Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Tallgrass prairie ants: their species composition, ecological roles, and response to management

  • REVIEW PAPER
  • Published:
Journal of Insect Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ants are highly influential organisms in terrestrial ecosystems, including the tallgrass prairie, one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America. Through their tunneling, ants affect soil properties and resource availability for animals and plants. Ants also have important ecological roles as consumers of plant tissue and seeds. In the last several decades, various organizations, agencies, and agricultural producers have attempted to create wildlife habitat or reduce soil erosion by seeding thousands of hectares of bare cropland in the central United States with tallgrass prairie seed mixes. Although initially, monitoring of these restorations and of unplowed prairie remnants focused on plants and birds, in recent years the response of invertebrates such as ants has increasingly been the subject of research. An understanding of tallgrass prairie ant communities can help land managers and scientists better monitor the ecological condition of tallgrass prairie and guide management and restoration efforts. Here I review our current knowledge of ant species found within tallgrass prairie, their ecological roles, and their response to management.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams ES, Traniello JFA (1981) Chemical interference competition by Monomorium minimum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Oecologia 51:265–270

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen CR, Lutz RS, Lockley T, Phillips SA Jr, Demarias S (2001) The non-indigenous ant, Solenopsis invicta, reduces loggerhead shrike and native insect abundance. J Agric Urban Entomol 18:249–259

    Google Scholar 

  • Andersen AN (1987) Effects of seed predation by ants on seedling densities at a woodland site in SE Australia. Oikos 48:171–174

    Google Scholar 

  • Andersen AN, Hoffmann BD, Somes J (2003) Ants as indicators of minesite restoration: community recovery at one of eight rehabilitation sites in central Queensland. Ecol Manag Restor 4:S12–S19

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson RC, Leahy T, Dhillion SS (1989) Numbers and biomass of selected insects in burned and unburned sand prairie. Am Midl Nat 122:151–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrews EA (1928) Injuries to vegetation by mound-building ants. Am Nat 62:63–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayre GL, Hitchon DE (1968) The predation of tent caterpillars, Malacosoma americanum (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) by ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Can Entomol 100:823–826

    Google Scholar 

  • Baxter FP, Hole FD (1967) Ant (Formica cinerea) pedoturbation in a prairie soil. Proc Soil Sci Soc Am 31:425–428

    Google Scholar 

  • Beattie AJ, Culver DC (1977) Effects of the mound nests of the ant, Formica obscuripes, on the surrounding vegetation. Am Midl Nat 97:390–399

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown JH, Reichman OJ, Davidson DW (1979) Granivory in desert ecosystems. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 10:201–227

    Google Scholar 

  • Brye KR, Norman JM, Gower ST (2002) Assessing the progress of a tallgrass prairie restoration in southern Wisconsin. Am Midl Nat 148:218–235

    Google Scholar 

  • Buckley RC (1987) Interactions involving plants, Homoptera, and ants. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 18:111–135

    Google Scholar 

  • Callcott A-M, Collins HL (1996) Invasion and range expansion of imported fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in North America from 1918–1995. Fla Entomol 79:240–251

    Google Scholar 

  • Callcott A-MA, Oi DH, Collins HL, Williams DF, Lockley TC (2000) Seasonal studies of an isolated red imported fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) population in eastern Tennessee. Environ Entomol 29:788–794

    Google Scholar 

  • Calle Z, Henao-Gallego N, Giraldo C, Armbrecht I (2013) A comparison of vegetation and ground-dwelling ants in abandoned and restored gullies and landslide surfaces in the Western Colombian Andes. Restor Ecol 21:729–735

    Google Scholar 

  • Cammeraat ELH, Risch AC (2008) The impact of ants on soil mineral properties and processes at different spatial scales. J Appl Entomol 132:285–294

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Coovert G (2005) The ants of Ohio (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bull Ohio Biol Surv New Ser 15:1–196

