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Data

Fletcherview Tropical Rangelands Ant Abundance Data 

Ver: 1.0
Status of Data: onGoing
Update Frequency: asNeeded
Security Classification: unclassified
Record Last Modified: 2025-12-02
Viewed 104 times
Accessed 18 times
Dataset Created: 2022-05-05
Dataset Published: 2022-05-26
Data can be accessed from the following links:
HTTPPoint-of-truth metadata URLHTTPTERN EcoPlots PortalHTTPFletcherview_Tropical_Rangeland_ant_abundance_dataHTTPFletcherview_Tropical_Rangeland_ant_abundance_data_dictionaryHTTPro-crate-metadata.json
How to cite this collection:
Edwards, W. & Andersen, A. (2022). Fletcherview Tropical Rangelands Ant Abundance Data. Version 1.0. Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network. Dataset. https://portal.tern.org.au/metadata/1b267f27-eaa5-4f87-9e01-6ddb828d7b6c 
This data contains ant abundance and incidence collected within the Fletcherview Tropical Rangelands site. 
Credit
We at TERN acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians throughout Australia, New Zealand and all nations. We honour their profound connections to land, water, biodiversity and culture and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. This work was jointly funded by the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), an Australian Government National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) project, and the Queensland Government Research Infrastructure Co-investment Fund (RICF). 
Purpose
Ants are Australia’s dominant faunal group in terms of biomass and energy flow. They occupy all trophic levels, act as ecosystem engineers, feature in many mutualistic interactions with plants, and are a key food resource for many vertebrates. Ants are also Australia’s best studied insect group in terms of biogeography and community dynamics. They are the most widely used invertebrate bio-indicators in environmental assessment and monitoring. 
Lineage
Ant sampling was conducted using the TERN Australian SuperSite Network Ant Monitoring Protocol (2014) 
Method DocumentationTERN Australian SuperSite Network Ant Monitoring Protocol (2014)
Procedure Steps

1. 

Ant sampling: Twenty pitfall traps were placed in a standard grid (4 x 5) with 10 m spacing within the vegetation plot in permanent positions marked with PVC tubes (or inverted traps). If the position on the grid is occupied by a tree or rock then the trap was placed adjacent to it. Trapping was conducted over 2 days with traps sealed with screw cap at the end of the period. Any dirt, plant material or other debris was removed as contaminating material can stain the ants if left with them for extended periods. Tubes were stored in the dark as light will cause colours to fade and the cuticle or integument will deteriorate over time, greatly reducing the usefulness of the material for taxonomic studies and making identifications difficult or impossible. Traps were buried with lips completely flush with the soil surface. Sealed pitfall traps were sent to a central processing laboratory where contents are transferred to ethanol for long term storage. Non-ant by-catch was stored for future reference. Ant abundance and incidence was pooled at the site level. 

2. 

Ant species identification: Ant specimens were identified and curated at the CSIRO's Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre in Darwin by Dr Alan Andersen. 

Fletcherview Tropical Rangeland site is located at James Cook University’s Fletcherview Research Station, two hours west of Townsville. Black and red basalt soils and alluvial river flats support a wide variety of flora and fauna across open savanna woodland, dry rainforest, lava flows, three creek systems and the Burdekin River.
Temporal Coverage
From 2021-10-20 to on going 
Spatial Resolution

Data not provided.

Vertical Extent

Data not provided.

Australian Faunal Directory
ARTHROPODA
FORMICIDAE
INSECTA
ANZSRC - FOR
Climate change impacts and adaptation
Ecology
Environmental management
GCMD Sciences
BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION - ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES
BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION - ARTHROPODS
BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION - INSECTS
BIOSPHERE - ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS
BIOSPHERE - ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS
Horizontal Resolution
Point Resolution
Instruments
wet pitfall trap
Parameters
animal count
animal occurrence
field species name
incidence of animals
scientific name
Platforms
Fletcherview Tropical Rangeland
Fletcherview Tropical Rangeland, QDAEIU0008
Fletcherview Tropical Rangeland, QDAEIU0009
Fletcherview Tropical Rangeland, QDAEIU0010
Temporal Resolution
Annual
Topic
biota
environment
User Defined
Ants
Fletcherview Tropical Rangeland
Invertebrate
Author
Edwards, Will
Co-Author
Andersen, Alan
Contact Point
Edwards, Will
Publisher
Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
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