Abundance of mite parasites on the five most abundant aerator ant species in the Tahoe Basin

As ecosystem engineers, ants impact their habitats by aerating soil, increasing water infiltration, and creating unique environments for other organisms to thrive. A long-term dataset documenting management effects on plants, small mammals, birds and ants exists for the Tahoe Basin in the Sierra Nevada of California. Management of the forest impacts the species of ants found in a particular management treatment. It is likely that an increase in parasites of ants is occurring in these disturbed areas and this increase my influence the way ant communities respond to these management treatments. I expect that ant specific parasites will increase in recently managed plots compared to unmanaged plots.