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Lőrincz Á, Hábenczyus AA, Kelemen A, Ratkai B, Tölgyesi C, Lőrinczi G, Frei K, Bátori Z, Maák IE. Wood-pastures promote environmental and ecological heterogeneity on a small spatial scale. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 906:167510. [PMID: 37788766 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Wood-pastures harbor critical natural and social values and are among the most ancient land use forms of Europe. The crucial conservation value of these silvopastoral systems is generally contributed to their characteristic landscape elements, the solitary trees, which provide microhabitats for a variety of organisms. However, by accommodating four habitat types (grasslands, solitary trees, forests, and forest edges) on a relatively small spatial scale, wood-pastures might host functionally and compositionally distinct arthropod communities, thus enhancing the landscape-level biodiversity. To test this, we assessed the fine-scale microclimatic conditions of the four different habitat types of three wood-pastures and investigated the effects of these conditions on ant activity and community organization patterns. Besides microclimate, niche breadths (quantified by four-dimensional niche hypervolumes), niche overlaps, and interspecific interactions were also considered to assess the importance of interspecific competition in shaping the studied ant communities. The four habitat types showed notable differences in the previous aspects, which resulted in different patterns of ant activity and community organization. Posing ideal conditions (high solar irradiance and temperatures above 25 °C) for ant activity, the grasslands were monopolized by usually 2-3 dominant species with large hypervolumes, while the subordinates mostly occurred under environmental extremities. Despite their vicinity to the grasslands, solitary trees showed a different pattern, where in total 8 subordinate species associated with specific microclimates were present. The forest edges hosted the most species-rich communities, with 18 species in total, where interspecific interactions played a major role in shaping the activity patterns. A similar result was obtained for forests, although the mild environmental conditions of these habitat types resulted in low overall ant activity. Our results unveil that by posing various microclimatic and structural conditions, wood-pastures enable the coexistence of four ecologically and functionally distinct communities, which makes them ideal targets for biodiversity conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ádám Lőrincz
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary; Doctoral School of Biology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary.
| | - Alida Anna Hábenczyus
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary; Doctoral School of Biology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary; MTA-SZTE Lendület Applied Ecology Research Group, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary
| | - András Kelemen
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary
| | - Bonita Ratkai
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary
| | - Csaba Tölgyesi
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary; MTA-SZTE Lendület Applied Ecology Research Group, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary
| | - Gábor Lőrinczi
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary
| | - Kata Frei
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary; Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1, Szeged 6720, Hungary
| | - Zoltán Bátori
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary; MTA-SZTE Lendület Applied Ecology Research Group, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary
| | - István Elek Maák
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged 6726, Hungary; Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw 00-679, Poland
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Alencar CLDS, Nogueira A, Vicente RE, Coutinho ÍAC. Plant species with larger extrafloral nectaries produce better quality nectar when needed and interact with the best ant partners. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2023; 74:4613-4627. [PMID: 37115640 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erad160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Few studies have explored the phenotypic plasticity of nectar production on plant attractiveness to ants. Here, we investigate the role of extrafloral nectary (EFN) size on the productivity of extrafloral nectar in three sympatric legume species. We hypothesized that plant species with larger EFNs (i) have higher induced nectar secretion after herbivory events, and (ii) are more likely to interact with more protective (i.e. dominant) ant partners. We target 90 plants of three Chamaecrista species in the field. We estimated EFN size and conducted field experiments to evaluate any differences in nectar traits before and after leaf damage to investigate the phenotypic plasticity of nectar production across species. We conducted multiple censuses of ant species feeding on EFNs over time. Plant species increased nectar descriptors after leaf damage, but in different ways. Supporting our hypothesis, C. duckeana, with the largest EFN size, increased all nectar descriptors, with most intense post-herbivory-induced response, taking its place as the most attractive to ants, including dominant species. EFN size variation was an excellent indicator of nectar productivity across species. The higher control over reward production in plants with larger sized EFNs reflects an induction mechanism under damage that reduces costs and increases the potential benefits of indirect biotic defences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cícero Luanderson da Silva Alencar
- Universidade Federal do Ceará, campus do Pici, Centro de Ciências, Departamento de Biologia, Laboratório de Morfoanatomia Funcional de Plantas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
| | - Anselmo Nogueira
- Laboratório de Interações Planta-Animal (LIPA), Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Eduardo Vicente
- Instituto Nacional da Mata Atlântica, Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovações, Santa Teresa, ES, Brazil
| | - Ítalo Antônio Cotta Coutinho
- Universidade Federal do Ceará, campus do Pici, Centro de Ciências, Departamento de Biologia, Laboratório de Morfoanatomia Funcional de Plantas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
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Salas-López A, Violle C, Munoz F, Menzel F, Orivel J. Effects of Habitat and Competition on Niche Partitioning and Community Structure in Neotropical Ants. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.863080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Competition for limited resources can yield two contrasting outcomes in community structure, namely, either (i) dominance of most competitive species (with functional convergence of the traits conferring this ability), or (ii) niche partitioning of species using distinct resources. In addition, varying resource availability in different environmental contexts is expected to yield varying community dynamics and composition between the contexts (habitat filtering). We addressed resource-based ant community structure in a tropical ecosystem. We expected ant species to display varying trophic preferences and foraging behaviors, allowing habitat selection and niche differentiation in ant assemblages. Furthermore, we expected habitat filtering to occur between open and forested areas in the landscape mosaic, and competition to further influence local species co-occurrence. We assessed resource use in nine ant assemblages distributed in two habitats (i.e., forests and croplands), devising two separate experiments using bait-traps to characterize ant species’ trophic preference (e.g., eating prey, seeds, sugars) and their ability to obtain a same resource in heterogeneous forms (e.g., on vegetation, litter, with variable amounts…). The majority of baits offered were rapidly exploited in the two habitats suggesting important resource limitations. Forest and cropland ant communities differed, however, in the proportions of resources exploited, suggesting different competitive pressures toward specific resources between habitats. Within each habitat, ants preferentially exploited the same resources, suggesting habitat filtering, but locally, interspecific resource partitioning resulted in a reduction of resource overlap compared to habitat scale. Our study provides evidence of the effects of habitat filtering and competition for resource in tropical ant community structure. Our findings also suggest that niche filtering and niche partitioning are co-variant forces determining the identity of the species present in local assemblages.
