Northern Territory University
CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Darwin: Completed 2001
Ben Hoffmann
Commenced 1997
Summary | Publications | Conferences |
This PhD aimed to better understand responses of ant communities
to land-use related impacts, including cattle grazing, fire, and
off-site mining-related SO 2 emissions. The project
concluded with a synthesis and review of these related projects to
revise and develop protocols for the use of ants as
bio-indicators.
Given the poor taxonomy of Australian ants, the greatest
research challenge was sorting the collected specimens to species
(morphospecies) level. The lack of collections from my research
areas exacerbated the challenge, but the collecting of previously
unrecorded species was most rewarding. The extreme heat and
humidity of Australia's semi-arid north also tested tolerance on
field trips.
This project could not have proceeded without the cooperation of
the Northern Territory University, CSIRO Division of Wildlife and
Ecology in Darwin and Townsville, Department of Primary Industries
in Katherine and numerous landholders in the Northern Territory and
Queensland.
Hoffmann B. D. (2000) Changes in ant species composition and
community organisation along grazing gradients in semi-arid
rangelands of the Northern Territory. Rangel. J. 22 ,
171-89.
Hoffmann B. D., Griffiths A. D. & Andersen A. N. (2000)
Responses of ant communities to dry sulfur deposition from mining
emissions in semi-arid tropical Australia, with implications for
the use of functional groups. Austral Ecol. 25 ,
653-63.
Results from this project were presented at the 1998 Ecological
Society of Australia conference in New Zealand and at the IUSSI
conference in Adelaide over the 1998/99 New Year Period.
