1. The effects of prescribed fire on ant community structure were examined in a regenerating longleaf pine savanna in Florida, U.S.A. The presence of ants on 20, 10 × 10 m plots was determined by baiting every 1-3 months from 18 months before a fire until 6 months afterwards. 2. Expected species richness (based on rarefaction) and species density 6 months post-fire were significantly lower than for the same month (September) 6 months before the fire. 3. Cluster analysis revealed that the effects of fire were far less important predictors of ant community structure than seasonality and unexplained interannual variation. Thus, overall, the impacts of fire were relatively minor and short term at the community level. 4. Different functional groups of ants (as defined by Andersen, 1997) responded to fire in strikingly different ways. Generalised Myrmicinae (e.g. Pheidole spp., Monomorium viride) were affected more severely by fire than were the other functional groups. In contrast, the dominant Dolichoderinae (Forelius pruinosus) exhibited a large increase after the fire and seemed to be responsible for the decline in abundance of several species. 5. A strong negative correlation between F. pruinosus and other groups of ants immediately after the fire suggested more intense competition among ants at that time. Six months post-fire, the abundance of F. pruinosus decreased markedly and the abundance of other species rebounded. 6. The rapid post-fire recovery of the ant community probably reflects adaptations of ants to a chronic fire regime.284439448Albercht, M., Gotelli, N.J., Spatial and temporal niche partitioning in grassland ants (2001) Oecologia, 126, pp. 134-141Andersen, A.N., Immediate and longer-term effects of fire on seed predation by ants in sclerophyllous vegetation of southeastern Australia (1988) Australian Journal of Ecology, 13, pp. 285-293Andersen, A.N., Responses of ground-foraging ant communities to three experimental fire regimes in a savanna forest of tropical Australia (1991) Biotropica, 23, pp. 575-585Andersen, A.N., Regulation of 'momentary' diversity by dominant species in exceptionally rich ant communities of the Australian seasonal tropics (1992) American Naturalist, 140, pp. 401-420Andersen, A.N., A classification of Australian ant communities, based on functional groups which parallel plant life-forms in relation to stress and disturbance (1995) Journal of Biogeography, 22, pp. 15-29Andersen, A.N., Functional groups and patterns of organization in North America ant communities: A comparison with Australia (1997) Journal of Biogeography, 24, pp. 433-460Andersen, A.N., Majer, J.D., The structure and biogeography of rainforest ant communities in the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia (1991) Rainforests of Australia, pp. 333-346. , ed. by N. L. McKenzie, R. B. Johnston and P. J. Kendrick. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, New South WalesAndersen, A.N., Patel, A.D., Meat ants as dominant members of Australian ant communities: An experimental test of their influence on the foraging success and forager abundance of other species (1994) Oecologia, 98, pp. 15-24Andersen, A.N., Reichel, H., The ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) fauna of Holmes Jungle, a rainforest patch in the seasonal tropics of Australia's Northern Territory (1994) Journal of the Australian Entomological Society, 33, pp. 153-158Andersen, A.N., Yen, A.L., Immediate effects of fire on ants in the semi-arid mallee region of northwestern Victoria (1985) Australian Journal of Ecology, 10, pp. 25-30Bentley, B.L., Plants bearing extrafloral nectaries and the associated ant community: Interhabitat differences in the reduction of herbivore damage (1976) Ecology, 57, pp. 815-820Bolton, B., (1995) A New General Catalogue of the Ants of the World, , Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MassachusettsCampbell, S.M., (1996) Two Scavenger Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Assemblages of Xeric, Upland Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) Stands in the Sand Hill Region of North Carolina, , PhD thesis, North Carolina State University, U.S.AChristensen, N.L., Fire regimes in southeastern ecosystems (1981) Fire Regimes and Ecosystem Properties, pp. 112-136. , ed. by H. A. Mooney, T. M. Bonnicksen, N. L. Christensen, J. E. Lotan and W. A. Reiners. General Technical Report WO-26, USDA Forest Service, Washington, DCChristensen, N.L., Vegetation of the Southeastern Coastal Plain (1988) North America Terrestrial Vegetation, pp. 317-363. , ed. by M. G. Barbour and W. D. Billings. Cambridge University Press, CambridgeChristensen, P., Abbott, I., Impact of fire in the eucalypt forest ecosystem of southern Western Australia: A critical review (1989) Australian Forestry, 52, pp. 103-121De Morais, H.C., Benson, W.W., Recolonization of cerrado vegetation by arboricolous ants after fire (1988) Revista Brasileira de Biologia, 48, pp. 459-466Engstrom, R.T., Characteristic mammals and birds of longleaf pine forests (1993) Proceedings of the Tall Timber Fire Ecology Conference, No. 18, the Longleaf Pine Ecosystems: Ecology, Restoration and Management, 18, pp. 127-138. , ed. by S. M. Hermann. