% with increasing forest age across the 31‐year chronosequence. Ant surveys from forest >20 years old included more canopy specialists and fewer ground‐nesting ant species versus those from forests <20 years old. Consequently, lianas had a minimal effect on arboreal ant communities in this early successional forest, where rapidly changing tree community structure was more important to ant species richness and composition.     

Functional and genetic diversity changes through time in a cloud forest ant assemblage

Climate change in the Neotropics is causing upslope range shifts. We used arrays of ant species collected in a cloud forest at 1,500 m in Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), northwestern Costa Rica, collected in two time periods (1998–2000 and 2008–2011) to measure changes in species richness and diversity over a decade. Using metrics of community structure, we found that the species assemblage in the collections from the 1990s was significantly phylogenetically clustered and functionally less diverse as compared to collections from the early 2000s. At both time points, the assemblages were significantly phylogenetically clustered and while the difference in functional diversity between the time points was not significant, the ant assemblage has become lighter in color (on average) over time. When individual species are considered, the overall pattern of replacement is consistent with the cloud forest ant assemblage being colonized by arrivals from lower elevation forests. The invertebrate communities on cloud forested mountain tops are especially vulnerable to a changing climate as there are two factors working together; no higher terrain to which they can move and the invasion of more and more taxa from lower downslope. This vulnerability is already measurable.     

Rapid evaluation of ant diversity in land use systems in southern Bahia, Brazil

We aimed to compare the soil ant diversity in different land use systems from Atlantic Forest area, in Southern Bahia state, Brazil. The ants were sampled in 16 sites: two primary forest sites (un-logged forest); three young secondary forests (<8 years old); three intermediate secondary forests (8-20 years old); three old secondary forests (>20 years old); three Eucalyptus grandis plantations (3-7 years old), and two introduced pastures. Each site was sampled in three sampling points 15 m apart, and distant over 50 m from the site edge. In each sampling point we gathered the litter from a 1 m2 and extracted the ants with Winkler extractors during 48h. We found 103 ant species from 29 genera and eight subfamilies. The five richest genera were Pheidole (19 species), Solenopsis (8), Apterostigma (10), Hypoponera (7) e Paratrechina (5). The highest ant richness density was found in the primary forest (7.4 species/sample; S = 37; n = 5); followed by the old secondary forest (5.33 species/sample; S = 48; n = 9); young secondary forest (5.25 species/sample; S = 42, n = 8); eucalyptus plantation (4.22 species/sample; S = 38, n = 9), intermediate secondary forest (3.5 species/sample; S = 35, n = 10, and introduced pasture (2.67 species/sample; S = 16, n = 6). The ecosystems with higher structural complexity showed the highest ant richness density by sample. Therefore, in the Atlantic Forest region, the eucalyptus plantation is a better alternative of land use to conserve the ant biodiversity than pastures, and quite similar to native secondary forests in ant community characteristics.     

The ant mosaic on cocoa and other tree crops in Western Nigeria

Abstract. 1. Data on ant distribution on the various blocks of cocoa studied at Gambari Experimental Station shows a clear mosaic of ant colonies. Distribution maps and analyses of associations between common species are given.
2. Surveys of ant populations on kola, cashew, coffee, oil palm, plantain and indigenous forest trees revealed dominance by the same ant species as occur on cocoa.
3. The adundance of any particular dominant ant species is shown to be related mainly to the habitat provided by a specific tree crop.
4. The potential utilization of ants as biological control agents is discussed.     

Ants as ecological indicators of rainforest restoration: Community convergence and the development of an Ant Forest Indicator Index in the Australian wet tropics

Ecosystem restoration can help reverse biodiversity loss, but whether faunal communities of forests undergoing restoration converge with those of primary forest over time remains contentious. There is a need to develop faunal indicators of restoration success that more comprehensively reflect changes in biodiversity and ecosystem function. Ants are an ecologically dominant faunal group and are widely advocated as ecological indicators. We examine ant species and functional group responses on a chronosequence of rainforest restoration in northern Australia, and develop a novel method for selecting and using indicator species. Four sampling techniques were used to survey ants at 48 sites, from grassland, through various ages (1–24 years) of restoration plantings, to mature forest. From principal components analysis of seven vegetation metrics, we derived a Forest Development Index (FDI) of vegetation change along the chronosequence. A novel Ant Forest Indicator Index (AFII), based on the occurrences of ten key indicator species associated with either grassland or mature forest, was used to assess ant community change with forest restoration. Grasslands and mature forests supported compositionally distinct ant communities at both species and functional levels. The AFII was strongly correlated with forest development (FDI). At forest restoration sites older than 5–10 years that had a relatively closed canopy, ant communities converged on those of mature rainforest, indicating a promising restoration trajectory for fauna as well as plants. Our findings reinforce the utility of ants as ecological indicators and emphasize the importance of restoration methods that achieve rapid closed‐canopy conditions. The novel AFII assessed restoration status from diverse and patchily distributed species, closely tracking ant community succession using comprehensive species‐level data. It has wide applicability for assessing forest restoration in a way that is relatively independent of sampling methodology and intensity, and without a need for new comparative data from reference sites.     