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Sánchez-García D, Cerdá X, Angulo E. Temperature or competition: Which has more influence on Mediterranean ant communities? PLoS One 2022; 17:e0267547. [PMID: 35486575 PMCID: PMC9053807 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Temperature and competition are two of the main factors determining ant community assemblages. Temperature may allow species to forage more or less efficiently throughout the day (in accordance with the maximum activity temperature of each species). Competition can be observed and quantified from species replacements occurring during resource exploitation. We studied the interspecific competitive interactions of ant communities from the Doñana Biological Reserve (southern Spain). Ants were sampled from pitfall traps and baits in three habitats with contrasted vegetation physiognomy (savin forest, pine forest, and dry scrubland). We measured the temperature during the competitive interactions between species and created a thermal competition index (TCI) to assess the relative contribution of temperature and numerical dominance to the competitive outcomes. Temperature had unequal effects on ant activity in each type of habitat, and modulated competitive interactions. The TCI showed that a species’ success during pair interactions (replacements at baits) was driven by the proportion of workers between the two competing species and by the species-specific effect of temperature (how advantageous the temperature change is for each species during bait replacement). During competitive interactions, the effect of temperature (higher values of TCI) and numeric supremacy (higher worker proportion) gave higher success probabilities. Interspecific competitive relationships in these Mediterranean ant communities are habitat dependent and greatly influenced by temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Sánchez-García
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Science, Warszawa, Poland
| | - Xim Cerdá
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
- Laboratoire Écologie, Systématique, Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay Cedex, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Elena Angulo
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
- Laboratoire Écologie, Systématique, Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay Cedex, France
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Franco W, Vasconcelos HL, Feitosa RM. Patterns of Ant Diversity in the Natural Grasslands of Southern Brazil. NEOTROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2021; 50:725-735. [PMID: 34125403 DOI: 10.1007/s13744-021-00886-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
In the south of Brazil, grasslands are naturally widespread over two different biomes, the Pampa in the southernmost region and within the Atlantic Forest in the northern portions. The natural grasslands of the state of Paraná comprise a very particular physiognomy composed of two distinct formations: the Campos Gerais and the grasslands of the southwest. The first is located in the edge of the second plateau of Paraná state, comprising a great diversity of environments. The grasslands of the southwest are more homogeneous, with a continuous herbaceous stratum dominating the landscape. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the patterns of species richness and composition of ants, an ecologically prominent group, along the natural grasslands of Paraná. We also intended to compare the faunal similarity between the two different grassland formations. For that, four different Conservation Unities were sampled along a latitudinal gradient. A remarkable total of 245 ant species was recorded, and the results indicate that species richness decreases as latitude increases along the grasslands of Paraná. There were clear differences in species composition between these two grasslands formations, given the significative number of endemic species in each of these two grassland formations. Ten species were recorded for the first time in the state of Paraná, of which three also for the first time in the Southern Region of Brazil. Overall, our study contributes to a better understanding about the diversity and composition of ant communities in subtropical grasslands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weslly Franco
- Depto de Zoologia, Univ Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
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Camarota F, Vasconcelos HL, Marquis RJ, Powell S. Revisiting ecological dominance in arboreal ants: how dominant usage of nesting resources shapes community assembly. Oecologia 2020; 194:151-163. [PMID: 32909091 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04748-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Ecologically dominant species can shape the assembly of ecological communities via altering competitive outcomes. Moreover, these effects may be amplified under limited niche differentiation. Nevertheless, the influences of ecological dominance and niche differentiation on assembly are rarely considered together. Here, we provide a novel examination of dominance in a diverse arboreal ant community, defining dominance by the prevalent usage of nesting resources and addressing how it influences community assembly. We first used a series of quantitative observational and experimental studies to address the natural nesting ecology, colony incidence on surveyed trees, and level of dominance over newly available nesting resources by our focal species, Cephalotes pusillus. The experimental studies were then used further to examine whether C. pusillus shapes assembly via an influence on cavity usage by co-occurring species. C. pusillus was confirmed as a dominant user of cavity nesting resources, with highly generalized nesting ecology, occupying about 50% of the trees within the focal system, and accounting for more than a third of new cavity occupation in experiments. Our experiments showed further that the presence of C. pusillus was associated with modest effects on species richness, but significant decreases in cavity-occupation levels and significant shifts in the entrance-size usage by co-occurring species. These results indicate that C. pusillus, as a dominant user of nesting resources, shapes assembly at multiple levels. Broadly, our findings highlight that complex interactions between a dominant species and the resource-usage patterns of other species can underlie species assembly in diverse ecological communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flávio Camarota
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, USA. .,Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil. .,Instituto de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
| | | | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA
| | - Scott Powell
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, USA
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Boet O, Arnan X, Retana J. The role of environmental vs. biotic filtering in the structure of European ant communities: A matter of trait type and spatial scale. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0228625. [PMID: 32074138 PMCID: PMC7029880 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional trait-based approaches are increasingly used for studying the processes underlying community assembly. The relative influence of different assembly rules might depend on the spatial scale of analysis, the environmental context and the type of functional traits considered. By using a functional trait-based approach, we aim to disentangle the relative role of environmental filtering and interspecific competition on the structure of European ant communities according to the spatial scale and the type of trait considered. We used a large database on ant species composition that encompasses 361 ant communities distributed across the five biogeographic regions of Europe; these communities were composed of 155 ant species, which were characterized by 6 functional traits. We then analysed the relationship between functional divergence and co-occurrence between species pairs across different spatial scales (European, biogeographic region and local) and considering different types of traits (ecological tolerance and niche traits). Three different patterns emerged: negative, positive and non-significant regression coefficients suggest that environmental filtering, competition and neutrality are at work, respectively. We found that environmental filtering is important for structuring European ant communities at large spatial scales, particularly at the scale of Europe and most biogeographic regions. Competition could play a certain role at intermediate spatial scales where temperatures are more favourable for ant productivity (i.e. the Mediterranean region), while neutrality might be especially relevant in spatially discontinuous regions (i.e. the Alpine region). We found that no ecological mechanism (environmental filtering or competition) prevails at the local scale. The type of trait is especially important when looking for different assembly rules, and multi-trait grouping works well for traits associated with environmental responses (tolerance traits), but not for traits related to resource exploitation (niche traits). The spatial scale of analysis, the environmental context and the chosen traits merit special attention in trait-based analyses of community assembly mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Boet
- CREAF, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Catalonia, Spain
| | - Xavier Arnan
- CREAF, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Catalonia, Spain
| | - Javier Retana
- CREAF, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Catalonia, Spain.,Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
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Law SJ, Parr C. Numerically dominant species drive patterns in resource use along a vertical gradient in tropical ant assemblages. Biotropica 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie J. Law
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences School of Environmental Sciences University of Liverpool Liverpool UK
| | - Catherine Parr
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences School of Environmental Sciences University of Liverpool Liverpool UK
- Department of Zoology & Entomology University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
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Extrafloral nectar as a driver of ant community spatial structure along disturbance and rainfall gradients in Brazilian dry forest. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467419000245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
AbstractAlthough extrafloral nectar (EFN) is a key food resource for arboreal ants, its role in structuring ground-nesting ant communities has received little attention, despite these ants also being frequent EFN-attendants. We investigated the role of EFN as a driver of the spatial structure of ground-nesting ant communities occurring in dry forest in north-eastern Brazil. We examined the effects on this relationship of two global drivers of biodiversity decline, chronic anthropogenic disturbance and climate change (through decreasing rainfall). We mapped EFN-producing plants and ant nests in 20 plots distributed along independent gradients of disturbance and rainfall. We categorized ant species into three types according to their dependence on EFN: heavy users, occasional users and non-users. We found a strong relationship between ant dependence on EFN and nest proximity to EFN-producing plants: heavy-users (mean distance 1.1 m) nested closer to EFN-producing plants than did occasional users (1.7 m), which in turn nested closer to EFN-producing plants than did non-users (2.3 m). Neither disturbance nor rainfall affected the proximity of heavy-user nests to EFN-producing plants. Our study shows for the first time that EFN is a key driver of the spatial structure of entire communities of ground-nesting ants.
