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Full-Text Articles in Environmental Sciences
Distribution And Diversity Of Ant Genera From Selected Ecoregions Across Nebraska, Jessica Jurzenski, Marc Albrecht, W. Wyatt Hoback
Distribution And Diversity Of Ant Genera From Selected Ecoregions Across Nebraska, Jessica Jurzenski, Marc Albrecht, W. Wyatt Hoback
The Prairie Naturalist
We documented distribution and diversity of ant genera in four of the six-level III ecoregions across Nebraska. We sampled ants using bait cards, pitfall traps, and by opportunistic sampling, including direct collection and in carrion-baited pitfall traps. We identified 22 genera from five subfamilies, which were further classified into six functional groups. In common with other Great Plains states, Formica Linnaeus and Lasius Fabricius occurred most frequently in our samples, and overall ant genus-level richness was comparable to surrounding states. We compared genera similarity using Jaccard’s similarity index within and between the High Plains (western-most) and Western Corn Belt Plains …
Predictors Of Insect Diversity And Abundance In A Fragmented Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystem, Kody M. Unstad
Predictors Of Insect Diversity And Abundance In A Fragmented Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystem, Kody M. Unstad
School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Despite providing many services, the tallgrass prairie and its ecological community is one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America. Remaining habitat exists as remnants in a highly-fragmented landscape. To make informed conservation decisions we need to better understand the effects of this fragmentation. Using the ecologically important insect groups, ants and ground beetles, this study provides baseline data on the biological diversity of southeast Nebraska prairies and investigates what management, landscape, and habitat characteristics affect them. Pitfall trap sampling was conducted in 23 tallgrass remnants scattered throughout the Southeast Prairies Biologically Unique Landscape in 2010 and 2011. Multi-model …