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Data

Alice Mulga Ant Abundance Data 

Ver: 1.0
Status of Data: onGoing
Update Frequency: notPlanned
Security Classification: unclassified
Record Last Modified: 2025-12-02
Viewed 158 times
Accessed 7 times
Dataset Created: 2022-05-05
Dataset Published: 2022-05-13
Data can be accessed from the following links:
HTTPPoint-of-truth metadata URLHTTPTERN EcoPlots PortalHTTPAlice_Mulga_ant_abundance_dataHTTPAlice_Mulga_ant_abundance_data_dictionaryHTTPro-crate-metadata.json
How to cite this collection:
Cleverly, J., Andersen, A. & Eamus, D. (2022). Alice Mulga Ant Abundance Data. Version 1.0. Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network. Dataset. https://portal.tern.org.au/metadata/d5f270e5-60d9-409b-9331-910740b22425 
This data contains ant abundance and incidence collected in the core 1 ha plot within the Alice Mulga 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 funded by the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), an Australian Government National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) project. 
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 core 1 ha vegetation plot in permanent positions marked with PVC tubes (or inverted traps). If the position on the grid was occupied by a tree or rock then the trap was placed adjacent to it. Trapping was conducted over 3 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 were transferred to ethanol for long term storage. Non-ant by-catch was stored for future reference. Ant surveys were conducted in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Ant abundance and incidence was pooled at the site level for each year. 

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 Alice Mulga site is approximately 200 km north of Alice Springs on Pine Hill Cattle Station in the Northern Territory. It lies in the arid and semi-arid portion of mainland Australia that receives less than 500 mm of annual rainfall.
Temporal Coverage
From 2014-11-01 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
Alice Mulga
Alice Mulga, core1ha
Temporal Resolution
Annual
Topic
biota
environment
User Defined
Alice Mulga
Ants
Core ha
Invertebrate
Author
Cleverly, Jamie
Co-Author
Andersen, Alan
Eamus, Derek
Contributor
Faux, Rolf
Contact Point
Cleverly, Jamie
Publisher
Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
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Please cite this dataset as {Author} ({PublicationYear}). {Title}. {Version, as appropriate}. Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network. Dataset. {Identifier}.