Change in water infiltration rates created by the ant mound building activities of five ant species in the Tahoe Basin

Forest management is necessary to maintain ecosystem process in areas of forest utilized by humans. Lake Tahoe is one of the cleanest water systems in North America, and is known for its beauty, clarity, and recreational actives. Care must be made in management decisions to prevent soil erosion and runoff in to Lake Tahoe. The public is concerned by the decline of water quality and the threat of wildfires. Requiring a holistic management approach. Soil disturbance created by forest management could be reduced by using management strategies that encourage ant assemblages that stabilize soil and increase water infiltration, preventing soil from running off into the lake. Ants are a main soil aerator in the Tahoe Lake forest and the forest management influences ant assemblages. Understanding how each ant species influences water infiltration rates can lead to better management decisions allowing management to consider which technique will preserve the most beneficial ants. As part of a larger, long-term study of ants in forest management units, I collected water infiltration rates of the 5 most abundant ant species (Formica sibylla, Formica lasiodes, Formica argentea, Myrmica tahoensis, and Temnothorax nevadensis) in the South Lake Tahoe management unit using two methods of measuring water infiltration rates in the summer of 2011. I predict that the infiltration rate will increase in mound-associated areas compared to areas without ant mounds.