Abstract
I aim to improve our understanding of how competition hierarchies among boreal ants are regulated by disturbance due to fire and forestry and consequent changes in resource availability. Ants are ecologically very important in terrestrial ecosystems: they are extremely abundant, are involved in many significant interactions with other species and are able to alter their habitats. Competition is thought to play an important role in structuring ant assemblages, however experimental tests of this assumption are rare. Additionally, little is known about how the effects of competition interact with those of disturbances, such as those due to forestry, a dominant force shaping Swedish landscapes today. Modern forestry alters fire regimes, thus altering the abilities of species to successfully compete for resources. Recent restoration programs aim to restore natural fire regimes, however their effectiveness for epigaeic invertebrates remains untested. Changes in spatial and temporal resource availability, resulting from forestry-related disturbances, may also have large impacts on ant assemblages. I will use large-scale manipulative experiments to examine how competition hierarchies among boreal ants are regulated by disturbances due to forestry and fire and consequent changes in resource availability. This improved knowledge will enhance our ability to manage forests so that we are better able to conserve natural processes and assemblages in boreal forest ecosystems.
Sweden