Ants as ecosystem engineers: using ants to promote biodiversity

We are looking for an enthusiastic and ambitious student to develop an exciting project using field
experiments to quantify the relationship between meadow ants and management regimes, and how
these together affect biodiversity and soil function. The ideal candidate will enjoy interacting with both
academics and stakeholders and will want to apply their scientific training to an important applied
question.
Ants act as effective geoengineers, increasing habitat heterogeneity and constructing niches. Yellow
meadow ants, Lasius flavus, were historically common on pastures and promote biodiversity, for
example increasing floral species richness. Many modern farming practices reduce or eliminate their
populations.
Belton House, a National Trust property including 650 hectares of historic wood pasture parkland, a UK
priority habitat, has areas hosting unusually high densities of meadow ants, but also other areas where
they are entirely absent. Previous management of the site has resulted in some over-grazing and soil
compaction. The site is undergoing a period of management change, to a more biodiversity-friendly
approach of mixed and lighter grazing.
Objectives
- To assess the impact of management regimes on ant populations, using controlled manipulations
- To assess the role of soil-dwelling ants as agents of rehabilitation of compacted soil using
experimental transplantation
- To identify the ecological processes mediating the unusually high ant population densities at certain
sites, using behavioural and genetic data
Project 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 the impact of
ants on soil rehabilitation and ecosystem function, and on how grassland management impacts these
processes: it will benefit the academic ecology/evolution communities, policy-makers and land
managers.