Ants species richness and diversity in relation to different ecological habitat in selected localities of the semi-arid region of Karnataka, India.

Abstract

We analysed the taxonomic position and species diversity of ants in four different habitats (agriculture, vegetative, dry land, and human habitats). A total of 11,038 ant workers belonging to 40 species, 25 genera of 10 tribes, and six subfamilies were recorded. The Simpson index of diversity (1-D) was 0.97, indicating greater diversity in both vegetative and human habitat. Similarly, the Shannon index was 3.40 and 3.50 for both vegetative and human habitats, respectively, indicating assemblage of similar ant species in both habitats. In contrast, for agricultural habitat, Simpson index of diversity (1-D) was 0.90, and for dry land habitat, the least diversity of 0.80 was reported. However, in pair-wise comparisons, no significant difference was observed between agriculture and dry land and vegetative and human habitats. The agriculture and arid land habitats tend to have fewer species compared with the vegetative and human habitats. Human-disturbed areas have an important role as reservoirs of biodiversity and should be included in landscape management practices to improve ant conservation in the tropics.