Ants as ecological indicators of rainforest restoration: Community convergence and the development of an Ant Forest Indicator Index in the Australian wet tropics

• Published in: Ecology and evolution Vol. 7; no. 20; pp. 8442 - 8455
• Main Authors: Lawes, Michael J., Moore, Anthony M., Andersen, Alan N., Preece, Noel D., Franklin, Donald C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.10.2017; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Age; Ants; Biodiversity; Biodiversity loss; Canopies; Communities; Convergence; Ecological function; Ecology; Ecosystem restoration; Ecosystems; Environmental restoration; Forest management; Forests; functional groups; Grasslands; habitat condition; Indicator species; Indicators; Original Research; Plants (botany); Principal components analysis; rainforest restoration; Rainforests; Sampling; succession; Tropical environments; Vegetation; succession; indicator species; functional groups; rainforest restoration; habitat condition

Ecosystem restoration can help reverse biodiversity loss, but whether faunal communities of forests undergoing restoration converge with those of primary forest over time remains contentious. There is a need to develop faunal indicators of restoration success that more comprehensively reflect change...