    Google Scholar 

  • Crist TO (2009) Biodiversity, species interactions, and functional roles of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in fragmented landscapes: a review. Myrm News 12:3–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahms H, Lenoir L, Lindborg R, Wolters V, Dauber J (2010) Restoration of seminatural grasslands: what is the impact on ants? Restor Ecol 18:330–337

    Google Scholar 

  • Dauber J, Wolters V (2005) Colonization of temperate grassland by ants. Basic Appl Ecol 6:83–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis CA, Utrup JS (2010) Response of terrestrial invertebrates to high- and low-diversity grassland restorations in south-central Nebraska. Restor Ecol 18:479–488

    Google Scholar 

  • Debinski DM, Moranz RA, Delaney JT, Miller JR, Engle DM, Winkler LB, McGranahan DA, Barney RJ, Trager JC, Stephenson AL, Gillespie MK (2011) A cross-taxonomic comparison of insect responses to grassland management and land-use legacies. Ecosphere 2:1–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Déri E, Magura T, Horváth R, Kisfali M, Ruff G, Lengyel S, Tóthmérész B (2011) Measuring the short-term success of grassland restoration: the use of habitat affinity indices in ecological restoration. Restor Ecol 19:520–528

    Google Scholar 

  • Drees BM, Calixto AA, Nester PR (2013) Integrated pest management concepts for red imported fire ants Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insect Sci 20:429–438

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DuBois MD (1985) Distribution of ants in Kansas: subfamilies Ponerinae, Ecitoninane, and Myrmicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiol 11:153–187

    Google Scholar 

  • Dufrene M, Legendre P (1997) Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecol Monogr 67:345–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Elmes GW, Thomas JA, Wardlaw JC, Hochberg ME, Clarke RT, Simcox DJ (1998) The ecology of Myrmica ants in relation to the conservation of Maculinea butterflies. J Insect Conserv 2:67–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Epperson DM, Allen CR (2010) Red imported fire ant impacts on upland arthropods in southern Mississippi. Am Midl Nat 163:54–63

  • Fagan KC, Pywell RF, Bullock JM, Marrs RH (2010) Are ants useful indicators of restoration success in temperate grasslands? Restor Ecol 18:373–379

    Google Scholar 

  • Fahrig L (2003) Effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 34:487–515

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher BL, Cover SP (2007) Ants of North America: a guide to the genera. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Folgarait PJ (1998) Ant biodiversity and its relationship to ecosystem functioning: a review. Biodivers Conserv 7:1221–1244

    Google Scholar 

  • Forys EA, Quistorff A, Allen CR (2001) Potential fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) impact on the endangered Schaus swallowtail (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Fla Entomol 84:254–258

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster J (2004) Ant-mound effects on two adjacent prairies: virgin and plowed. In: Egan D, Harrington JA (eds) Proceeding of 19th North American prairie conference, Madison, Wisconsin, August 8–12, 2004, pp 81–85

  • Foster J, Kettle WD (1999) Distribution of a mound-building ant on native and restored northeastern Kansas prairies. Prairie Nat 31:21–31

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedrich RL (2010) The short-term impacts of burning and mowing on prairie ant communities of the Oak Openings region. Master’s Thesis, The University of Toledo

  • Gastreich KR (1999) Trait-mediated indirect effects of a Theridiid spider on an ant-plant mutualism. Ecol 80:1066–1070

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson DJ (1989) Effects of animal disturbance on tallgrass prairie vegetation. Am Midl Nat 121:144–154

    Google Scholar 

  • Gomez C, Espadaler X (1998) Myrmecochorus dispersal distances: a world survey. J Biogeogr 25:573–580

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotelli NJ (1996) Ant community structure: effects of predatory ant lions. Ecol 77:630–638

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregg RE (1944) The ants of the Chicago region. Ann Entomol Soc Am 37:447–480

