AI Article Synopsis

  • The Białowieża Forest is facing a spruce bark beetle outbreak that has resulted in spruce tree mortality, which could negatively impact wood ant colonies that prefer spruce as their host tree.
  • A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of this outbreak on wood ant nest density and the distribution of dead spruce around their nests.
  • Despite the loss of spruce trees, the study found that the overall density of wood ant nests remained stable and that the bark beetle outbreak might have positive effects by allowing more light to reach the forest floor, promoting the growth of new nests.

Article Abstract

In the Białowieża Forest, Norway spruce is the preferred host tree species for wood ants, both in coniferous and mixed stands; thus, spruce mortality as a consequence of a continuous spruce bark beetle outbreak in the Białowieża Forest since 2012 could have severe consequences for wood ant colonies, as well as their vitality and distribution. The main aim of this study was to assess whether the bark beetle outbreak had any effects on wood ant nest density and abundance and whether we could find any factors affecting the dead spruce distribution around ant nests. A re-inventory of active and abandoned wood ant nests in our study area was conducted from April to July 2022, using the same procedure as the previous inventory performed in 2016. The wood ant nest density was 0.11 per ha and remained practically the same relative to that determined in 2016. Our results indicate that, despite the importance of spruce for wood ants, in situations when only part of the spruce trees die, natural forest disturbances such as bark beetle outbreaks can actually have positive effects because more light can reach the forest floor, thereby promoting the establishment of new nests.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11595269PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/insects15110840DOI Listing

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