02180nas a2200133   4500008004100000245007500041210006900116260006800185300000900253520168300262100002001945700001901965856006201984       2015                        eng d00aTechnical Report HCSU-061. Ants of the National Park of American Samoa0 aTechnical Report HCSU061 Ants of the National Park of American S  bHawai'i Cooperative Studies Unit, University of Hawai'i at Hilo  a1-463 a<p>American Samoa makes up the eastern end of the Samoan Archipelago. On the islands of Tutuila, Taʽū and Ofu, the National Park of American Samoa (NPSA) protects about 4,000 ha of coastal, mid-slope and ridge-top forest. While the ant fauna of the Samoan Archipelago is considered relatively well documented, much of NPSA has never been surveyed for ants, leaving the fauna and its distribution poorly known. To address this shortfall, we systematically surveyed ants within the Tutuila and Taʽū units of NPSA using standard methods (hand collecting, litter sifting, and baits) at 39 sites within six vegetation types ranging from 8 to 945 m elevation. Forty-four ant species were identified, 19 of which are exotic to the Samoan Archipelago. Two notoriously aggressive species, Anoplolepis gracilipes and Pheidole megacephala were detected at two and seven sites, respectively. Both of these species largely excluded all other ants from bait, although their impact on ant community composition is unclear. A suite of habitat variables measured at each site was assessed to explain park-wide ant distributions. Of eight variables evaluated, only elevation was associated with ant community structure, as the ratio of native to exotic ant species increased significantly with elevation on Tutuila. Our survey documented two species not previously reported from American Samoa. Strumigenys eggersi, detected at 12 sites, appears to be a new immigrant to the Pacific Basin. A species of Pheidole was collected that likely represents an undescribed species. Solenopsis geminata, an aggressive species first reported on Tutuila in 2002, was not detected during our survey.</p>
1 aPeck, Robert, W1 aBanko, Paul, C  uhttp://hilo.hawaii.edu/hcsu/documents/TR061_Banko_Ant.pdf00261nas a2200097   4500008004100000245002700041210002600068490000900094100002300103856003700126       2012                        eng d00aAntweb. Ants of Hawaii0 aAntweb Ants of Hawaii0 v20121 aKrushelnycky, Paul  uhttp://www.antweb.org/hawaii.jsp