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FloridaFellers, J.H., Daily and seasonal activity in woodland ants (1989) Oecologia, 78, pp. 69-76Folgarait, P.J., Ant biodiversity and its relationships to ecosystem functioning: A review (1998) Biodiversity and Conservation, 7, pp. 1221-1244Folkerts, G.W., Deyrup, M.A., Sisson, D.C., Arthropods associated with xeric longleaf pine habitats in the southeastern United States: A brief overview (1993) Proceedings of the Tall Timber Fire Ecology Conference, No. 18, the Longleaf Pine Ecosystems: Ecology, Restoration and Management, 18, pp. 159-203. , ed. by S. M. Hermann. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FloridaFranz, R., Annotated list of the vertebrates of the Katharine Ordway Preserve-Swisher Memorial Sanctuary, Putman County, Florida (1991) Ordway Preserve Research Series, , Report no. 2. Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, U.S.AFrost, C.C., Four centuries of changing landscape patterns in the longleaf pine ecosystem (1993) Proceedings of the Tall Timber Fire Ecology Conference, No. 18, the Longleaf Pine Ecosystems: Ecology, Restoration and Management, 18, pp. 17-43. , ed. by S. M. Hermann. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FloridaGates, C.A., Tanner, G.W., Effects of prescribed burning on herbaceous vegetation and pocket gopher (Geomys pinetis) in a sandhill community (1988) Florida Scientist, 51, pp. 129-139Gotelli, N.J., Colwell, R.K., Quantifying biodiversity: Procedures and pitfalls in the measurement and comparison of species richness (2001) Ecological Letters, 4, pp. 379-391Heyward, F., Tissot, A.N., Some changes in the soil fauna associated with forest fires in the longleaf pine region (1936) Ecology, 17, pp. 659-666Hölldobler, B., Wilson, E.O., (1990) The Ants, , Belknap Press, Cambridge, MassachusettsHurlbert, S.H., The nonconcept of species diversity: A critique and alternative parameters (1971) Ecology, 52, pp. 577-585Jackson, G.P., Fox, B.J., Comparison of regeneration following burning, clearing or mineral sand mining at Tomago, NSW. II. Succession of ant assemblages in a coastal forest (1996) Australian Journal of Ecology, 21, pp. 200-216Krebs, C.J., (1998) Ecological Methodology, 2nd Edn., , Benjamin/Cummings, Menlo Park, CaliforniaLanders, J.L., Van Lear, D.H., Boyer, W.D., The longleaf pine forests in the Southeast: Requiem or renaissance? (1995) Journal of Forestry, 93, pp. 39-44Lubertazzi, D., (1999) Ant (Formicidae) Community Change Across a Vegetational Gradient in North Florida Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) Flatwood, , MSc thesis, Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, U.S.ALynch, J.F., Balinsky, E.C., Vail, S.G., Foraging patterns in three sympatric forest ant species, Prenolepis impairs, Paratechina melanderi and Aphaenogaster rudis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Ann Arundel County, Maryland (1980) Ecological Entomology, 5, pp. 353-371MacKay, W.P., Rebeles, A.M., Arredondo, H.C.B., Rodriguez, A.D.R., Gonzales, D.A., Vinson, S.B., Impact of the slashing and burning of a tropical rain forest on the native ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (1991) Sociobiology, 18, pp. 257-268Majer, J.D., Preliminary survey of the epigaeic invertebrate fauna with particular reference to ants, in areas of different land use at Dwellingup, Western Australia (1977) Forest Ecology and Management, 1, pp. 321-334Majer, J.D., Ants: Bio-indicators of minesite rehabilitation, land use, and land conservation (1983) Environmental Management, 7, pp. 375-383McCabe, D.J., Gotelli, N.J., Effects of disturbance frequency, intensity, and area on assemblages of stream macroinvertebrates (2000) Oecologia, 124, pp. 270-279Myers, R., Scrub and high pine (1990) Ecosystems of Florida, pp. 150-193. , ed. by R. Myers and J. Ewel. University of Central Florida Press, Orlando, U.S.ANeumann, F.G., Responses of litter arthropods to major natural or artificial ecological disturbances in mountain ash forest (1991) Australian Journal of Ecology, 16, pp. 19-32Neumann, F.G., Responses of foraging ant populations to high-intensity wildfire, salvage logging and natural regeneration processes in Eucalyptus regnans regrowth forest of the Victorian Central Highlands (1992) Australian Forestry, 55, pp. 29-38New, K.C., Hanula, J.L., Effect of time elapsed after prescribed burning in longleaf pine stands on potential prey of the red-cockaded woodpecker (1998) Southern Journal of Applied Forestry, 22, pp. 175-183Noss, R.F., LaRoe