@article {534,
	title = {Long-term effects of frequent low-intensity burning on ant communities in coastal blackbutt forests of southeastern Australia},
	journal = {Austral Ecology},
	volume = {25},
	year = {2000},
	pages = {83-98},
	abstract = {Periodic low-intensity fire (hazard-reduction burning) is a conspicuous management strategy in vir- tually all of Australia{\textquoteright}s dry forest communities where it is primarily used to reduce fuel levels with the intention of minimising the extent and severity of wildfires. Little is known, however, about the effects of its repeated use on natural ecosystems over long periods of time. This study investigated the long-term effects of frequent low- intensity fire on forest ant communities by comparing frequently burnt sites with long-unburnt control sites. While the richness of ant communities remained largely unchanged, the composition of assemblages differed substan- tially between treatments. Although frequent burning apparently resulted in the loss of a substantial number of species, the overall richness of frequently burnt areas was maintained by the addition of species not present on unburnt sites. These changes in species composition were accompanied by major changes in community organi- sation (structure) and were considered to be a response to altered habitat conditions, particularly litter biomass, vegetation structure and patterns of insolation at ground level. Appropriate fire prescriptions could therefore be applied to manipulate these habitat elements at a landscape scale to meet both management and conservation goals. A comparison of pitfall trapping and litter extraction techniques revealed the importance of a composite sampling strategy, with 22\% of ant species detected only by litter extraction.},
	keywords = {Ants, community structure, fire, litter extraction, pitfall trapping},
	author = {York, A.}
}
@article {520,
	title = {Importance of large colony size for successful invasion by Argentine ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Evidence for biotic resistance by native ants},
	journal = {Austral Ecology},
	volume = {30},
	year = {2005},
	pages = {395-406},
	abstract = {The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Mayr), is a widespread invasive ant species that has been associated with losses of native ant species and other invertebrates from its introduced range. To date, various abiotic conditions have been associated with limitations to the spread of Argentine ants, however, competitive interactions with native ant fauna may also affect the spread of Argentine ants. Here, we experimentally manipulated colony sizes of Argentine ants in the laboratory to assess whether Argentine ants were able to survive and compete for resources with a widespread, dominant native ant, Iridomyrmex {\textquoteleft}rufoniger{\textquoteright}. The results showed that over 24 h, the proportions of Argentine ants that were alive, at baits, and at sugar water decreased significantly in the presence of Iridomyrmex. In addition, Argentine ant mortality increased over time, however, the proportion of the colony that was dead decreased with the largest colony size. Argentine ants were only able to overcome Iridomyrmex when their colony sizes were 5{\textendash}10 times greater than those of the native ants. We also conducted trials in which colonies of Argentine ants of varying sizes were introduced to artificial baits occupied by Iridomyrmex in the field. The results showed that larger Argentine ant colonies significantly affected the foraging success of Iridomyrmex after the initial introduction (5 min). However, over the first 20 min, when the Argentine ants were present at the baits, and over the entire 50 min experimental period, the numbers of Iridomyrmex at baits did not differ significantly with the size of the Argentine ant colony. This is the first experimental study to investigate the role of colony size in the invasion biology of Argentine ants in Australia, and the results suggest that Iridomyrmex may reduce the spread of Argentine ants, and that Argentine ants may need to attain large colony sizes in order to survive in the presence of Iridomyrmex. We address the implications of these findings for the invasion success of Argentine ants in Australia, and discuss the ability of Argentine ants to attain large colony sizes in introduced areas.},
	keywords = {biological invasion, foraging success, interspecific competition, iridomyrmex, linepithema humile},
	author = {Walters, A.C. and Mackay, D.A.}
}
@article {426,
	title = {Characterizing termite assemblages in fragmented forests: A test case in the Argentinian Chaco},
	journal = {Austral Ecology},
	volume = {29},
	year = {2004},
	pages = {637-646},
	abstract = {Termites are major decomposers in tropical ecosystems. To characterize their assemblages in terms of taxonomical and functional composition, Jones and Eggleton (2000, Journal of Applied Ecology 37, 191{\textendash}203) recently proposed a standardized sampling protocol based on belt transects of 100 m  2 m. We evaluated the represent- ativeness of samples obtained by this protocol, and its suitability to calculate diversity statistics, by replicating it in an area of naturally fragmented subtropical forest. We sampled six 100 m transects in separate small forest islets, and one transect extended to 500 m in a large islet, recording presence/absence data (occurrences) of termite species in successive quadrats of 5 m  2 m. In the large islet, strips of 100 m within the 500 m transect produced extremely variable species richness figures. This variability was primarily due to heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of soil- dwelling termites. Combining non-contiguous quadrats allowed us to span a broader diversity of microhabitats for an equal effort, providing less variable results and faster species accumulation. Individual transects of 100 m in small forest islets yielded too few samples to allow reliable estimations of total species richness, although these transects when pooled constituted a useful data set for comparison with other sites. In the focal habitat, a single 100 m transect appeared therefore inadequate to allow a reliable characterization of the termite assemblage, even at the level of a single forest islet. To improve the rate of species accumulation and to obtain diversity statistics allowing intersite comparisons, we suggest the use of smaller, non-contiguous quadrats, and that sampling be continued until stable diversity estimates are obtained. In the habitat studied, such an alternative protocol could be adequately combined with a standardized protocol for collecting ground-dwelling ants},
	keywords = {community composition, geneity, habitat fragmentation, isoptera, sampling standardization, spatial hetero-, species accumulation, species richness estimates},
	author = {Roisin, Y. and Leponce, M.}
}
