Are wood ants ecosystem engineers? Assessing impacts during range expansion

This project will combine biogeochemical field data and ecological modelling to quantify and predict how wood ants affect regional forest soil function. The
student will enjoy interacting with academics and stakeholders from a range of backgrounds and want to apply their scientific training to an important
applied question.Forestry, mainly plantations, occupies 13% of British land area. The fragmentation of British woodlands adds further challenges, particularly for
locally dispersing habitat specialists, e.g. wood ants (Formica rufa group). These species, threatened across Europe, are key components of woodland
ecosystems. Recent work indicates wood ant populations in the North York Moors are expanding from ancient woodland into plantations. This ongoing
expansion allows us to explore the impact of ant behavior on forest function within forests with long-term, recent and no ant nest presence.
Ant mapping data, including 3 years' expansion at population margins, will be used to identify sampling sites in which ant behavior and a range of soil
functional data will be collected (e.g.- soil pH, trace gas fluxes, bulk density and nutrient loading). These data will be used to quantify the impact of ant presence
on soil qualities and function and this may be used to predict invasive impacts. There is a significant field work component that will be combined with
substantial laboratory analyses.

Objectives
a) To predict the impact on soil function of the spread into new habitat of a woodland specialist
Specifically to quantify:
i. The impact on soil chemical/physical properties over short and longer-term time scales
ii. The impact on soil microbial community over short and longer time scales
b) To provide advice for forest managers regarding ecological and climate impact of management activities
Applications and benefits
The student will receive thorough postgraduate training supported by a multidisciplinary team of supervisors with strong research backgrounds and
experience in postgraduate supervision. The student will gain ecological research skills including: empirical field techniques; cutting-edge laboratory
equipment techniques; spatial analysis methods. This study will provide novel data on dispersal impacts in woodland species: it will benefit the academic
ecology/evolution communities, policy-makers and forest managers.