E.T. III, Scott, J.M., (1995) Endangered Ecosystems of the United States: A Preliminary Assessment of Loss and Degradation, , National Biologic Survey Biological Report 28, U.S. Department of Interior, Washington, DCO'Dowd, D.J., Gill, A.M., Predator satiation and site alteration following fire: Mass reproduction of alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis) in south-eastern Australia (1984) Ecology, 65, pp. 1052-1066Pearse, A.S., Effects of burning-over and raking-off litter on certain soil animals in the Duke Forests (1943) American Midland Naturalist, 29, pp. 406-424Peet, R.K., Allard, D.J., Longleaf pine vegetation of the southern Atlantic and eastern Gulf Coast regions: A preliminary classification (1993) Proceedings of the Tall Timber Fire Ecology Conference, No. 18, the Longleaf Pine Ecosystems: Ecology, Restoration and Management, 18, pp. 45-81. , ed. by S. M. Hermann. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FloridaPerfecto, I., Vandermeer, J., Quality of agroecological matrix in a tropical montane landscape: Ants in coffee plantations in southern Mexico (2002) Conservation Biology, 16, pp. 174-182Prusak, Z.A., (1997) Ant Fauna in Three Plant Communities within Wekiwa Springs State Park, Florida: Assessment of Diversity and Comparison of Collecting Methods, , MSc thesis, Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, U.S.APunttila, P., Haila, Y., Colonisation of a burned forest by ants in the southern Finnish Boreal Forest (1996) Silva Fennica, 30, pp. 421-435Robbins, L.E., Myers, R.L., (1992) Seasonal Effects of Prescribed Burning in Florida: A Review, , Miscellaneous Publication 8, Tall Timbers Research, Inc., Tallahassee, FloridaSanders, H., Marine benthic diversity: A comparative study (1968) American Naturalist, 102, pp. 243-282Simberloff, D.S., Properties of the rarefaction diversity measurement (1972) American Naturalist, 106, pp. 414-418Simberloff, D.S., Species-area and fragmentation effects on old-growth forests: Prospects for longleaf pine communities (1993) Proceedings of the Tall Timber Fire Ecology Conference, No. 18, the Longleaf Pine Ecosystems: Ecology, Restoration and Management, 18, pp. 1-13. , ed. by S. M. Hermann. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FloridaSpringett, J.A., The effect of prescribed burning on the soil fauna and on litter decomposition in Western Australian forests (1976) Australian Journal of Ecology, 1, pp. 77-82(1996) SPSS User's Guide, , SPSS Inc., Chicago, IllinoisStout, I.J., Marion, W.R., Pine flatwoods and xeric pine forests of the southern (lower) Coastal Plain (1993) Biodiversity of the Southeastern United States/Lowland Terrestrial Communities, pp. 373-446. , ed. by W. H. Martin, S. G. Boyce and A. C. Echternacht. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New YorkSuarez, A.W., Bolger, D.T., Case, T.J., Effects of fragmentation and invasion on native ant communities in coastal southern California (1998) Ecology, 79, pp. 2041-2056Vanerwoude, C., Andersen, A.N., House, A.P.N., Ant communities as bio-indicators in relation to fire management of spotted gum (Eucalyptus maculata Hook.) forests in south-east Queensland (1997) Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria, 56, pp. 671-675Van Pelt A.F., Jr., The ecology of the ants of the Welaka Reserve, Florida (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (1956) American Midland Naturalist, 56, pp. 358-387Van Pelt A.F., Jr., The ecology of the ants of the Welaka Reserve, Florida (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Part II. Annotated list (1958) American Midland Naturalist, 59, pp. 1-57Wade, D.D., Brock, B.L., Brose, P.H., Grace, J.B., Hoch, G.A., Patterson W.A. III, Fire in eastern ecosystems (2000) Wildland Fire in Ecosystems: Effects of Fire on Flora, 2, pp. 53-96. , ed. by J.K. Brown and J. K. Smith. General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-, USDA Forest Service, Ogden, UtahWare, S., Frost, C., Doerr, P.D., Southern mixed hardwood forest: The former longleaf pine forest (1993) Biodiversity of the Southern United States: Lowland Terrestrial Communities, pp. 447-493. , ed. by W. H. Martin, S. G. Boyce and A. C. Echternacht. John Wiley & Sons, New YorkWhelan, R.J., Landedyk, W., Pashby, A.S., The effects of wildfire on arthropod populations in Jarrah-Banksia woodland (1980) Western Australian Naturalist, 14, pp. 214-220Whitford, W.G., Depree, D.J., Hamilton, P., Ettershank, G., Foraging ecology of seed-harvesting ants, Pheidole spp., in a Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem (1981) American Midland Naturalist, 105, pp. 159-167York, A., Long-term effects of frequent low-intensity burning on ant communities in coastal blackbutt forests of southeastern Australia (2000) Austral Ecology, 25, pp. 83-98Zar, J.H., (1996) Biostatistical Analysis, 3rd Edn., , Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey