Tschinkel Walter R
Dept. of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2015 Mar 20;10(3):e0120407. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120407. eCollection 2015.
In much of the world, soil-nesting ants are among the leading agents of biomantling and bioturbation, depositing excavated soil on the surface or in underground chambers. Colonies of the Florida harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex badius excavate a new nest once a year on average, depositing 0.1 to 12 L (3 L average) of soil on the surface. Repeated surveys of a population of about 400 colonies yielded the frequency of moves (approximately once per year), the distance moved (mean 4 m), and the direction moved (random). The area of the soil disc correlated well with the volume and maximum depth of the nest, as determined by excavation and mapping of chambers. The population-wide frequency distribution of disc areas thus yielded the frequency distribution of nest volumes and maximum depths. For each surveyed colony, the volume of soil excavated from six specified depth ranges and deposited on the surface was estimated. These parameters were used in a simulation to estimate the amount of soil mantled over time by the observed population of P. badius colonies. Spread evenly, P. badius mantling would create a soil layer averaging 0.43 cm thick in a millennium, with 10-15% of the soil deriving from depths greater than 1 m. Biomantling by P. badius is discussed in the context of the ant community of which it is a part, and in relation to literature reports of ant biomantling.
在世界上许多地方，筑巢于土壤中的蚂蚁是生物覆盖和生物扰动的主要动因之一，它们将挖掘出的土壤堆积在地表或地下洞穴中。佛罗里达收获蚁（Pogonomyrmex badius）的蚁群平均每年挖掘一个新巢，在地表堆积0.1至12升（平均3升）的土壤。对约400个蚁群进行的反复调查得出了迁移频率（约每年一次）、迁移距离（平均4米）和迁移方向（随机）。通过对洞穴进行挖掘和绘图确定，土壤圆盘的面积与巢穴的体积和最大深度密切相关。因此，土壤圆盘面积的全种群频率分布得出了巢穴体积和最大深度的频率分布。对于每个被调查的蚁群，估计了从六个指定深度范围挖掘并堆积在地表的土壤体积。这些参数被用于模拟，以估计观察到的佛罗里达收获蚁蚁群随时间推移覆盖的土壤量。如果均匀分布，佛罗里达收获蚁的覆盖作用在一千年内将形成平均厚0.43厘米的土壤层，其中10 - 15%的土壤来自深度超过1米的地方。本文在佛罗里达收获蚁所属的蚂蚁群落背景下，并结合有关蚂蚁生物覆盖的文献报道，对其生物覆盖作用进行了讨论。