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanzawa FM, Beattie AJ, Holmes A (1985) Dual function of the elaiosome of Corydalis aurea (Fumariaceae): attraction of dispersal agents and repulsion of Peromyscus maniculatus, a seed predator. Am J Bot 72:1707–1711

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison S (1994) Resources and dispersal as factors limiting a population of the tussock moth (Orgyia vetusta), a flightless defoliator. Oecologia 99:27–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Heil M, McKey D (2003) Protective ant–plant interactions as model systems in ecological and evolutionary research. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 34:425–453

    Google Scholar 

  • Helzer C (2009) The ecology and management of prairies in the central United States. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson G, Wagner RO, Jeanne RL (1989) Prairie ant colony longevity and mound growth. Psyche 96:257–268

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann BD, Andersen AN (2003) Responses of ants to disturbance in Australia, with particular reference to functional groups. Austral Ecol 28:444–464

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann BD, James CD (2011) Using ants to manage sustainable grazing: dynamics of ant faunas along sheep grazing gradients conform to four global patterns. Austral Ecol 36:698–708

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann BD, Abbott KL, Davis P (2011) Invasive ant management. In: Lach L, Parr C, Abbott K (eds) Ant ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 287–304

    Google Scholar 

  • Holec M, Frouz J (2005) Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) communities in reclaimed and unreclaimed brown coal mining spoil dumps in the Czech Republic. Pedobiologia 49:345–357

    Google Scholar 

  • Holway DA, Lach L, Suarez AV, Tsutsui ND, Case TJ (2002) The cause and consequences of ant invasions. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 33:181–233

    Google Scholar 

  • Joern A, Laws AN (2013) Ecological mechanisms underlying arthropod species diversity in Grasslands. Ann Rev Entomol 58:19–36

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones CG, Lawton JH, Shachak M (1994) Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos 69:373–386

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones CG, Gutierrez JL, Groffman PM, Shachak M (2006) Linking ecosystem engineers to soil processes: a framework using the Jenny State factor equation. Eur J Soil Biol 42:S39–S53

    Google Scholar 

  • Keeler KH (1979) Species with extrafloral nectaries in a temperate flora (Nebraska). Prairie Nat 11:33–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Kemp MJ, Dodds WK (2001) Spatial and temporal patterns of nitrogen concentrations in pristine and agriculturally-influence prairie streams. Biogeochem 53:125–141

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kerley GIH, Whitford WG (2000) Impact of grazing and desertification in the Chihuahuan Desert: plant communities, granivores, and granivory. Am Midl Nat 144:78–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Kindscher K, Tieszen LL (1998) Floristic and soil organic matter changes after five and thirty-five years of native tallgrass prairie restoration. Restor Ecol 6:181–196

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirkham DR, Fisser HG (1972) Rangeland relations and harvester ants in northcentral Wyoming. J Range Manage 25:55–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Kittelson PM, Priebe MP, Grave PJ (2008) Ant diversity in two southern Minnesota tallgrass prairie restoration sites. J Iowa Acad Sci 115:28–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Kline VM, Howell EA (1987) Prairies. In: Jordan WR III, Gilpin ME, Aber JD (eds) Restoration ecology: a synthetic approach to ecological research. Cambridge University Press, London, pp 75–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Korzukhin MD, Porter SD, Thompson LC, Wiley S (2001) Modeling temperature-dependent range limits for the red imported fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Solenopsis invicta) in the United States. Environ Entomol 30:645–655

    Google Scholar 

  • Lane D, BassiriRad H (2005) Diminishing effects of ant mounds on soil heterogeneity across a chronosequence of prairie restoration sites. Pedobiologia 49:359–366

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lengyel S, Gove AD, Latimer AM, Majer JD, Dunn RR (2009) Ants sow the seeds of global diversification in flowering plants. PLoS ONE 4:e5480

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacMahon JA, Mull JF, Crist TO (2000) Harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex spp.): their community and ecosystem influences. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 31:265–291