Impact of secondary forest management on ant assemblage composition in the temperate region in Japan

In Japan, the impacts of human disturbance on ant assemblages have been intensively studied mainly in suburban areas. In contrast, the impact on ant assemblages of long-term human management and abandonment of forests is not well studied even though forestry is viewed as a process that seriously impacts ant assemblages. Besides, the studies focused on the relationship between secondary forest management for producing the firewood and charcoal which is considered to be characteristic of Japan and ant assemblage is not well studied. Do the long-term impacts on the secondary forest alter the ant composition? The effects of forest management on ant assemblages were studied through comparisons of managed, unmanaged and clear cut forest plots in secondary tree stands that had been used previously for producing firewood and charcoal. Ant species richness did not differ among forest categories, but ant species composition varied among forest categories. The absence or presence of openland and woodland ant specialist species is considered a good indicator for secondary forest management.     

Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) diversity and community composition along sharp urban forest edges

The effects of forest edge on ant species richness and community composition were examined within an urbanized area of northeast Ohio. The ground-dwelling ant fauna was inventoried in three deciduous forest fragments that have resulted from human disturbance. We surveyed ants via leaf-litter extraction along 150 m transects positioned perpendicular to the forest edge. We collected 4,670 individuals from 14 genera and 29 species. Samples closest to the forest edge contained more species and accumulated species at a higher rate than did samples located in the forest interior. Our rarefied and expected richness estimates revealed a decline of species richness from edge to forest interior. The higher ant richness at the forest edge was due mostly to the presence of species characteristic of the neighboring open habitats. Although most of the typical forest ant species were represented equally at the edge and at the forest interior, a few responded to the presence of edges with changes in their relative abundance and frequency of occurrence. Forest edges had a higher proportion of opportunistic species and a lower proportion of cryptic ants, whereas interior locations exhibited a more even distribution among ant functional groups. In addition, we documented a community composition shift between the edge and the forest interior. Consistent with previous findings, we suggest that the edge effects are most pronounced within 25 m of the forest edge, which may have implications for the overall conservation of forest-dwelling fauna.     

Post-fire recovery of Mediterranean ground ant communities follows vegetation and dryness gradients

Aim In the Mediterranean Basin, the main forest communities vary in their ability to recover after fire. In this study we analyse the effects of fire on ant communities occurring in various vegetation types distributed along a geographical gradient in the western Mediterranean region. Location The study was carried out in burned and unburned habitats of 22 sites corresponding to eight vegetation types distributed along a gradient of dryness throughout Catalonia (north‐east Spain). Methods We placed five pairs of plots (one plot located in the burned area and the second one placed in the unburned margin) per site. We compared ant communities in these unburned and burned plot types 8 years after fire using pitfall traps. Traps were set out in mid‐May and mid‐July. We analysed the structure and composition of ant communities in the burned and unburned areas of these vegetation types using anova tests, correspondence analysis (CA) and linear regression. Results The resilience of ant communities varies with vegetation type. Ant communities in forests with high resilience also recover rapidly after fire, while those in forests that do not recover after fire show the lowest resilience. Species richness does not depend on burning or vegetation type. The resilience of these Mediterranean ant communities to fire is related to the environmental characteristics of the region where they live. Accordingly, differences between burned and unburned habitats are smaller for ant communities in areas with higher water deficit in summer than for those in moister ones. Main conclusions The structure and composition of ant communities after fire depends on the level of direct mortality caused by the fire. It affects ant species differently, as determined by the habitats used for nesting and foraging. The reestablishment of vegetation cover depends on forest composition before the fire. As vegetation cover determines resource and microhabitat availability and competitive relationships among species, forest composition before the fire also affects post‐fire recovery of ant communities to the medium‐term. Finally, ant communities living in drier areas recover more quickly after fire than those living in moister ones. This pattern might be because in areas with higher water deficit there are more species characteristic of open environments, which are habitats similar to those generated after fire.     

Effects of forest disturbance on the structure of ground-foraging ant communities in central Amazonia

This study evaluates biotic responses, using ants as bio-indicators, to relatively recent anthropogenic disturbances to mature forest in central Amazonia. The structure of the ground-foraging ant community was compared in four habitats that represented a gradient of disturbance associated with differences in land use. Ants were collected in undisturbed, mature forest, in an abandoned pasture, in a young regrowth forest (situated in a former pasture area), and in an old regrowth forest (established where mature forest was just cleared and abandoned). More ant species were found in mature and old regrowth forest than in the abandoned pasture. By contrast, ant abundance tended to decrease with forest maturity. Both pasture and young regrowth forest exhibited a distinct ant species composition compared to mature forest, whereas species composition in the old regrowth forest showed greater similarity to that of mature forest. In spite of differences in fallow time between former pasture areas and non-pasture areas, there is evidence that different land-management practices do result in different rates of recovery of the ant forest fauna after land abandonment. In any case, recuperation of the ground-foraging ant fauna appears to be faster than regeneration of the woody-plant community. In this sense, regrowth forests may be valuable for the conservation of ground-foraging ants and perhaps for other components of mature-forest leaf-litter fauna within the context of a fragmented landscape.