PARENT SESSION
Poster Session # 19: Insect and Invertebrate Ecology.
Thursday, August 7 Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. SITCC Exhibit Hall B.
Population densities of the fungus-growing ant Trachymyrmex septentrionalis in southeastern Virginia.
Howell, Jonathan1, Waller, Deborah1, 1 Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA
ABSTRACT- This study was conducted over a period of two years in the Blackwater Ecological Preserve (BEP) of southeastern Virginia. BEP is undergoing a program of prescribed burns to convert the loblolly pine habitat to longleaf pine. Four populations of T. septentrionalis separated by 50+ meters were located and mapped. Vegetation cover was measured within the populated areas and in adjacent unpopulated areas at two heights by densiometer. There were significant differences in cover between populated and unpopulated areas. Population densities were calculated for each nesting site, ranging from 0.072 to 0.145 nests/m2. No association was found between cover and population density.
Key words: density, Trachymyrmex septentrionalis , cover, fire