    Google Scholar 

  • Majer JD (1983) Ants: bioindicators of minesite rehabilitation land use and land conservation. Environ Manage 7:375–383

    Google Scholar 

  • Majer JD, Nichols OG (1998) Long-term recolonisation patterns of ants in Western Australian rehabilitated bauxite mines with reference to their use as indicators of restoration success. J Appl Ecol 35:161–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Majer JD, Brennan KEC, Moir M (2007) Invertebrates and the restoration of a forest ecosystem: 30 years of research following bauxite mining in Western Australia. Restor Ecol 15:S104–S115

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin LM, Moloney KA, Wilsey BJ (2005) An assessment of grassland restoration success using species diversity components. J Appl Ecol 42:327–336

    Google Scholar 

  • McCahon TJ, Lockwood JA (1990) Nest architecture and pedoturbation of Formica obscuripes Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Pan-Pac Entomol 66:147–156

    Google Scholar 

  • McLachlan SM, Knispel AL (2005) Assessment of long-term tallgrass prairie restoration in Manitoba, Canada. Biol Conserv 124:75–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Moranz RA, Debinski DM, Winkler L, Trager J, McGranahan DA, Engle DM, Miller JR (2013) Effects of grassland management practices on ant functional groups in central North America. J Insect Conserv 17:699–713

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris JR, Steigman KL (1993) Effects of polygyne fire ant invasion on native ants of a blackland prairie in Texas. Southwest Nat 38:136–140

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison LW (2002) Long-term impacts of an arthropod-community invasion by the imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. Ecology 83:2337–2345

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison LW, Porter SD (2003) Positive association between densities of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and generalized ant and arthropod diversity. Environ Entomol 32:548–554

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison LW, Korzukhin MD, Porter SD (2005) Predicted range expansion of the invasive fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, in the eastern United States based on the VEMAP global warming scenario. Divers Distrib 11:199–204

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagel HG (1973) Effect of spring burning on herbivorous and non-herbivorous arthropod populations. J Kans Entomol Soc 46:485–496

    Google Scholar 

  • NAPIS (National Agricultural Pest Information System) (2011) Reported status of red imported fire ant (IFA)—Solenopsis invicta. http://pest.ceris.purdue.edu/searchmap.php?selectName=ISASAZA&maptype=alltime. Cited 7 Jan 2013

  • Nemec KT (2003) Insect communities of native and restored wet-mesic tallgrass prairies in central Nebraska: leafhoppers, planthoppers, treehoppers, and ants. Master’s thesis, University of Nebraska-Omaha

  • Nemec KT, Allen CR, Danielson SD, Helzer CJ (2014) Responses of predatory invertebrates to seeding density and plant species richness in experimental tallgrass prairie restorations. Agric Ecosyst Environ 183:11–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Newman LM, Wolff RJ (1990) Ants of a northern Illinois savanna and degraded savanna woodland. In: Proceedings of the twelfth North American prairie conference, pp 71–73. August 5–9, 1990. Cedar Falls, Iowa

  • Nichols OG, Nichols FM (2003) Long-term trends in faunal recolonization after bauxite mining in the Jarrah forest of southwestern Australia. Restor Ecol 11:261–272

    Google Scholar 

  • Orlofske JM, Ohnesorg WJ, Debinski DM (2010) Potential terrestrial arthropod indicators for tallgrass prairie restoration in Iowa. Ecol Restor 28:250–253

    Google Scholar 

  • Panzer R (2002) Compatibility of prescribed burning with the conservation of insects in small, isolated prairie reserves. Conserv Biol 16:1296–1307

    Google Scholar 

  • Panzer R, Stillwaugh D, Gnaedinger R, Derkovitz G (1995) Prevalence of remnant dependence among the prairie and savanna inhabiting insects of the Chicago region. Nat Areas J 15:101–116

    Google Scholar 

  • Perring MP, Standish RJ, Hobbs RJ (2013) Incorporating novelty and novel ecosystems into restoration planning and practice in the 21st century. Ecol Process 2:18

