Johnson Jonathan T, Adkins Joshua K, Rieske Lynne K
Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, S225 Ag North, Lexington, KY 40546-0091.
Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, S225 Ag North, Lexington, KY 40546-0091
J Insect Sci. 2014 Jan 1;14. doi: 10.1093/jisesa/ieu099. Print 2014.
In the eastern United States, eastern hemlock Tusga canadensis (L.) Carriere forests are threatened by the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae, a pest that is causing widespread hemlock mortality. Eastern hemlock is an essential component of forested communities. Adelgid-induced hemlock mortality is causing a shift in forest composition and structure, altering ecosystem function and thereby influencing the arthropod community. Using pitfall traps at three sites, we monitored ground-dwelling arthropods at 30-d intervals in hemlock-dominated and deciduous-dominated forests in central Appalachia over 2 yr. Here, we focus on the ant community (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) collected in the summer months. Ants form a ubiquitous and integral component of the invertebrate community, functioning at various trophic levels as predators, herbivores, and omnivores, and fulfilling important roles in forest ecosystems. We found no difference in overall ant abundance between hemlock-dominated and deciduous-dominated forests but did detect significant differences in the genera Prenolepis between forest types (P < 0.01) and Aphaenogaster across study locations (P = 0.02). Three genera were unique to deciduous forests; one was unique to hemlock forests. Not surprisingly, total formicids and several genera demonstrated temporal differences in abundance, with greater numbers captured in July than in August. As hemlock woolly adelgid-induced mortality of eastern hemlock becomes more pervasive, changes in forest composition and structure are imminent, accompanied by shifts in hemlock associates.
在美国东部，东部铁杉（Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carriere）林正受到入侵物种铁杉球蚜（Adelges tsugae）的威胁，这种害虫正导致东部铁杉大面积死亡。东部铁杉是森林群落的重要组成部分。铁杉球蚜导致的铁杉死亡正在引起森林组成和结构的变化，改变生态系统功能，进而影响节肢动物群落。我们在阿巴拉契亚中部的三个地点使用陷阱诱捕器，在两年时间里每隔30天对以铁杉为主和以落叶树为主的森林中的地面节肢动物进行监测。在这里，我们重点关注夏季收集的蚂蚁群落（膜翅目：蚁科）。蚂蚁是无脊椎动物群落中普遍且不可或缺的组成部分，在不同营养级作为捕食者、食草动物和杂食动物发挥作用，并在森林生态系统中扮演重要角色。我们发现以铁杉为主的森林和以落叶树为主的森林在蚂蚁总体数量上没有差异，但确实检测到不同森林类型之间在Prenolepis属上存在显著差异（P < 0.01），并且在不同研究地点的Aphaenogaster属上也存在显著差异（P = 0.02）。有三个属是落叶林特有的；一个属是铁杉林特有的。不出所料，总的蚁科昆虫和几个属在数量上表现出时间差异，7月捕获的数量比8月多。随着铁杉球蚜导致的东部铁杉死亡变得更加普遍，森林组成和结构的变化即将来临，同时铁杉伴生种也会发生变化。
