Jcz. Woinarski et al., The distribution of ants on the Wessel and English Company Islands, in theseasonal tropics of Australia's Northern Territory, AUST J ZOOL, 46(6), 1998, pp. 557-578
A total of 74 ant species (from 23 genera) was recorded from 195 quadrats (
50 x 50 mi from 39 continental islands off Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.
In general, the ant fauna comprised generalist species widespread on the n
orth Australian mainland. The functional group composition was also compara
ble to that of similar environments on the north Australian mainland. The a
nt fauna was not tightly structured. There were few habitat specialists, no
species showed a clear preference for smaller islands, and only a few spec
ies showed unequivocal preferences for larger islands. There were no clear
cases of congeneric, or otherwise ecologically similar, species replacing e
ach other on different islands. In contrast to the north Australian mainlan
d, there were no significant differences between habitats in ant species ri
chness. However, the functional group composition varied significantly betw
een the eight main habitats sampled across the islands, in a manner consist
ent with that reported for the mainland.
The number of ant species recorded per island was most closely related to i
sland size (80% of the deviance explained), but there was only slight or no
relationship between island size and the number of species at the quadrat
scale. Functional group composition varied between islands, with small isla
nds supporting a relatively high proportion of Generalised Myrmicinae speci
es. Low-lying land presumably intermittently inundated) islands supported a
higher proportion of Dominant Dolichoderinae and few Specialist Predators
and Tropical Climate Specialist species. Very small islands supported a rel
atively high proportion of Dominant Dolichoderinae species. These differenc
es are largely attributable to inter-island differences in habitat availabi
lity and disturbance regimes, and to differences between functional groups
in dispersability, competitive ability and ecological flexibility. Species
richness was little influenced by the extent of island isolation.
Patterning in the ant fauna of these islands parallels that reported for is
lands elsewhere.