Journal of Applied Entomology - Formica special number

The Journal of Applied Entomology has in its last edition of May 2008, articles only about ants and especially on Formica. Many studies look at the impact of ants as ecosystem engineers. Some other are interested in the distribution of native Formica in the Yellowstone park, or on the evolution of 30 years old introduced Formica population.

Here is the list of the different articles:

Ants in the soil system;a hydrological, chemical and biological approach
pp. 265-265(1)
Authors: Risch, A. C.; Jurgensen, M. F.

Organic mound-building ants: their impact on soil properties in temperate and boreal forests
pp. 266-275(10)
Authors: Jurgensen, M. F.; Finér, L.; Domisch, T.; Kilpeläinen, J.; Punttila, P.; Ohashi, M.; Niemelä, P.; Sundström, L.; Neuvonen, S.; Risch, A. C.

The fate of an intentional introduction of Formica lugubris to North America from Europe
pp. 276-280(5)
Authors: Storer, A. J.; Jurgensen, M. F.; Risch, A. C.; Delisle, J.; Hyslop, M. D.

Influence of the wood ant, Formica polyctena, on soil nutrient and the spruce tree growth
pp. 281-284(4)
Authors: Frouz, J.; Rybníek, M.; Cudlín, P.; Chmelíková, E.

The impact of ants on mineral soil properties and processes at different spatial scales
pp. 285-294(10)
Authors: Cammeraat, E. L. H.; Risch, A. C.

Impact of Formica exsecta Nyl. on seed bank and vegetation patterns in a subalpine grassland ecosystem
pp. 295-305(11)
Authors: Schütz, M.; Kretz, C.; Dekoninck, L.; Iravani, M.; Risch, A. C.

The influence of ants on soil and water losses from an orange orchard in eastern Spain
pp. 306-314(9)
Authors: Cerdà, A.; Jurgensen, M. F.

Distribution of ant species and mounds (Formica) in different-aged managed spruce stands in eastern Finland
pp. 315-325(11)
Authors: Kilpeläinen, J.; Punttila, P.; Finér, L.; Niemelä, P.; Domisch, T.; Jurgensen, M. F.; Neuvonen, S.; Ohashi, M.; Risch, A. C.; Sundström, L.

Abundance and distribution of organic mound-building ants of the Formica rufa group in Yellowstone National Park
pp. 326-336(11)
Authors: Risch, A. C.; Jurgensen, M. F.; Storer, A. J.; Hyslop, M. D.; Schütz, M.


Here is the link to the journal:
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/jen/2008/00000132/00000004http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/jen/2008/00000132/00000004

Hi Benoit,

I am extremely grateful for sharing this information!
In particular it's 2 articles that are very interesting to me. For decades I have been looking for information on the European Formica lugubris once brought to Canada, without result. Now this article:
The fate of an intentional introduction of Formica lugubris to North America from Europe
pp. 276-280(5). Authors: Storer, A. J.; Jurgensen, M. F.; Risch, A. C.; Delisle, J.; Hyslop, M. D.
I have to get a copy!

Also, the article on the Formica species in Yellowstone NP is interesting:
Abundance and distribution of organic mound-building ants of the Formica rufa group in Yellowstone National Park pp. 326-336(11). Authors: Risch, A. C.; Jurgensen, M. F.; Storer, A. J.; Hyslop, M. D.; Schütz, M.

I had studied the guest ant, Formicoxenus hirticornis, from nests of Formica obscuripes there in 1977:
Buschinger, A. 1979: Functional monogyny in the American guest ant Formicoxenus hirticornis (EMERY) (= Leptothorax hirticornis) (Hym., Form.). Ins. Soc. 26, 61-68.

Thank you again,
A. Buschinger

Hah! Those were the same two articles I first went to in the volume. In 1982, Dr. Finnegan who was involved in the F. lugubris intorduction in Canada came to visit Bill Buren's lab at the University of Floirda, where I was then a Ph. D. student.

My interest in the Yellowstone article is more in the realm of a pleasant dream. I've never been there, but hope to spend some "quality time" at the park some summer. I have a lot of interest, taxonomic and otherwise, in the North American representative of the rufa-truncorum-microgyna species group.

This is a great issue of the Journal of Applied Entomology. It's pretty cool to devote an entire issue to a single ant genus! It's too bad though that everybody studies the Rufa group. It seems like we don't know all that much about the Fusca group, which is widespread and tend to be very dominant in NA forest ant communities.

I am surprised it took so long for someone to survey the population of Formica lugubris in Quebec. It seems like a species of F.rufa could make a lot of damage to native ant communities. I will certainly try to see those colonies when I go to Quebec this summer.

I really liked the article on seed bank. I find it amazing that plant communities are different on ant mound than away. I know very few studies that have shown that. Does anyboy know about such results?

JP

Well, if you get tired of the Formica rufa group, you could always read Francoeur's revision of the fusca group or mine of the pallidefulva group http://antbase.org/ants/publications/21293/21293.pdf Both have natural history info, and the latter has some behavior, nest architecture, etc.