Abstract
Quantifying the long-term ecological impacts of urbanization requires high-quality historical records and similar re-surveys over time. We replicated a survey conducted in 1924-1926 by Marion R. Smith of house-infesting ants in Urbana, Illinois, to examine how the house-infesting ant fauna and its control measures have changed over 87 years. We complemented residential sampling with pitfall, visual, and leaf litter surveys in the surrounding urban neighborhood and in three nearby forest fragments to characterize the ant fauna from which the house-infesting ants are drawn. In 1924-26, 12 ant species were collected in houses; the four most common were Tapinoma sessile (Say), Lasius alienus (Förster), Camponotus pennsylvanicus (DeGeer) and Solenopsis molesta (Say). In 2012-2013, we found eight species in houses, the four most common of which were Tapinoma sessile, Tetramorium caespitum (Linnaeus), C. pennsylvanicus, and C. nearcticus (Emery). Ant control measures have also changed dramatically, with the average amount spent per household in 2012-2013 nearly doubling (adjusted for inflation). We also found that the residential urban site had similar estimated species richness to one of the nearby forest remnants, demonstrating that the diversity of some arthropod groups can remain high in forested urban environments. Moreover, each site had a unique community of species, reinforcing the value of both small forest fragments and urban sites for supporting biodiversity. Our survey revealed changes in urban and house-infesting ant communities since the 1920s, but, in view of the global abundance of invasive ant species and the extensive changes in land use patterns in central Illinois, the relative similarity of the ant communities separated in time by 87 years was unexpected.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 182-193 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | American Entomologist |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2016 |
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Keywords
- Ants
- Biodiversity
- Citizen science
- Pesticide
- Urbanization
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Insect Science
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Cite this
Urbana house ants 2.0 : Revisiting M. R. Smith's 1926 survey of house-infesting ants in central Illinois after 87 years. / Belcher, Andrea K.; Berenbaum, May R; Suarez, Andrew.
In: American Entomologist, Vol. 62, No. 3, 01.01.2016, p. 182-193.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Urbana house ants 2.0
T2 - Revisiting M. R. Smith's 1926 survey of house-infesting ants in central Illinois after 87 years
AU - Belcher, Andrea K.
AU - Berenbaum, May R
AU - Suarez, Andrew
PY - 2016/1/1
Y1 - 2016/1/1
N2 - Quantifying the long-term ecological impacts of urbanization requires high-quality historical records and similar re-surveys over time. We replicated a survey conducted in 1924-1926 by Marion R. Smith of house-infesting ants in Urbana, Illinois, to examine how the house-infesting ant fauna and its control measures have changed over 87 years. We complemented residential sampling with pitfall, visual, and leaf litter surveys in the surrounding urban neighborhood and in three nearby forest fragments to characterize the ant fauna from which the house-infesting ants are drawn. In 1924-26, 12 ant species were collected in houses; the four most common were Tapinoma sessile (Say), Lasius alienus (Förster), Camponotus pennsylvanicus (DeGeer) and Solenopsis molesta (Say). In 2012-2013, we found eight species in houses, the four most common of which were Tapinoma sessile, Tetramorium caespitum (Linnaeus), C. pennsylvanicus, and C. nearcticus (Emery). Ant control measures have also changed dramatically, with the average amount spent per household in 2012-2013 nearly doubling (adjusted for inflation). We also found that the residential urban site had similar estimated species richness to one of the nearby forest remnants, demonstrating that the diversity of some arthropod groups can remain high in forested urban environments. Moreover, each site had a unique community of species, reinforcing the value of both small forest fragments and urban sites for supporting biodiversity. Our survey revealed changes in urban and house-infesting ant communities since the 1920s, but, in view of the global abundance of invasive ant species and the extensive changes in land use patterns in central Illinois, the relative similarity of the ant communities separated in time by 87 years was unexpected.
AB - Quantifying the long-term ecological impacts of urbanization requires high-quality historical records and similar re-surveys over time. We replicated a survey conducted in 1924-1926 by Marion R. Smith of house-infesting ants in Urbana, Illinois, to examine how the house-infesting ant fauna and its control measures have changed over 87 years. We complemented residential sampling with pitfall, visual, and leaf litter surveys in the surrounding urban neighborhood and in three nearby forest fragments to characterize the ant fauna from which the house-infesting ants are drawn. In 1924-26, 12 ant species were collected in houses; the four most common were Tapinoma sessile (Say), Lasius alienus (Förster), Camponotus pennsylvanicus (DeGeer) and Solenopsis molesta (Say). In 2012-2013, we found eight species in houses, the four most common of which were Tapinoma sessile, Tetramorium caespitum (Linnaeus), C. pennsylvanicus, and C. nearcticus (Emery). Ant control measures have also changed dramatically, with the average amount spent per household in 2012-2013 nearly doubling (adjusted for inflation). We also found that the residential urban site had similar estimated species richness to one of the nearby forest remnants, demonstrating that the diversity of some arthropod groups can remain high in forested urban environments. Moreover, each site had a unique community of species, reinforcing the value of both small forest fragments and urban sites for supporting biodiversity. Our survey revealed changes in urban and house-infesting ant communities since the 1920s, but, in view of the global abundance of invasive ant species and the extensive changes in land use patterns in central Illinois, the relative similarity of the ant communities separated in time by 87 years was unexpected.
KW - Ants
KW - Biodiversity
KW - Citizen science
KW - Pesticide
KW - Urbanization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85029696920&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85029696920&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/ae/tmw041
DO - 10.1093/ae/tmw041
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85029696920
VL - 62
SP - 182
EP - 193
JO - American Entomologist
JF - American Entomologist
SN - 1046-2821
IS - 3
ER -