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Kim T, Bartel S, Gratton C. Grassland harvesting alters ant community trophic structure: An isotopic study in tallgrass prairies. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:9815-9826. [PMID: 31534696 PMCID: PMC6745673 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2018] [Revised: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Disturbances have long been recognized as important forces for structuring natural communities but their effects on trophic structure are not well understood, particularly in terrestrial systems. This is in part because quantifying trophic linkages is a challenge, especially for small organisms with cryptic feeding behaviors such as insects, and often relies on conducting labor-intensive feeding trials or extensive observations in the field. In this study, we used stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen to examine how disturbance (annual biomass harvesting) in tallgrass prairies affected the trophic position, trophic range, and niche space of ants, a widespread grassland consumer. We hypothesized that biomass harvest would remove important food and nesting resources of insects thus affecting ant feeding relationships and trophic structure. We found shifts in the feeding relationships inferred by isotopic signatures with harvest. In particular, these shifts suggest that ants within harvest sites utilized resources at lower trophic levels (possibly plant-based resources or herbivores), expanded trophic breadth, and occupied different niche spaces. Shifts in resource use following harvest could be due to harvest-mediated changes in both the plant and arthropod communities that might affect the strength of competition or alter plant nitrogen availability. Because shifts in resource use alter the flow of nutrients across the food web, disturbance effects on ants could have ecosystem-level consequences through nutrient cycling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tania Kim
- Great Lakes Bioenergy Research CenterUniversity of Wisconsin MadisonMadisonWIUSA
| | - Savannah Bartel
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of Wisconsin MadisonMadisonWIUSA
| | - Claudio Gratton
- Great Lakes Bioenergy Research CenterUniversity of Wisconsin MadisonMadisonWIUSA
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of Wisconsin MadisonMadisonWIUSA
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Ribeiro LF, Solar RRC, Sobrinho TG, Muscardi DC, Schoereder JH, Andersen AN. Different trophic groups of arboreal ants show differential responses to resource supplementation in a neotropical savanna. Oecologia 2019; 190:433-443. [PMID: 31069514 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04414-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2018] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Resource-ratio theory predicts that consumers should achieve optimal ratios of complementary nutrients. Accordingly, different trophic groups are expected to vary in their N-limitation depending on the extent to which they feed primarily on carbohydrate (CHO) or protein. Among arboreal ants, N-limitation ranges from high (for trophobiont tenders), intermediate (leaf foragers) and low (predators). We report results from a manipulative field experiment in a Brazilian savanna that tests the differential attractiveness of nitrogen and CHO to arboreal ants, as well as experimentally examines changes in broader ant foraging patterns in response to protein and CHO supplementation. Every tree within 32 20 × 20 m plots were supplemented with either protein, CHO; protein + CHO or a water control (n = 8 in each case) for a 7-day period in each of the wet and dry seasons. As predicted, different trophic groups responded differentially to supplementation treatment according to the extent of their N-limitation. The richness and abundance of the most N-limited group (trophobiont tenders) was highest at protein supplements, whereas less N-limited trophic groups showed highest species richness (leaf foragers) or abundance (predators) at CHO supplements. Protein supplementation markedly increased the general foraging abundance of trophobiont tenders, but decreased the abundance of leaf foragers. We attribute the latter to increased competition from behaviorally dominant trophobiont tenders. Our study provides experimental evidence that nutrient availability is a major factor influencing arboreal ant communities, both directly through the provision of different resources, and indirectly through increased competitive pressure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laila F Ribeiro
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Avenida P.H. Rolfs, s/n, Campus Universitário, Viçosa, MG, CEP 36570-000, Brazil.
| | - Ricardo R C Solar
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Pres. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, MG, CEP 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Tathiana G Sobrinho
- Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, BR 101 Norte, Km 60, São Mateus, ES, CEP 29932-540, Brazil
| | - Dalana C Muscardi
- Departamento de Educação e Ciências Humanas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, BR 101 Norte, Km 60, São Mateus, ES, CEP 29932-540, Brazil
| | - José H Schoereder
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Avenida P.H. Rolfs, s/n, Campus Universitário, Viçosa, MG, CEP 36570-000, Brazil
| | - Alan N Andersen
- Research School for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, NT, 0909, Australia
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Castillo-Guevara C, Cuautle M, Lara C, Juárez-Juárez B. Effect of agricultural land-use change on ant dominance hierarchy and food preferences in a temperate oak forest. PeerJ 2019; 7:e6255. [PMID: 30656073 PMCID: PMC6336009 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 12/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The discovery-dominance trade-off is the inverse relationship between the ability of a species to discover resources and the species' dominance of those resources; a paradigm used to explain species coexistence in ant communities dependent on similar resources. However, factors such as stress (e.g., temperature) or disturbance (e.g., removal of biomass) associated with the change in land use, can modify this trade-off. Here, we aimed to determine the potential effects of land use change on dominance hierarchy, food preferences and on the discovery-dominance trade-off. Methods An experiment with baits was used to investigate the dominance hierarchies of ant communities in a temperate mountain habitat in central Mexico. We evaluated the dominance index (DI), food preferences and discovery-dominance trade-offs of ants inhabiting two types of vegetation: a native oak forest and agricultural land resulting from agricultural land use and grazing. Results The ant communities in both environments were comprised of three species of ants (Monomorium minimum, Myrmica mexicana, and Camponotus picipes pilosulus), four morphospecies (Pheidole sp.1 and Pheidole sp.2, Temnothorax sp. and Lasius sp.) and one genus (Formica spp.). All Formicidae showed values of intermediate to low DI, and this factor did not seem to be influenced by the change in land use. Ants in the modified vegetation (i.e., agricultural land) were found to be numerically greater. Overall, a higher number of visits were registered to the tuna bait, although the duration of foraging events to the honey baits was longer. However, foraging times were dependent on the species considered: the generalized Myrmicinae, M. minimum, the ant species with highest DI, foraged for longer periods of time in the agricultural land and on the tuna bait. Meanwhile, the cold-climate specialist Formica spp., with a lower DI, foraged for longer periods of time in the oak (although not significant) and on the honey bait. We found little evidence of the discovery-dominance trade-off; instead, we found considerable diversity in the strategies used by the different species to access resources. This range of strategies is well represented by the generalized Myrmicinae M. minimum, the cold-climate specialists Formica spp. and Temnothorax sp., and the rare species, as the cold climate specialist Lasius sp. (insinuators). Conclusions Our evaluation shows that transformation of the original habitat does not appear to affect the hierarchical dominance of the ant communities, but it does affect their food preferences. Species with higher DI values such as the generalized Myrmicinae are more skilled at resource acquisition in modified habitats. Our results suggest that change in land use promotes an increase in the diversity of foraging strategies used by different ant species. This diversity may contribute to resource partitioning which favors coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mariana Cuautle
- Departamento de Ciencias Químico-Biológicas, Universidad de las América Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
| | - Carlos Lara
- Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - Brenda Juárez-Juárez
- Maestría en Biotecnología y Manejo de Recursos Naturales, Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Mexico
