This data contains ant species abundance, richness and functional groups sampled across a time since fire chronosequence exceeding 300 years in non-resprouting Eucalyptus salubris woodlands.
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. Funding was provided by: Department of Parks and Wildlife’s “A biodiversity and cultural conservation strategy for the Great Western Woodlands” Project: Great Western Woodlands Supersite. Australian SuperSite Network. Other funding: Australian Transect Network and CSIRO Land and Water
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.