Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

High diversity in an urban habitat: are some animal assemblages resilient to long-term anthropogenic change?

  • Published:
Urban Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Urbanization is thought to lead to the loss of biodiversity both because of habitat disturbance and the increased abundance of invasive species. However, most studies of biodiversity in cities are conducted on a short time scale, usually less than 3 years, and so miss the long-term dynamics of communities inhabiting these ecosystems. Here we use a study performed in the early 70’s on North Carolina State University (Raleigh, USA) as a baseline to evaluate the long term effects of disturbance and introduced species on native ant communities. Ant species were sampled almost 40 years later using a variety of sampling techniques in order to maximize species collection. Our results show that while the number of exotic species increased, including three major invasive ants, native ant species richness remained high. Furthermore, our survey was able to add several new records for the area considered, in comparison of the 70’s study, for a total of 89 species known from NCSU campus. After comparison with other studies, our results represent one of the most species-rich urban environments monitored and thus open encouraging perspective on how urban ecosystems could contribute to the preservation of the biodiversity of small-bodies organisms such as ants.

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

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Antonov IA (2008) Ant assemblages of two cities with different ecological conditions in southern Cisbaikalia. Russ J Ecol 39:454–456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernard F (1958) Fourmis des villes et fourmis du bled entre rabat et tanger. Bull Soc Sci Nat Maroc 38:131–142

    Google Scholar 

  • Bestelmeyer BT, Agosti D, Alonso LE, Brandao CRF, Brown WL Jr, Delabie JHC, Silvestre R (2000) Field techniques for the study of ground-dwelling ants: an overview, description, and evaluation. In: Agosti D, Majer JD, Alonso LE, Schultz TR (eds) Ants: standard methods for measuring and monitoring biodiversity. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, pp 122–144

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolger TD, Suarez AV, Crooks KR, Morrison SA, Case TJ (2000) Arthropods in urban habitat fragments in southern California: area, age and edge effects. Ecol Appl 10:1230–1248

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter WG (1962) Ants of the north Carolina piedmont. J Elisha Mitch Sci S 78:1–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Chace JF, Walsh JJ (2006) Urban effects on native avifauna: a review. Landsc Urban Plan 74:46–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chytrý M, Jarosik V, Pysek P, Hájek O, Knollová I, Tichý L, Danihelka J (2008) Separating habitat invasibility by alien plants from the actual level of invasion. Ecology 89:1541–1553

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dauber J (1997) Ameisenfauna einer urbanen Landschaft. Naturschutz und Landschaftplanung 29:303–309

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn RR (2000) Isolated trees as centers of ant diversity in active and fallow fields. Biol Conserv 95:317–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn RR, Gavin M, Sanchez M, Solomon J (2006) The pigeon: dependence of global conservation on urban nature. Conserv Biol 20:1814–1816

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elton CS (1958) The ecology of invasions by animals and plants. Methuen, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Espadaler X, López-Soria L (1991) Rareness of certain Mediterranean ant species: fact or artifact? Insect Soc 38:365–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guénard B, Dunn RR (2010) A new (old), invasive ant in the hardwood forests of Eastern North America and its potentially widespread impacts. PLoS One 5:e11614. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.00116147

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guénard B, Weiser MD, Dunn RR (2012a) Global models of ant diversity suggest regions where new discoveries are most likely are under disproportionate deforestation threat. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109:7368–7373

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guénard B, McCaffrey KA, Lucky A, Dunn RR (2012b) Ants of North Carolina: an updated list (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3552:1–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Herraiz JA, Espadaler X (2007) Laboulbenia formicarum (Ascomycota, Laboulbeniales) reaches the Mediterranean. Sociobiology 50:449–455

    Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson C (1987) Biogeography and habitats of Ponera exotica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J Entomol Sci 22:358–361

    Google Scholar 

  • King JR, Tschinkel WR (2008) Experimental evidence that human impacts drive fire ant invasions and ecological change. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 105:20339–20343

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacGown JA, Hill JG, Deyrup MA (2007) Brachymyrmex patagonicus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) an emerging pest species in the southeastern United States. Fla Entomol 90:457–464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacGown JA, Hill JG, Brown LA (2010) Dispersal of the exotic Brachymyrmex patagonicus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the United States. Proceedings: Imported Fire Ant Conference, Charleston, South Carolina, March 24–26, 2008, 80–86

  • Mack RN, Simberloff D, Lonsdale WM, Evans H, Clout M, Bazzaz FA (2000) Biotic invasions: causes, epidemiology, global consequences, and control. Ecol Appl 10:689–710

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martinez MJ, Wrenn WJ, Tilzer A, Cummings RF (2011) New records for the exotic ants Brachymyrmex patagonicus Mayr and Pheidole moerens Wheeler (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in California. Pan-Pac Entomol 87:47–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McIntyre NE (2000) Ecology of urban arthropods: a review and a call to action. Ann Entomol Soc Am 93:825–835

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinney ML (2002) Urbanization, biodiversity, and conservation. Bioscience 52:883–890