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Hanisch PE, Suarez AV, Tubaro PL, Paris CI. Co-occurrence Patterns in a Subtropical Ant Community Revealed by Complementary Sampling Methodologies. ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY 2018; 47:1402-1412. [PMID: 30312377 DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvy143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Ants are abundant and ecologically dominant insects in most terrestrial communities. In subtropical ecosystems, there is a high turnover of species from the canopy to the top layers of the soil. Additionally, ant communities are often influenced by inter-specific competition. Collectively, these two processes (abiotic filtering and competition) make ants ideal for studies of community structure. We examined composition, co-occurrence, and species interactions in a sub-tropical forest ant community to examine how ground-foraging ant species partition microhabitats. We used four methods: pitfall traps, litter samples, surface baits, and subterranean baits. Surface baiting was employed at three different time periods to examine how foraging activity and species interactions at baits varied with time of day and temperature. Each method sampled a particular assemblage of the 97 total ant species. Pitfall traps shared ~50% of species with surface baits and litter samples. Subterranean baits had the fewest total species but included some uncommonly sampled ants. The majority of interactions between species at baits were neutral, but a few agonistic interactions were also observed when bait occupancy was highest. Species co-occurrence patterns suggest that this ant community may not be heavily influenced by interspecific competition. Our results reinforce the advantages of applying complementary sampling techniques to examine ant community structure, and suggest that competition and dominance is best considered in the context of resource type, foraging strategy and time of sampling. Finally, we discuss the lack of two conspicuous Neotropical groups in our samples, leaf-cutting ant and army ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscila E Hanisch
- Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales 'Bernardino Rivadavia' MACN-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Andrew V Suarez
- Department of Animal Biology and Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
| | - Pablo L Tubaro
- Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales 'Bernardino Rivadavia' MACN-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Carolina I Paris
- Departamento Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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14
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Arnan X, Andersen AN, Gibb H, Parr CL, Sanders NJ, Dunn RR, Angulo E, Baccaro FB, Bishop TR, Boulay R, Castracani C, Cerdá X, Toro ID, Delsinne T, Donoso DA, Elten EK, Fayle TM, Fitzpatrick MC, Gómez C, Grasso DA, Grossman BF, Guénard B, Gunawardene N, Heterick B, Hoffmann BD, Janda M, Jenkins CN, Klimes P, Lach L, Laeger T, Leponce M, Lucky A, Majer J, Menke S, Mezger D, Mori A, Moses J, Munyai TC, Paknia O, Pfeiffer M, Philpott SM, Souza JLP, Tista M, Vasconcelos HL, Retana J. Dominance-diversity relationships in ant communities differ with invasion. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:4614-4625. [PMID: 29851235 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2018] [Revised: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The relationship between levels of dominance and species richness is highly contentious, especially in ant communities. The dominance-impoverishment rule states that high levels of dominance only occur in species-poor communities, but there appear to be many cases of high levels of dominance in highly diverse communities. The extent to which dominant species limit local richness through competitive exclusion remains unclear, but such exclusion appears more apparent for non-native rather than native dominant species. Here we perform the first global analysis of the relationship between behavioral dominance and species richness. We used data from 1,293 local assemblages of ground-dwelling ants distributed across five continents to document the generality of the dominance-impoverishment rule, and to identify the biotic and abiotic conditions under which it does and does not apply. We found that the behavioral dominance-diversity relationship varies greatly, and depends on whether dominant species are native or non-native, whether dominance is considered as occurrence or relative abundance, and on variation in mean annual temperature. There were declines in diversity with increasing dominance in invaded communities, but diversity increased with increasing dominance in native communities. These patterns occur along the global temperature gradient. However, positive and negative relationships are strongest in the hottest sites. We also found that climate regulates the degree of behavioral dominance, but differently from how it shapes species richness. Our findings imply that, despite strong competitive interactions among ants, competitive exclusion is not a major driver of local richness in native ant communities. Although the dominance-impoverishment rule applies to invaded communities, we propose an alternative dominance-diversification rule for native communities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alan N Andersen
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, NT, Australia
| | - Heloise Gibb
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and the Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
| | - Catherine L Parr
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Nathan J Sanders
- Environmental Program, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont
| | - Robert R Dunn
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
| | - Elena Angulo
- Estación Biológica de Doñana CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Fabricio B Baccaro
- Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Tom R Bishop
- Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Raphaël Boulay
- Institute of Insect Biology, University François Rabelais of Tours, Tours, France
| | - Cristina Castracani
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Xim Cerdá
- Estación Biológica de Doñana CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Israel Del Toro
- Biology Department, Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin
| | | | - David A Donoso
- Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas, Escuela Politécnicamenk Nacional, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Emilie K Elten
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution, and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Tom M Fayle
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, and Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Matthew C Fitzpatrick
- Appalachian Lab, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg, Maryland
| | - Crisanto Gómez
- Department of Environmental Science, University of Girona, Girona, Spain
| | - Donato A Grasso
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Blair F Grossman
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and the Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
| | - Benoit Guénard
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
| | - Nihara Gunawardene
- Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Brian Heterick
- Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia
| | | | - Milan Janda
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, and Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- National Laboratory for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (LANASE), ENES, UNAM, Michoacan, Mexico
| | - Clinton N Jenkins
- IPÊ - Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas, Nazaré Paulista, SP, Brasil
| | - Petr Klimes
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, and Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- New Guinea Binatang Research Center, Madang, Papua New Guinea
| | - Lori Lach
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | - Thomas Laeger
- Department of Experimental Diabetology (DIAB), German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE), Nuthetal, Germany
| | - Maurice Leponce
- Biodiversity Monitoring & Assessment, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Andrea Lucky
- University of Florida Entomology & Nematology Department,, Gainesville, Florida
| | - Jonathan Majer
- School of Biological Sciences, University of WA, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Sean Menke
- Department of Biology, Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois
| | - Dirk Mezger
- Department of Biogeography, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Alessandra Mori
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Jimmy Moses
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, and Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- New Guinea Binatang Research Center, Madang, Papua New Guinea
| | | | - Omid Paknia
- ITZ, Ecology and Evolution, TiHo Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Martin Pfeiffer
- Department of Biogeography, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Stacy M Philpott
- Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, California
| | - Jorge L P Souza
- Science and Technology for Amazonian Resources Graduate Program, Institute of Exact Sciences and Technology (ICET), Itacoatiara, AM, Brazil
- Biodiversity Coordination, National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA), Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Melanie Tista
- Division of Tropical Ecology and Animal Biodiversity, Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Javier Retana
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalunya, Spain
- Univ Autònoma Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalunya, Spain
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15
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Prather RM, Roeder KA, Sanders NJ, Kaspari M. Using metabolic and thermal ecology to predict temperature dependent ecosystem activity: a test with prairie ants. Ecology 2018; 99:2113-2121. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2018] [Revised: 05/22/2018] [Accepted: 06/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca M. Prather
- Department of Biology Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma 73019 USA
| | - Karl A. Roeder
- Department of Biology Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma 73019 USA
| | - Nathan J. Sanders
- Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources University of Vermont Burlington Vermont 05405 USA