    Google Scholar 

  • Petersen CE, Zwolfer K, Frandkin J (1998) Ant fauna of reconstructed tallgrass prairie in Northeastern Illinois. Trans Ill Acad Sci 91:85–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Petersen CE, Dave DG, Parker CL, Petersen RE (2002) Ant–plant relationships in a re-created tallgrass prairie. Great Lakes Entomol 35:27–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Petersen CE, Krstic A, Morgan JC, McCallum K, Petersen RE (2004) Investigating the ecology of the mound-building ant, Acanthomyops claviger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), in re-created prairie. Great Lakes Entomol 37:81–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Philpott SM, Perfecto I, Armbrecht I, Parr CL (2010) Ant diversity and function in disturbed and changing habitats. In: Lach L, Parr C, Abbott K (eds) Ant ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 137–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Phipps SJ (2006) Biodiversity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formcidae) in restored grasslands of different ages. Master’s thesis, University of Missouri-Columbia

  • Pihlgren A, Lenoir L, Dahms H (2010) Ant and plant species richness in relation to grazing, fertilisation and topography. J Nat Conserv 18:118–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter SD, Savignano DA (1990) Invasion of polygyne fire ants decimates native ants and disrupts arthropod community. Ecology 71:2095–2106

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed AW, Kaufman GA, Kaufman DW (2004) Influence of fire, topography, and consumer abundance on seed predation in tallgrass prairie. Can J Zool 82:1459–1467

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed AW, Kaufman GA, Kaufman DW (2006) Effect of plant litter on seed predation in three prairie types. Am Midl Nat 155:278–285

    Google Scholar 

  • Reiss KZ (2001) Using phylogenies to study convergence: the case of the ant-eating mammals. Am Zool 41:507–525

    Google Scholar 

  • Reuther KD (2009) Early invasion dynamics of the Japanese pavement ant, Tetramorium tsushimae, in the Saint Louis, Missouri metropolitan area. Dissertation, Saint Louis University

  • Ribas CR, Solar RRC, Campos RBF, Schmidt FA, Valentim CL, Schoereder JH (2011) Can ants be used as indicators of environmental impacts caused by arsenic? J Insect Conserv 16:413–421

    Google Scholar 

  • Ribas CR, Campos RBF, Schmidt FA, Solar RRC (2012) Ants as indicators in Brazil: a review with suggestions to improve the use of ants in environmental monitoring programs. Psyche 2012:1–23

  • Ricketts TH, Olson DM, Loucks CJ, Eichbaum W, Della-Sala D, Kavenagh K, Hedao P, Hurley PT, Carney KM, Abell R, Walters S (1999) Terrestrial ecoregions of North America: a conservation assessment. Island Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Samson FB, Knopf FL (1994) Prairie conservation in North America. BioSci 44:418–421

    Google Scholar 

  • Samson FB, Knopf FL, Ostlie WR (2004) Great Plains ecosystems: past, present, and future. Wildl Soc Bull 32:6–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Shackleford MW (1929) Animal communities of an Illinois prairie. Ecology 10:126–154

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith D, Williams D, Houseal G, Henderson K (2010) The Tallgrass Prairie Center guide to prairie restoration in the Upper Midwest. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiner FM, Schlick-Steiner BC, Trager JC, Moder K, Sanetra M, Christian E, Stauffer C (2006) Tetramorium tsushimae, a new invasive ant in North America. Biol Invasions 8:117–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephens SS, Wagner MR (2006) Using ground foraging ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) functional groups as bioindicators of forest health in northern Arizona ponderosa pine forests. Environ Entomol 35:937–949

    Google Scholar 

  • Talbot M (1934) Distribution of ant species in the Chicago region with reference to ecological factors and physiological toleration. Ecology 15:416–439

