Lab Report: The Quinlad's So Sad Ant Lab

By Makayla Harman, Holly Rose, & Grace Ann Wooten

Objective

The purpose of this lab is to identify ant diversity using an Urban Ant Key and then to observe

what changes in this diversity occur with a shift habitat. With this information, we, as a lab group, will be

able to discuss how ant abundance and diversity may change simultaneously with our changing climate.

Our null hypothesis is that climate change will bring about modifications and alterations to both ant

diversity type and location.

Methods

For this lab, our group, The Quinlads, choose two locations, one grass and one pavement, to

collect ants. At each of our two areas, we placed an index card and topped it with a crushed sandy cookie,

as ants are attracted to the chemical make-up and compounds of this sweet treat! We left this index card

and cookie for approximately two hours, allowing time for our trap to attract ants. Upon returning to our

two areas, we found that our trap had, unfortunately, attracted no ants! Due to this unfortunate outcome,

we were forced to make alternate plans which included gathering ants from the pavement area that

neighbored our own. From this pavement area, our group was fortunately able to collect two ants. Once

in the lab, our group analyzed the two collected ants under a microscope and identified each one’s species

using an Urban Ant Key. When we finished analyzing and gathering data from our collected ants, we

bagged and froze them so that they could be used for further research and observation by future classes.

Results

Figure 1 below shows the class collection and data of ant species found in each group's chosen

green habitat along with the species diversity index. Figure 2 below shows the class collection of ant

species found in each group’s separate pavement areas along with the data for the species diversity index.

We have also included a bar graph, Figure 3, that compares the species richness for both pavement ants
and green habitat ant species richness to the 95% Cl. After comparing the data within the two tables and

graph, we found that despite their being less total species of ants, the ones found on pavement ants had a

higher diversity index than that of those in green areas. This observation is based on the fact that

pavement ants had a more equal population distribution between each identified species than that of those

which were found in green habitats.

Figure 1: The table below shows the ant species that were collected by the class in green habitats along
with the Shannon Weaver Diversity Index for each species.
Shannon Weaver Species Diversity Index(H) - Green Habitat
Species Count Proportion (Pi) ln*Pi Pi*(ln*Pi)
Little Black Ant
(Monomorium
minimum) 3 0.1304 -2.0369 -0.2657
Big Head Ant
(Pheidole
megacephala) 3 0.1304 -2.0369 -0.2657
Thief Ant
(Solenopsis molesta) 13 0.5652 -0.5705 -0.3225
Forelius Ant
(Forelius pruinosus) 2 0.0870 -2.4423 -0.2124
Fire Ant
(Solenopsis invicta) 2 0.0870 -2.4423 -0.2124
Total 23 -1.2786
H=1.279

Figure 2: The table below shows the ant species that were collected by the class in pavement habitats
along with the Shannon Weaver Diversity Index for each species.
Shannon Weaver Species Diversity Index(H) - Pavement
Species Count Proportion (Pi) ln*Pi Pi*(ln*Pi)
Pavement Ant
(Tetramorium
immigrans) 2 0.125 -2.079 -0.260
Big Head Ant
(Pheidole
megacephala) 5 0.313 -1.163 -0.363
Little Black Ant
(Monomorium
minimum) 3 0.188 -1.674 -0.314
Forelius Ant
(Forelius pruinosus) 6 0.375 -0.981 -0.368
Total 16 -1.305
H=1.305

Figure 3: The bar graph below compares ant species richness to 95% Cl.
Discussion
As a class, we observed a total of six different species of ants across a mixture of green and

pavement habitats. The species of ants our class collected include: Little Black Ants, Big Head Ants,

Pavement Ants, Thief Ants, Forelius Ants, and Fire Ants. The ants, as a whole, seemed to prefer green

habitats over pavement habits. As a group, we have come to this conclusion based on our creation and

analysis of a bar graph that can be seen in Figure 3; This graph compares ant species richness to 95% CI.

From our data results, we also found that species diversity changed with habitat; there were five species of

ants found in green areas and four species found in pavement areas. In the green habitats, despite there

being more species types, there was less diversity according to the Shannon Weaver Diversity Index. This

is due to the fact that out of the classes twenty three total collected green habitat ants, thirteen of them

were Thief ants; meaning that this observed group was lacking in the population distribution of species

variety. We found that the class collection pavement ants had a higher species diversity, as each species

had an equal population distribution between the sixteen total ants found in these areas.

While ants are small, they are mighty creatures that have a significant role in our environment.

Each of the observed species of ants that the class observed has an important role, this being to provide

basic functions that are necessary for their ecosystems to function, such as dispersing seeds, recycling
nutrients, turning and aerating soil, feeding on organic waste and matter, enabling water and oxygen to

reach plant roots, and acting as a source of food to organisms. However, recent changes in climate may

impact these observed ant species populations. Ants are ectothermic insects, their body temperature

depends on that of the environment in which they live. Therefore, the development of ant populations

through reproduction and the activities of these ant colonies are directly dependent on climatic conditions.

The distribution of ants is also affected by climate, as they will move location based on the needs of their

populations. If North Carolina’s climate continues to change, ants will need to repopulate due to their

new living and environmental conditions not being adequate. Other biotic and abiotic factors that could

negatively impact and disrupt ant populations are the invasion on humans, the invasion of other species,

the spraying of chemicals and pesticides, among others.

In this year’s 2021 Honors Climate Change Biology course, our class observed less total species

of ants than that of previous classes, specifically those in 2011, 2016, 2019, and summer of 2021. Our

class observed a total of six species, this being equal to the number of species the 2019 class found.

However compared to the 2011, 2016, and summer of 2021 courses, our class collected, observed, and

identified a significantly less amount of ant species. In regards to whether we gained or lost specific

species of ant populations compared to previous years, we lost rather than gained. This semester's class

lost some species of ants compared to previous years, such as the Tapinoma sessile, the Brachyponera

chinensis, among others. The loss diversity of ant species is based on climate change, biotic factors, and

abiotic factors; however, this change is mainly due to the unsustainable practices of humans that are

continuing to harm our Earth and all of its inhabitants regardless of whether they be one-hundredth of an

inch or one hundred inches.