| | - Michael Kaspari
- Department of Biology Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma 73019 USA
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16
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Melati BG, Leal LC. Aggressive bodyguards are not always the best: Preferential interaction with more aggressive ant species reduces reproductive success of plant bearing extrafloral nectaries. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0199764. [PMID: 29949639 PMCID: PMC6021078 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2018] [Accepted: 06/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Variation in partner species and frequency of interaction between species pairs are potential drivers of the net outcome of generalized mutualisms. In ant-plant mutualisms, the quality of defence provided by ants is related to ant aggressiveness. Hence, we hypothesize that the performance of plants bearing extrafloral nectaries will be higher when they interact more frequently with more aggressive ant species. We estimated ant aggressiveness in the field by observing their behaviour towards soil baits. Afterwards, we observed the frequency with which individuals from these ant species visited plants through an entire reproductive cycle. We measured the production and persistence of plants reproductive structures through this period and the total seed production. Increasing in the interaction frequency with highly aggressive ants reduced the number of floral buds and seeds produced. Increased visitation frequency by less aggressive ants increased the number of floral buds and seeds per branch. The inverse relationship between ant aggressiveness and seed production may be influenced by the costs imposed by different mutualistic partners. Thus, frequent interaction with highly aggressive ants may lead to a higher accumulation of costs through time, resulting in a negative net outcome for the plants. Our results bring new evidence highlighting the importance to incorporate temporal aspects in the study of mutualistic interactions. We suggests that the quality of mutualistic partners must be understood as a function of its per-interaction benefit and their cumulative costs to their partner over time, what puts in check our current classification regarding partner quality in mutualistic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Gabriel Melati
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Novo Horizonte, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Laura Carolina Leal
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Novo Horizonte, Bahia, Brazil
- Departamento de Ecologia e Biologia Evolutiva, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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17
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Camarota F, Vasconcelos HL, Koch EBA, Powell S. Discovery and defense define the social foraging strategy of Neotropical arboreal ants. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2519-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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18
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Andersen AN, Hoffmann BD, Oberprieler S. Diversity and biogeography of a species-rich ant fauna of the Australian seasonal tropics. INSECT SCIENCE 2018; 25:519-526. [PMID: 27629082 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2016] [Revised: 06/21/2016] [Accepted: 07/18/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Although ants are an ecologically dominant and extensively studied faunal group throughout the tropics, there is a poor understanding of tropical ant diversity and distribution at large spatial scales. Here we use a collection developed from 3 decades of ant surveys to present the first analysis of ant diversity and biogeography of a large tropical region. Our objective was to document the species richness, composition, and biogeographic distributions of the ant fauna of the 400 000 km2 "Top End" of Australia's Northern Territory. The known Top End ant fauna comprises 901 native species from 59 genera. The richest genera are Pheidole (90 species), Melophorus (83), Monomorium (83), Camponotus (71), Meranoplus (63), Polyrhachis (57), Rhytidoponera (50), Tetramorium (43), Cerapachys (32), and Iridomyrmex (31). The fauna is the center of diverse radiations within species-groups of genera such as Meranoplus, Rhytidoponera, and Leptogenys. It also includes IndoMalayan species that have likely bypassed the normal dispersal route into Australia through Cape York Peninsula in North Queensland. Faunistic similarity with other regions of far northern Australia is associated more with rainfall than with geographic proximity. Most (60%) of Top End ant species have not been recorded elsewhere, and, despite uncertainties relating to species delimitation and sampling intensity, this appears to be a credible estimate of the level of endemism. Such exceptionally high endemism can be attributed to the Top End's geographic isolation from other regions of northern Australia with comparably high rainfall.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan N Andersen
- CSIRO Land & Water, Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre, Darwin, Australia
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia
| | | | - Stefanie Oberprieler
- CSIRO Land & Water, Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre, Darwin, Australia
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
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19
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Ramos CS, Isabel Bellocq M, Paris CI, Filloy J. Environmental drivers of ant species richness and composition across the Argentine Pampas grassland. AUSTRAL ECOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Carolina S. Ramos
- Departamento de Ecología; Genética y Evolución; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Intendente Güiraldes 2160 - Pabellon II - Ciudad Universitaria; C1428EGA Argentina
| | - M. Isabel Bellocq
- Departamento de Ecología; Genética y Evolución; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Intendente Güiraldes 2160 - Pabellon II - Ciudad Universitaria; C1428EGA Argentina
| | - Carolina I. Paris
- Departamento de Ecología; Genética y Evolución; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Intendente Güiraldes 2160 - Pabellon II - Ciudad Universitaria; C1428EGA Argentina
| | - Julieta Filloy
- Departamento de Ecología; Genética y Evolución; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Universidad de Buenos Aires; Intendente Güiraldes 2160 - Pabellon II - Ciudad Universitaria; C1428EGA Argentina
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20
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Sá-Oliveira JC, Ferrari SF, Vasconcelos HCG, Araujo AS, Costa Campos CE, Mattos-Dias CAG, Fecury AA, Oliveira E, Mendes-Junior RNG, Isaac VJ. Resource Partitioning between Two Piranhas ( Serrasalmus gibbus and Serrasalmus rhombeus) in an Amazonian Reservoir. ScientificWorldJournal 2017; 2017:8064126. [PMID: 29359177 PMCID: PMC5735643 DOI: 10.1155/2017/8064126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2017] [Accepted: 10/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The exploitation of resources by closely related species with similar niches may be mediated by differences in activity patterns, which may vary in nycthemeral scale and seasonal scale. Piranhas Serrasalmus gibbus and Serrasalmus rhombeus are Neotropical predators that occur sympatrically in many environments of the Amazon basin. To evaluate the strategies adopted by these two species in a restricted environment (a reservoir), nycthemeral and seasonal samples were made, identifying the composition of the diet and their activity patterns. A total of 402 specimens were collected: 341 S. gibbus and 61 S. rhombeus. Both species fed themselves primarily on fish, with some seasonal variation being found in S. gibbus during the flood season, when plant material was consumed. There was considerable temporal overlap in the foraging behavior of the two species, although S. rhombeus presented a bimodal pattern of abundance over the 24-hour cycle. S. rhombeus was more active during the nighttime, between dusk and early morning, whereas S. gibbus was active throughout the nycthemeral cycle. These findings indicate low levels of competition between the two species, which allowed for a considerable overlap in nighttime foraging, following distinct nycthemeral patterns of foraging activity and allowing their coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Júlio C. Sá-Oliveira
- Ichthyology and Limnology Laboratory, Federal University of Amapá (UNIFAP), Campus Universitário Marco Zero do Equador, Rod. Juscelino Kubitscheck, KM-02, 68903-419 Macapá, AP, Brazil
| | - Stephen F. Ferrari
- Department of Ecology, Federal University of Sergipe, Avenida Marechal Rondon s/n Rosa Elze, 49000-100 São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil
| | - Huann C. Gentil Vasconcelos
- Ichthyology and Limnology Laboratory, Federal University of Amapá (UNIFAP), Campus Universitário Marco Zero do Equador, Rod. Juscelino Kubitscheck, KM-02, 68903-419 Macapá, AP, Brazil
| | - Andrea S. Araujo
- Zoology Laboratory, Federal University of Amapá (UNIFAP), Campus Universitário Marco Zero do Equador, Rod. Juscelino Kubitscheck, KM-02, 68903-419 Macapá, AP, Brazil
| | - Carlos E. Costa Campos
- Herpetology Laboratory, Universidade Federal do Amapá (UNIFAP), Rod. Juscelino Kubitscheck, KM-02, 68903-419 Macapá, AP, Brazil
| | | | - Amanda A. Fecury
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Federal University of Amapá (UNIFAP), Campus Universitário Marco Zero do Equador, Rod. Juscelino Kubitscheck, KM-02, 68903-419 Macapá, AP, Brazil
| | - Euzébio Oliveira
- Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Campus Guamá, 01 Rua Augusto Corrêa, Guamá, 66075-110 Belém, PA, Brazil