    Google Scholar 

  • Tobin JE (1994) Ants as primary consumers: diet and abundance in the Formicidae. In: Hunt JH, Nalepa CA (eds) Nourishment and evolution in insect societies. Westview, Boulder, pp 279–308

    Google Scholar 

  • Trager JC (1990) Restored prairies colonized by native prairie ants (Missouri, Illinois). Restor Manage Notes 8:104–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Trager JC (1998) An introduction to ants (Formicidae) of the tallgrass prairie. Prairie J 18:4–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Trager JC (2013a) Lasius claviger. In: AntWeb. http://www.antweb.org/description.do?rank=species&genus=lasius&name=claviger&project=missouriants. Cited 27 Sep 2013

  • Trager JC (2013b) Crematogaster cerasi. In: AntWeb. http://www.antweb.org/description.do?rank=species&name=cerasi&genus=crematogaster&project=missouriants Cited 27 Sep 2013

  • Trager JC (2013c) Crematogaster lineolata. In: AntWeb. http://www.antweb.org/description.do?genus=crematogaster&name=lineolata&project=ohioants Cited 27 Sep 2013

  • Trager JC (2013d) Formica dolosa. In: AntWeb. http://www.antweb.org/description.do?name=dolosa&genus=formica&rank=species&project=missouriants. Cited 27 Sep 2013

  • Trager JC (2013e) Formica neogagates. In: AntWeb. http://www.antweb.org/description.do?rank=species&name=neogagates&genus=formica&project=missouriants. Cited 27 Sep 2013

  • Trager JC (2013f) Hypoponera opacior. http://www.antweb.org/description.do?rank=species&name=opacior&genus=hypoponera&project=missouriants. Cited 27 Sep 2013

  • Trager JC (2013g) Myrmica emeryana. http://www.antweb.org/description.do?rank=species&name=emeryana&genus=myrmica&project=missouriants. Cited 27 Sep 2013

  • Trager JC, MacGown JA, Trager MD (2007) Revision of the Nearctic endemic Formica pallidefulva group. In Snelling RR, Fisher BL, Ward PS (eds) Advances in ant systematics (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Homage to E. O. Wilson—50 years of contributions. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 80, pp 610–636

  • Underwood EC, Fisher BL (2006) The role of ants in conservation monitoring: if, when, and how. Biol Conserv 132:166–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Unstad K (2012) Predictors of insect diversity and abundance in a fragmented tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Master’s thesis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

  • Van Amburg GL, Swaby JA, Pemple RH (1981) Response of arthropods to a spring burn of a tallgass prairie in Northwestern Minnesota. In: Stuckey RL, Reese KR (eds) The prairie peninsula: in the “shadow” of Transeau: proceedings of the sixth North American prairie conference (p. 240). Columbus: Ohio State University, pp 240–243

  • van Hamburg H, Andersen AN, Meyer WJ, Robertson HG (2004) Ash community development on rehabilitated ash dams in the South African highveld. Restor Ecol 12:552–558

    Google Scholar 

  • Way MJ, Khoo KC (1992) Role of ants in pest management. Ann Rev Entomol 37:479–503

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitford WG, Van Zee J, Nash MS, Smith WE, Herrick JE (1999) Ants as indicators of exposure to environmental stressors in North American desert grasslands. Environ Monit Assess 54:143–171

    Google Scholar 

  • Wojcik DP, Allen CR, Brenner RJ, Forys EA, Jouvenaz DP (2001) Red imported fire ants: impact on biodiversity. Am Entomol 47:16–23

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, 2923 Medary Avenue, Brookings, SD, 57006, USA

    Kristine T. Nemec

Authors
  1. Kristine T. Nemec
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kristine T. Nemec.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 1.

Table 1 Ant species that may be found in tallgrass prairie
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nemec, K.T. Tallgrass prairie ants: their species composition, ecological roles, and response to management. J Insect Conserv 18, 509–521 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-014-9656-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-014-9656-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation