Original Research

An assessment of rehabilitation success in an African grassland using ants as bioindicators

Samantha-Leigh Jamison, Mark Robertson, Ian Engelbrecht, Peter Hawkes
Koedoe | Vol 58, No 1 | a1383 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v58i1.1383 | © 2016 Samantha-Leigh Jamison, Mark Robertson, Ian Engelbrecht, Peter Hawkes | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 02 February 2016 | Published: 29 September 2016

About the author(s)

Samantha-Leigh Jamison, Department of Plant Science, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Mark Robertson, Centre for Invasion Biology, Department or Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Ian Engelbrecht, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Peter Hawkes, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria; AfriBugs CC, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

Many studies that evaluate rehabilitation make use of invertebrate bioindicators. Invertebrates, especially ants, make useful indicators as they are sensitive to environmental change. We compared ant assemblages in rehabilitated and control sites in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve, a protected area important for grassland conservation in South Africa. Pitfall traps were used to sample ant assemblages at six control sites and six rehabilitated sites. In addition, environmental and vegetation surveys were conducted at each site. We found that the ant assemblages differed significantly between the control and rehabilitated sites, although there was considerable overlap; the control sites supported a greater species density and higher abundance of ants than the rehabilitated sites. In total, 36 ant species were collected (control sites: 34 species; rehabilitated sites: 26 species). The environmental survey revealed that percentages of bare ground and coarse sand, as well as soil pH, differed significantly between the control and rehabilitated sites. The control and rehabilitated sites also supported significantly different plant assemblages. Three indicator ant species were identified for the control sites: Crematogaster rectinota, Crematogaster amita and Monomorium fastidium. No indicator species were identified for the rehabilitated sites. These results suggest that recovery from the previous agricultural use of the area is still incomplete and highlights the lack of research examining the success of rehabilitation in the grassland biome.

Conservation implications: The present study illustrates the need for further research on rehabilitation techniques utilised in the grassland biome. This is of value as the remainder of South African grasslands are considered critically endangered.


Keywords

Ants; Grasslands; Bioindicators; Rehabilitation

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