| | - Raimundo N. G. Mendes-Junior
- Cajari River Extractive Reserve, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio), Rua Leopoldo Machado, 1126, Centro, Macapá, AP, Brazil
| | - Victoria J. Isaac
- Fisheries Biology Laboratory, Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Campus Guamá, 01 Rua Augusto Corrêa, Guamá, 66075-110 Belém, PA, Brazil
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21
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Ennis KK, Philpott SM. Strong influences of a dominant, ground‐nesting ant on recruitment, and establishment of ant colonies and communities. Biotropica 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Katherine K. Ennis
- Environmental Studies Department University of California 1156 High St. Santa Cruz CA 95064 U.S.A
| | - Stacy M. Philpott
- Environmental Studies Department University of California 1156 High St. Santa Cruz CA 95064 U.S.A
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22
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Bujan J, Wright SJ, Kaspari M. Biogeochemical drivers of Neotropical ant activity and diversity. Ecosphere 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jelena Bujan
- Department of Biology Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma 73019 USA
| | - S. Joseph Wright
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado 0843‐03092 Balboa Republic of Panama
| | - Michael Kaspari
- Department of Biology Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma 73019 USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado 0843‐03092 Balboa Republic of Panama
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23
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Carval D, Cotté V, Resmond R, Perrin B, Tixier P. Dominance in a ground-dwelling ant community of banana agroecosystem. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:8617-8631. [PMID: 28031812 PMCID: PMC5167050 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2016] [Revised: 09/24/2016] [Accepted: 09/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
In tropical ecosystems, ants represent a substantial portion of the animal biomass and contribute to various ecosystem services, including pest regulation and pollination. Dominant ant species are known to determine the structure of ant communities by interfering in the foraging of other ant species. Using bait and pitfall trapping experiments, we performed a pattern analysis at a fine spatial scale of an ant community in a very simplified and homogeneous agroecosystem, that is, a single-crop banana field in Martinique (French West Indies). We found that the community structure was driven by three dominant species (Solenopsis geminata, Nylanderia guatemalensis, and Monomorium ebeninum) and two subdominant species (Pheidole fallax and Brachymyrmex patagonicus). Our results showed that dominant and subdominant species generally maintained numerical dominance at baits across time, although S. geminata, M. ebeninum, and B. patagonicus displayed better abilities to maintain dominance than P. fallax and N. guatemalensis. Almost all interspecific correlations between species abundances, except those between B. patagonicus and N. guatemalensis, were symmetrically negative, suggesting that interference competition prevails in this ground-dwelling ant community. However, we observed variations in the diurnal and nocturnal foraging activity and in the daily occurrence at baits, which may mitigate the effect of interference competition through the induction of spatial and temporal niche partitioning. This may explain the coexistence of dominant, subdominant, and subordinate species in this very simplified agroecosystem, limited in habitat structure and diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Philippe Tixier
- CIRADUPR GECOMontpellierFrance
- Departamento de Agricultura y AgroforesteriaCATIETurrialbaCosta Rica
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24
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Salas-Lopez A, Mickal H, Menzel F, Orivel J. Ant-mediated ecosystem processes are driven by trophic community structure but mainly by the environment. Oecologia 2016; 183:249-261. [PMID: 27730368 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-016-3741-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2016] [Accepted: 09/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The diversity and functional identity of organisms are known to be relevant to the maintenance of ecosystem processes but can be variable in different environments. Particularly, it is uncertain whether ecosystem processes are driven by complementary effects or by dominant groups of species. We investigated how community structure (i.e., the diversity and relative abundance of biological entities) explains the community-level contribution of Neotropical ant communities to different ecosystem processes in different environments. Ants were attracted with food resources representing six ant-mediated ecosystem processes in four environments: ground and vegetation strata in cropland and forest habitats. The exploitation frequencies of the baits were used to calculate the taxonomic and trophic structures of ant communities and their contribution to ecosystem processes considered individually or in combination (i.e., multifunctionality). We then investigated whether community structure variables could predict ecosystem processes and whether such relationships were affected by the environment. We found that forests presented a greater biodiversity and trophic complementarity and lower dominance than croplands, but this did not affect ecosystem processes. In contrast, trophic complementarity was greater on the ground than on vegetation and was followed by greater resource exploitation levels. Although ant participation in ecosystem processes can be predicted by means of trophic-based indices, we found that variations in community structure and performance in ecosystem processes were best explained by environment. We conclude that determining the extent to which the dominance and complementarity of communities affect ecosystem processes in different environments requires a better understanding of resource availability to different species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Salas-Lopez
- CNRS, UMR Ecologie de Forêts de Guyane, AgroParisTech, CIRAD, INRA, Université de Guyane, Université des Antilles, Campus agronomique, BP 316, 97379, Kourou Cedex, France.
| | - Houadria Mickal
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Zoology, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Florian Menzel
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Zoology, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Jérôme Orivel
- CNRS, UMR Ecologie de Forêts de Guyane, AgroParisTech, CIRAD, INRA, Université de Guyane, Université des Antilles, Campus agronomique, BP 316, 97379, Kourou Cedex, France
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25
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Cros S, Cerdá X, Retana J. Spatial and temporal variations in the activity patterns of Mediterranean ant communities. ECOSCIENCE 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/11956860.1997.11682405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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26
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Camarota F, Powell S, Vasconcelos HL, Priest G, Marquis RJ. Extrafloral nectaries have a limited effect on the structure of arboreal ant communities in a Neotropical savanna. Ecology 2015; 96:231-40. [PMID: 26236908 DOI: 10.1890/14-0264.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
How environmental contexts shape the strength of species interactions, and their influence on community structure, remains a key focus for the field of community ecology. In particular, the extent to which local competitive interactions impact community structure, and whether this differs across contexts, persists as a general issue that is unresolved across a broad range of animal systems. Studies of arboreal ants have shown that competitive interactions over carbon-rich exudates from extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) and homopteran aggregations can have positive and negative effects on the local abundances of individual species. Nevertheless, it is still unclear the extent to which these local effects scale to community-level effects. Here we address the role of food from extrafloral nectaries on the structure of arboreal ant communities in a savanna of central Brazil. We did this with a combination of a diversity survey across tree species with and without EFNs, a repeated survey at times of peak EFN activity, and testing of our survey findings with two experimental manipulations of nectar availability that also provided supplementary nesting cavities. Species richness, but not composition, differed significantly between trees with and without EFNs. However, trees with EFNs had, on average, only 9% more species than those without EFNs. Furthermore, ant species richness did not differ significantly between periods of high and low EFN activity. Although nectar supplementation significantly affected nest occupation rates, this difference was seen solely in. the experiment with a massive supply of nectar and there was no effect on total ant richness or identity of the focal assemblages. Our findings suggest that the effects of extrafloral nectar on the abundances of arboreal ants at local scales do not scale to a strong structuring force at the community level. We suggest that this is most likely due to a lack of specificity of community members for EFN tree species, and the diffuse temporal and spatial nature of the availability of active EFNs. These properties mean that observable short-lived activity and competition over particular EFNs does not ultimately drive lasting changes in the associated assemblage of species, and therefore, the community as a whole.
