Risch Anita Christina

Beziehungsnetze im System Waldameise-Blattlaus-Baum
Cascading effects in wood ant-aphid-tree systems

Project Number: CH-5071
Project Type: Research_Project
Project Duration: 01/01/2014 - 12/31/2030
Funding Source: WSL , other , SNSF ,
Leading Institution: WSL
Project Leader: Prof. Anita Christina Risch
Head of Animal Ecology
Tier-Pflanzen-Interaktionen
Ökologie der Lebensgemeinschaften
WSL
Zürcherstrasse 111
8903 Birmensdorf
Phone: ; +41 (0) 44 739 21 11
FAX: +41 (0) 44 739 22 15
e-Mail: anita.risch(at)wsl.ch
https://www.wsl.ch/de/ueber-die-wsl/forschungseinheiten/oekologie-der-lebensshygemeinschaften/tier-pflanzen-interaktionen.html
Metadata: https://www.parcs.ch/snp/mmd_fullentry.php?docu_id=31063

related to this project.


Research Areas:
Biodiversity

Disciplines:
ecology


Abstract:
Wood ants of the Formca rufa group depend to a large extent on honeydew produced by tree inhabiting aphids. It is, however, unknown if certain tree species in a given forest stand and/or if certain tree individuals are favored by ants and if these patterns change in space (e.g distance to mound) and time (e.g seasonal, interannual). It is, in addition, not known if tree selection depends on the specific aphid community inhabiting certain tree species and/or on the vitality of certain tree individuals and if vitality of these trees might be spatiotemporally influenced directly by the aphids or indirectly by the ants e.g. by predation on pest insects. In general, it is thus not known how the complex interactions between the three organism groups - trees, aphids and wood ants - are controlled (e.g. bottom-up versus top-down). We will study these possible interactions in the frame of this research project.


Publications:
Morger A., 2022: Formica exsecta increases heterogeneity in the grassland ecosystem Alp Stablechod in the Swiss National Park. Msc thesis ETH Zürich.


Last update: 12/20/22
Source of data: ProClim- Research InfoSystem (1993-2024)
Update the data of project: CH-5071

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