A University of Alberta master’s student has put his fascination with ants to good use by more than doubling the number of known species that call this province home. Renewable resources grad student James Glasier teamed up with the department’s faculty officer John Acorn to produce a video about the new Alberta ants.

In addition to the article above featured in ExpressNews by Bev Betkowski, the article that follows appeared in the 14 January 2011 edition of FOLIO.

Alberta’s ants get a recount two by two (by Michael Brown)

James Glasier, a master’s student in the Department of Renewable Resources, has put his fascination with ants to good use by more than doubling the number of known species that call this province home.

In the 1960s, University of Alberta concluded that Alberta was home to 40 species of ants. Since Glasier started his research two years ago, he has found 85 species.

“Before this work, it was thought Alberta had a lack of ant diversity and now, with close to 90 species discovered, [the province] actually has relatively high diversity for being so northerly,” said Glasier.

Glasier says the majority of his work has been done around Edmonton, specifically in the Sand Hills near Opal, Bruderheim and Redwater, where he is doing research on ant habitat associations and the effects of fire on ants.

“However, I have collected ants from across the province and have had lots of help from my colleagues in getting specimens,” said Glasier. “Ants are pretty adaptable and can be found in a surprisingly diverse type of locations. One of the most unique locations was be my friend’s apartment, which was on the 27th floor.”

Glasier says he decided to work on ant biodiversity in Alberta because ants are important organisms to provincial ecosystems. He explains they turn over the soil as much as worms and are major contributors to breaking down wood. Ants are important predators of insects; they are important food sources for many vertebrates like bears and woodpeckers, and they are important in dispersing seeds of small herbaceous plants such as violets.

“With such a significant and diverse role in Alberta’s ecosystems, it was surprising to find the last diversity study of ants in our province was in 1966 by Professor Janet Sharplin of the University of Alberta, who had found 40 species,” he said. “When I had learned that I decided that a good project would be to expand on that work.”

Glasier, who would like to do a PhD, says he suspects there are more species of ants out there and he is intent on finding them.

 “I’m sure a few more species are living out there just waiting to be found,” he said, adding there are so many stones still unturned.

“The first time came across the arboreal carpenter ant, I was up about 33 feet in a treehouse and looked under a tarp and there, under the tarp, was an entire colony of this ant. Completely unexpected, but quite neat.”