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Bertelsmeier C, Avril A, Blight O, Jourdan H, Courchamp F. Discovery-dominance trade-off among widespread invasive ant species. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:2673-83. [PMID: 26257879 PMCID: PMC4523362 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2014] [Revised: 04/21/2015] [Accepted: 05/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Ants are among the most problematic invasive species. They displace numerous native species, alter ecosystem processes, and can have negative impacts on agriculture and human health. In part, their success might stem from a departure from the discovery–dominance trade-off that can promote co-existence in native ant communities, that is, invasive ants are thought to be at the same time behaviorally dominant and faster discoverers of resources, compared to native species. However, it has not yet been tested whether similar asymmetries in behavioral dominance, exploration, and recruitment abilities also exist among invasive species. Here, we establish a dominance hierarchy among four of the most problematic invasive ants (Linepithema humile, Lasius neglectus, Wasmannia auropunctata, Pheidole megacephala) that may be able to arrive and establish in the same areas in the future. To assess behavioral dominance, we used confrontation experiments, testing the aggressiveness in individual and group interactions between all species pairs. In addition, to compare discovery efficiency, we tested the species’ capacity to locate a food resource in a maze, and the capacity to recruit nestmates to exploit a food resource. The four species differed greatly in their capacity to discover resources and to recruit nestmates and to dominate the other species. Our results are consistent with a discovery–dominance trade-off. The species that showed the highest level of interspecific aggressiveness and dominance during dyadic interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cleo Bertelsmeier
- Ecologie, Systématique & Evolution, UMR CNRS 8079, Univ. Paris Sud Orsay Cedex 91405, France
| | - Amaury Avril
- Ecologie, Systématique & Evolution, UMR CNRS 8079, Univ. Paris Sud Orsay Cedex 91405, France ; Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, UNIL-Sorge, University of Lausanne 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Olivier Blight
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas 41092, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Hervé Jourdan
- Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Écologie marine et continentale (IMBE), Aix-Marseille Université, UMR CNRS IRD Avignon Université, UMR 237 IRD, Centre IRD Nouméa BP A5, 98848, Nouméa Cedex, New Caledonia
| | - Franck Courchamp
- Ecologie, Systématique & Evolution, UMR CNRS 8079, Univ. Paris Sud Orsay Cedex 91405, France
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Martinez JJI. Monopolization of resources by ground-nesting ants foraging on trees in Mediterranean forests. ACTA OECOLOGICA 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2015.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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29
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Houadria M, Salas-Lopez A, Orivel J, Blüthgen N, Menzel F. Dietary and Temporal Niche Differentiation in Tropical Ants-Can They Explain Local Ant Coexistence? Biotropica 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mickal Houadria
- Department of Evolutionary Biology; Institute of Zoology; University of Mainz; Mainz Germany
| | | | - Jérôme Orivel
- CNRS; UMR Ecologie de Forêts de Guyane (EcoFoG); Kourou France
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Department of Biology; Technical University of Darmstadt; Darmstadt Germany
| | - Florian Menzel
- Department of Evolutionary Biology; Institute of Zoology; University of Mainz; Mainz Germany
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Wills BD, Moreau CS, Wray BD, Hoffmann BD, Suarez AV. Body size variation and caste ratios in geographically distinct populations of the invasive big-headed ant,Pheidole megacephala(Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bill D. Wills
- Department of Animal Biology; University of Illinois; 515 Morrill Hall, 505 S. Goodwin Ave. Urbana IL 61801 USA
| | - Corrie S. Moreau
- Department of Science and Education; Center for Integrative Research; Field Museum of Natural History; 1400 South Lake Shore Drive Chicago IL 60605 USA
| | - Brian D. Wray
- Department of Science and Education; Center for Integrative Research; Field Museum of Natural History; 1400 South Lake Shore Drive Chicago IL 60605 USA
| | - Benjamin D. Hoffmann
- CSIRO Land and Water Flagship, Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre; PMB 44 Winnellie NT 0822 Australia
| | - Andrew V. Suarez
- Department of Animal Biology; University of Illinois; 515 Morrill Hall, 505 S. Goodwin Ave. Urbana IL 61801 USA
- Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology; Department of Entomology; University of Illinois; 320 Morrill Hall, 505 S. Goodwin Ave. Urbana IL 61801 USA
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31
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Spotti F, Castracani C, Grasso D, Mori A. Daily activity patterns and food preferences in an alpine ant community. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2014.947634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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32
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Dáttilo W, Díaz-Castelazo C, Rico-Gray V. Ant dominance hierarchy determines the nested pattern in ant-plant networks. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Wesley Dáttilo
- Instituto de Neuroetología; Universidad Veracruzana; Xalapa Veracruz C.P. 91190 Mexico
| | - Cecilia Díaz-Castelazo
- Red de Interacciones Multitroficas; Instituto de Ecología A.C.; Xalapa Veracruz C.P. 91070 Mexico
| | - Victor Rico-Gray
- Instituto de Neuroetología; Universidad Veracruzana; Xalapa Veracruz C.P. 91190 Mexico
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Disruption of foraging by a dominant invasive species to decrease its competitive ability. PLoS One 2014; 9:e90173. [PMID: 24594633 PMCID: PMC3942413 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2013] [Accepted: 01/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Invasive species are a major threat to biodiversity when dominant within their newly established habitat. The globally distributed Argentine ant Linepithema humile has been reported to break the trade-off between interference and exploitative competition, achieve high population densities, and overpower nests of many endemic ant species. We have used the sensitivity of the Argentine ant to the synthetic trail pheromone (Z)-9-hexadecanal to investigate species interactions for the first time. We predicted that disrupting Argentine ant trail following behaviour would reduce their competitive ability and create an opportunity for three other resident species to increase their foraging success. Argentine ant success in the control was reduced with increasing pheromone concentration, as predicted, but interactions varied among competing resident species. These behavioural variations provide an explanation for observed differences in foraging success of the competing resident species and how much each of these individual competitors can increase their foraging if the competitive ability of the dominant invader is decreased. The mechanism for the observed increase in resource acquisition of resident species appears to be a decrease in aggressive behaviour displayed by the Argentine ant, which may create an opportunity for other resident species to forage more successfully. Our demonstration of species interactions with trail pheromone disruption is the first known case of reduced dominance under a pheromone treatment in ants.
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Radtke T, Glasier J, Wilson S. Species composition and abundance of ants and other invertebrates in stands of crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) and native grasslands in the northern Great Plains. CAN J ZOOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2013-0103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Habitat alteration by exotic plant species can have profound effects on vertebrates, but its effects on invertebrates are less well-known. Crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn.) is a perennial grass that has been planted on >106ha of the Great Plains. We tested the hypothesis that invertebrate communities (especially ants) differed between native grasslands and A. cristatum stands, using pitfall traps in Saskatchewan and Montana. Ant species composition differed significantly between native grasslands and A. cristatum stands, but there were no differences in total ant abundance, the abundance of functional groups, or species richness. Ant species richness was significantly greater in Montana than Saskatchewan. In Saskatchewan, bare ground was positively related to total ant abundance and the abundance of “cold-climate specialist” and “opportunist” functional groups of ants. In Montana, the cover of forbs was positively related to total ant abundance. The abundances of individual ant species were not predicted by any vegetation characteristics, except for Formica obscuripes Forel, 1886, which increased significantly with litter. The total abundance of other invertebrates was greater in native grasslands than in A. cristatum stands, although not significantly so. Within each vegetation type, variation in ant communities may depend either directly on the effects of vegetation species composition, or indirectly via the effect of vegetation on other factors such as temperature. The results suggest that ant community composition was influenced more by variation within grasslands and between locations than by differences between native and exotic grasslands.
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Affiliation(s)
- T.M. Radtke
- Department of Biology, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
| | - J.R.N. Glasier
- Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 814 General Services Building, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada
| | - S.D. Wilson
- Department of Biology, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
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Tradeoffs, competition, and coexistence in eastern deciduous forest ant communities. Oecologia 2012; 171:981-92. [PMID: 23242423 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-012-2459-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2011] [Accepted: 08/29/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Ecologists have long sought to explain the coexistence of multiple potentially competing species in local assemblages. This is especially challenging in species-rich assemblages in which interspecific competition is intense, as it often is in ant assemblages. As a result, a suite of mechanisms has been proposed to explain coexistence among potentially competing ant species: the dominance-discovery tradeoff, the dominance-thermal tolerance tradeoff, spatial segregation, temperature-based niche partitioning, and temporal niche partitioning. Through a series of observations and experiments, we examined a deciduous forest ant assemblage in eastern North America for the signature of each of these coexistence mechanisms. We failed to detect evidence for any of the commonly suggested mechanisms of coexistence, with one notable exception: ant species appear to temporally partition foraging times such that behaviourally dominant species foraged more intensely at night, while foraging by subdominant species peaked during the day. Our work, though focused on a single assemblage, indicates that many of the commonly cited mechanisms of coexistence may not be general to all ant assemblages. However, temporal segregation may play a role in promoting coexistence among ant species in at least some ecosystems, as it does in many other organisms.
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ANDERSEN ALANN, ARNAN XAVIER, SPARKS KATHRYN. Limited niche differentiation within remarkable co-occurrences of congeneric species:Monomoriumants in the Australian seasonal tropics. AUSTRAL ECOL 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- ALAN N. ANDERSEN
- CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences; PMB 44; Winnellie; NT; 0822; Australia
| | - XAVIER ARNAN
- Unitat d'Ecologia - CREAF; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Barcelona; Spain
| | - KATHRYN SPARKS
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity; School of Earth and Environmental Sciences; The University of Adelaide; Adelaide; South Australia; Australia
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Arnan X, Cerdá X, Retana J. Distinctive life traits and distribution along environmental gradients of dominant and subordinate Mediterranean ant species. Oecologia 2012; 170:489-500. [PMID: 22476711 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-012-2315-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2011] [Accepted: 03/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Arnan
- Unitat d'Ecologia i CREAF, Facultat de Biociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain.
