Studi sulla mirmecofauna d’italia. V. Aspetti ecologici della riviera del m. Cònero

Abstract

The ecological distribution of the ants of the Conero Mountain riviera has been studied by regular sampling of five stations chosen as representative of the different types of environment of the region. In only two of the five, the maccliia of holmoak and the glades of the macehia, docs the population seem to be quite stable and perhaps of old settlement. The populations of the two coastal stations studied consist mostly of common species. The Author suggests that these are in flux due to a continuous stream of immigration. In these stations there arc a few species that arc undoubtably relicts of old settlement, but they are very infrequent. Consequently the factor that determines the structure of the population in these areas is not their flora or the chemical and physical composition of the soil, but the topography of the nearest stations from which immigration can originate. The population of the different stations is compared quantitatively, and the Author presents a critical rewiew of the various methods of quantitative comparison used to date. The results of the comparison confirm the above mentioned conclusions about the origins of the population of the various stations. © 1968 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.