Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Interacting Effects Of Urbanization And Coastal Gradients On Ant Thermal Responses, Robert Warren

Biology Faculty Datasets

Urban-to-rural gradients intersect with other, often unmeasured, environmental gradients that may influence or even supersede species responses. Here we use coastal-to-interior and urban-rural gradients to investigate woodland ant response (physiological thermal tolerance, community structure and spring phenology) to two overlapping thermal gradients, the Great Lakes (Erie and Ontario) and the Buffalo, NY urban center (USA). Woodland ant physiological and behavioral responses, and community responses, shifted along the coastal-to-interior and urban-rural gradients, but they were generally best explained by lake effects (though urban ants tolerated higher temperatures than rural ants). The relatively colder spring temperatures in coastal areas (as compared to …