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38
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Consequences of behavioral vs. numerical dominance on foraging activity of desert seed-eating ants. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-011-1310-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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ANDERSEN ALANN, WOINARSKI JOHNCZ, PARR CATHERINEL. Savanna burning for biodiversity: Fire management for faunal conservation in Australian tropical savannas. AUSTRAL ECOL 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2011.02334.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Cronin AL, Fédérici P, Doums C, Monnin T. The influence of intraspecific competition on resource allocation during dependent colony foundation in a social insect. Oecologia 2011; 168:361-9. [PMID: 21833638 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-011-2098-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2010] [Accepted: 07/13/2011] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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41
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Cerdá X, Angulo E, Caut S, Courchamp F. Ant community structure on a small Pacific island: only one native species living with the invaders. Biol Invasions 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-011-0065-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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42
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Fast food in ant communities: how competing species find resources. Oecologia 2011; 167:229-40. [PMID: 21461765 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-011-1982-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2010] [Accepted: 03/14/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
An understanding of foraging behavior is crucial to understanding higher level community dynamics; in particular, there is a lack of information about how different species discover food resources. We examined the effect of forager number and forager discovery capacity on food discovery in two disparate temperate ant communities, located in Texas and Arizona. We defined forager discovery capacity as the per capita rate of resource discovery, or how quickly individual ants arrived at resources. In general, resources were discovered more quickly when more foragers were present; this was true both within communities, where species identity was ignored, as well as within species. This pattern suggests that resource discovery is a matter of random processes, with ants essentially bumping into resources at a rate mediated by their abundance. In contrast, species that were better discoverers, as defined by the proportion of resources discovered first, did not have higher numbers of mean foragers. Instead, both mean forager number and mean forager discovery capacity determined discovery success. The Texas species used both forager number and capacity, whereas the Arizona species used only forager capacity. There was a negative correlation between a species' prevalence in the environment and the discovery capacity of its foragers, suggesting that a given species cannot exploit both high numbers and high discovery capacity as a strategy. These results highlight that while forager number is crucial to determining time to discovery at the community level and within species, individual forager characteristics influence the outcome of exploitative competition in ant communities.
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Arnan X, Gaucherel C, Andersen AN. Dominance and species co-occurrence in highly diverse ant communities: a test of the interstitial hypothesis and discovery of a three-tiered competition cascade. Oecologia 2011; 166:783-94. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-011-1919-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2010] [Accepted: 01/11/2011] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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The Humpbacked Species Richness-Curve: A Contingent Rule for Community Ecology. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2011. [DOI: 10.1155/2011/868426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Functional relationships involving species richness may be unimodal, monotonically increasing, monotonically decreasing, bimodal, multimodal, U-shaped, or with no discernable pattern. The unimodal relationships are the most interesting because they suggest dynamic, nonequilibrium community processes. For that reason, they are also contentious. In this paper, we provide a wide-ranging review of the literature on unimodal (humpbacked) species richness-relationships. Though not as widespread as previously thought, unimodal patterns of species richness are often associated with disturbance, predation and herbivory, productivity, spatial heterogeneity, environmental gradients, time, and latitude. These unimodal patterns are contingent on organism and environment; we examine unimodal species richness-curves involving plants, invertebrates, vertebrates, plankton, and microbes in marine, lacustrine, and terrestrial habitats. A goal of future research is to understand the contingent patterns and the complex, interacting processes that generate them.
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Abstract
Abstract:The ant assemblages in two common tree species in primary lowland forest of New Guinea were explored using direct canopy access and tuna bait traps. The 19 trees investigated were occupied by 21 ant species of which 18 were canopy inhabitants. On average only 3.6 ant species per tree and 3 species per bait were found. Height of bait position was positively related to ant species richness, with the upper parts of the canopy being occupied by the highest number of species. On the other hand, tree species and study site did not have any effect on ant species richness nor on structure of the ant assemblages. Ant species appeared to be distributed randomly and we did not detect any effect of distance on similarity of ant assemblage occurring on the trees. The dominant species (Crematogaster polita) had certain negative effects on the presence of some species at food sources co-occurring at the same tree, but it did co-occur with the other ants to some extent as well. The majority of species found in the canopy were generalist omnivores (depending mainly on trophobionts or plant exudates).
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SAVAGE AMYM, JOHNSON SALLYD, WHITNEY KENNETHD, RUDGERS JENNIFERA. Do invasive ants respond more strongly to carbohydrate availability than co-occurring non-invasive ants? A test along an active Anoplolepis gracilipes invasion front. AUSTRAL ECOL 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2010.02152.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Illig J, Norton RA, Scheu S, Maraun M. Density and community structure of soil- and bark-dwelling microarthropods along an altitudinal gradient in a tropical montane rainforest. EXPERIMENTAL & APPLIED ACAROLOGY 2010; 52:49-62. [PMID: 20229099 PMCID: PMC2914295 DOI: 10.1007/s10493-010-9348-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2009] [Accepted: 02/24/2010] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Microarthropod communities in the soil and on the bark of trees were investigated along an elevation gradient (1,850, 2,000, 2,150, 2,300 m) in a tropical montane rain forest in southern Ecuador. We hypothesised that the density of microarthropods declines with depth in soil and increases with increasing altitude mainly due to the availability of resources, i.e. organic matter. In addition, we expected bark and soil communities to differ strongly, since the bark of trees is more exposed to harsher factors. In contrast to our hypothesis, the density of major microarthropod groups (Collembola, Oribatida, Gamasina, Uropodina) was generally low and decreased with altitude. However, as we predicted the density of each of the groups decreased with soil depth. Density of microarthropods on tree bark was lower than in soil. Overall, 43 species of oribatid mites were found, with the most abundant higher taxa being Poronota, pycnonotic Apheredermata, Mixonomata and Eupheredermata. The oribatid mite community on bark did not differ significantly from that in soil. The number of oribatid mite species declined with altitude (24, 23, 17 and 13 species at 1,850, 2,000, 2,150 and 2,300 m, respectively). Rarefaction curves indicate that overall about 50 oribatid mite species are to be expected along the studied altitudinal gradient. Results of this study indicate (1) that microarthropods may be limited by the quality of resources at high altitudes and by the amount of resources at deeper soil layers, and (2) that the bark of trees and the soil are habitats of similar quality for oribatid mites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Illig
- Technische Universität Darmstadt, Institut für Zoologie, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Roy A. Norton
- State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210 USA
| | - Stefan Scheu
- Universität Göttingen, Institut für Zoologie und Anthropologie, Berliner Strasse 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Mark Maraun
- Universität Göttingen, Institut für Zoologie und Anthropologie, Berliner Strasse 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
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CHONG CHEESENG, HOFFMANN ARYA, THOMSON LINDAJ. Local-scale spatial dynamics of ants in a temperate agroecosystem. AUSTRAL ECOL 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2010.02155.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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49
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BACCARO FABRICIOBEGGIATO, KETELHUT SUZANAMARIA, DE MORAIS JOSÉWELLINGTON. Resource distribution and soil moisture content can regulate bait control in an ant assemblage in Central Amazonian forest. AUSTRAL ECOL 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2009.02033.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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50
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Wittman SE, Sanders NJ, Ellison AM, Jules ES, Ratchford JS, Gotelli NJ. Species interactions and thermal constraints on ant community structure. OIKOS 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2009.17792.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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