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinney ML (2008) Effects of urbanization on species richness: a review of plants and animals. Urban Ecosyst 11:161–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menke SB, Guénard B, Sexton JO, Weiser MD, Dunn RR, Silverman J (2011) Urban areas may serve as habitat and corridors for dry-adapted, heat tolerant species; an example from ants. Urban Ecosyst 14:135–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • North Carolina State University Building index. http://www.ncsu.edu/facilities/buildings/index.htm. Assessed on February 15 2013

  • North Carolina State University Historical Sketch. http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/scrc/university-historical-sketch. Accessed on April 26 2014

  • Nuhn TP (1977) A survey of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on the campus of North Carolina State University at Raleigh. Master’s thesis

  • Nuhn TP, Wright CG (1979) An ecological survey of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a landscaped suburban habitat. Am Midl Nat 102:353–362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Official City of Raleigh Website, Raleigh Demographics. http://www.raleighnc.gov/home/content/PlanLongRange/Articles/RaleighDemographics.html. Accessed on August 4th 2013

  • Ordonez-Urbano C, Reyes-Lopez J, Carpintero-Ortega S (2008) Una especie aloctona puede ser “rara”? El caso de Pyramica membranifera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bol Soc Entomol Aragonesa 42:321–323

    Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pyšek P, Bacher S, Chytrý M, Jarošík V, Wild J, Celesti-Grapow L, Gassó N, Kenis M, Lambdon PW, Nentwig W et al (2010) Contrasting patterns in the invasions of European terrestrial and freshwater habitats by alien plants, insects and vertebrates. Global Ecol Biogeogr 19:317–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rebele F (1994) Urban ecology and special features of urban ecosystems. Global Ecol Biogeogr 4:173–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice ES, Silverman J (2013) Propagule pressure and climate contribute to the displacement of Linepithema humile by Pachycondyla chinensis. PLoS One 8:e56281. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0056281

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rizali A, Bos MM, Buchori D, Yamane S, Hans C, Schulze J (2008) Ants in tropical urban habitats: the myrmecofauna in a densely populated area of Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. Hayati J Biosci 15:77–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowles AD, Silverman J (2009) Carbohydrate supply limits invasion of natural communities by Argentine ants. Oecologia 161:161–171

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Savard JPL, Clergeau P, Mennechez G (2000) Biodiversity concepts and urban ecosystems. Landsc Urban Plan 48:131–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlick-Steiner BC, Steiner FM, Moder K, Seifert B, Sanetra M, Dyreson E, Stauffer C, Christian E (2006) A multidisciplinary approach reveals cryptic diversity in Western Palearctic Tetramorium ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Mol Phylogenet Evol 40:259–273

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seto KC, Fragkias M, Güneralp B, Reilly MK (2011) A meta-analysis of global urban land expansion. PLoS One 6:e23777. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023777

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seto KC, Güneralp B, Hutyra LR (2012) Global forecasts of urban expansion to 2030 and direct impacts on biodiversity and carbon pools. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109:16083–16088

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith MR (1946) Ant hosts of the fungus, Laboulbenia formicarum Thaxter. Proc Entomol Soc Wash 48:29–31

    Google Scholar 

  • Tait CJ, Daniels CB, Hill RS (2005) Changes in species assemblages within the Adelaide metropolitan area, Australia, 1836–2002. Ecol Appl 15:346–359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM, Mooney HA, Lubchenko J, Melillo JM (1997) Human domination of earth’s ecosystems. Science 277:494–499

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ward PS (2000) Broad-scale patterns of diversity in leaf litter ant communities. In: Agosti D, Majer JD, Alonso LE, Schultz TR (eds) Ants: standard methods for measuring and monitoring biodiversity. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, pp 99–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Wetterer JK (2009) Worldwide spread of the Penny ant, Tetramorium bicarinatum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology 54:811–830

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler WM (1910) Colonies of ants (Lasius neoniger Emery) infested with Laboulbenia formicarum Thaxter. Psyche 17:83–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yasuda M, Koike F (2009) The contribution of the bark of isolated trees as habitat for ants in an urban landscape. Landsc Urban Plan 92:276–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Aknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Neil McCoy, Katherine Driscoll, Matthew Drew for their help in collecting. We would like to thank Terry Nuhn for discussion about his collection. Thank you also to Alex Wild for authorizing the use of his pictures. Finally, we’d like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments on a previous version of the manuscript. The work of RRD and BG was supported by a NASA Biodiversity Grant (ROSES-NNX09AK22G), support from a USGS grant to the Climate Science Center and an NSF-CAREER grant (09533390).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan

    Benoit Guénard

  2. Department of Biological Sciences and the Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Benoit Guénard, Adrianna Cardinal-De Casas & Robert R. Dunn

Authors
  1. Benoit Guénard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Adrianna Cardinal-De Casas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Robert R. Dunn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Benoit Guénard.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(DOCX 14 kb)

ESM 2

(DOCX 20 kb)

ESM 3

(DOCX 33 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Guénard, B., Cardinal-De Casas, A. & Dunn, R.R. High diversity in an urban habitat: are some animal assemblages resilient to long-term anthropogenic change?. Urban Ecosyst 18, 449–463 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-014-0406-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-014-0406-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation