2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Ants as a bioindicator insect
| Project/Area Number |
16370045
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Biodiversity/Systematics
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| Research Institution | KYUSHU UNIVERCITY |
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Principal Investigator |
OGATA Kazuo KYUSHU UNIVERCITY, Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Professor, 熱帯農学研究センター, 教授 (40224092)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TADAUCHI Osamu Kyushu University, Faculty of Agriculture, Professor, 大学院農学研究院, 教授 (10150509)
KASUYA Eiichi Kyushu University, Faculty of Science, Associate Professor, 大学院理学研究院, 助教授 (00161050)
YATA Osamu Kyushu University, Faculty of Society and Cultural Studies, 大学院比較社会文化研究院, 教授 (80038489)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2004 – 2006
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| Keywords | Insects / Classification / Biodiversity / Community / Conservation Biology / Ecological Bioindicator |
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| Research Abstract |
Ants are one of the most abundant and widespread of insect groups and thus have a potential value of bioindicator insets. The purpose of the study is (1) to establish a standardization of a sampling method, (2) compiling taxonomic information and (3) analysis and evaluation of the data.
Firstly, we have compared several sampling methods of ants and evaluated them in terms of number of collected species, sampling characteristics, and detecting ablility of an ant community. As a resulty, we have concluded that time unit sampling method is the most effective one, but noticed that the qulity depends on the collector's experience, since the method is a direct samplig. This defect can be covered by an apropriate instruction that includes knowledge of biology of ants, handling skills of collecting tools, and sampling points.
Second, we complied a total of 276 species of ants in Japan and the list was placed in a web site that can be downloaded. Some groups of ants were taxonomically revised. A
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list of world genera with Japanese names was also presented. These would provide basic information in local inventry surveys.
Finally, we have evaluated the ant communities of forest ecosystems and agorecosystems. An analysis of species ratios in different forests, that is, ratio of eurychoric species (res) and that of cryptic species (rcs), showed that the characterisitcs of forest become clear : ant communities in continuous broad-leaved forests are placed low res and high rcs of in spite of different forest ages, but the positions of those in isolate forests are different according to the degree of interruptions and their historical background where artifical forests have high res and low rcs, while relict forests have low res and high rcs. In agoroecosystems, we were not able to find significant relation between species numbers in ant communities and physicochemical characteristics of soils. But degree of interruption and geographical location affect ant communities of cropping fields as shown in various localities of sugarcane fields.
In conclusion, out study suggested that ant communities have a value as ecological bioindicator organism. Species number and species composition can indicate degree of interruption and isolation. Less
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