Ameisen als Schlüsseltiere in einem Grasland [Elektronische Ressource] : Studien zu ihrer Bedeutung für die Tiergemeinschaft, das Nahrungsnetz und das Ökosystem / Christian Platner

Göttingen Centre for Biodiversity Ants as keystone species in a dry grassland: Studies of their importance and Ecology for animal community, food web and ecosystem functionAnts as eusocial predators living in the soil and ground litter are able to directly or indirectly Biodiversity and Ecology Seriesaffect soil organisms, herbivores and plants via trophic interactions (‘top-down’) and altering the physical and chemical environment (‘bottom up’). The aim of this study was the analysis of the structure of these interactions driven by ants. Three components of this engineer-web were investigated descriptively and experimentally: Environment, microclimate and commu- Christian Platnernity structure – Food web – Soil and ecosystem.It is concluded that subterranean ants play an important role as soil engineers and therefore Ameisen als Schlüsseltiere modulate bottom-up forces for the whole food web by altering the resource supply to other in einem Graslandspecies. But they also directly affect above- and belowground populations of different tro-phic levels including plants, by top-down control via predation, interference and disturbance, Studien zu ihrer Bedeutung für die and tending species of aphids and coccids. Tiergemeinschaft, das However, comparing to the strong belowground bottom-up impacts the top-down forces driven by ants are relatively weak.