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Data

Wambiana Grazing Trial Ant Abundance Data 

Ver: 1.0
Status of Data: onGoing
Update Frequency: asNeeded
Security Classification: unclassified
Record Last Modified: 2025-12-02
Viewed 144 times
Accessed 17 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 PortalHTTPDAF_Wambiana_Grazing_Trial_ant_abundance_data_dictionaryHTTPDAF_Wambiana_Grazing_Trial_ant_abundance_dataHTTPro-crate-metadata.json
How to cite this collection:
Edwards, W. & Andersen, A. (2022). Wambiana Grazing Trial Ant Abundance Data. Version 1.0. Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network. Dataset. https://portal.tern.org.au/metadata/b0c17698-7abc-4a6b-a893-23a7886b09d8 
This data contains ant abundance and incidence collected within the Wambiana Grazing Trial site south-west of Charters Towers in North Queensland. 
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. The Wambiana grazing trial is co-funded by DAF and Meat and Livestock Australia. We are deeply grateful to the Lyons family, Wambiana, for hosting the trial site. 
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 are placed in a standard grid (4 x 5) with 10 m spacing within plots 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 is placed adjacent to it. Trapping is conducted over 3 days with traps sealed with screw cap at the end of the period. Any dirt, plant material or other debris is removed as contaminating material can stain the ants if left with them for extended periods. Tubes be 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 are buried with lips completely flush with the soil surface. Sealed pitfall traps are sent to a central processing laboratory where contents are transferred to ethanol for long term storage. Non-ant by-catch is 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. 

The DAF Wambiana Grazing Trial is located 70 km south-west of Charters Towers in north Queensland. The site is in the Aristida–Bothriochloa pasture community and is situated in an open Eucalyptus-Acacia woodland overlying C4 tropical native grasses.
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
Wambiana Grazing Trial
Wambiana Grazing Trial, QDADEU0001
Wambiana Grazing Trial, QDADEU0002
Wambiana Grazing Trial, QDADEU0003
Wambiana Grazing Trial, QDADEU0004
Wambiana Grazing Trial, QDADEU0005
Wambiana Grazing Trial, QDADEU0006
Temporal Resolution
Annual
Topic
biota
environment
User Defined
Ants
Department of Agriculture & Fisheries
Invertebrate
Wambiana Grazing Trial
Author
Edwards, Will
Co-Author
Andersen, Alan
Contact Point
Edwards, Will
Publisher
Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
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