Community structure and functional group classification of litter ants in the montane evergreen and deciduous forests of Wayanad region of Western Ghats, Southern India

Abstract

Community structure of litter ants based on feeding guilds and the more recent functional group classification, and also the role of abiotic factors in determining the community structure have been analyzed following ‘Ants of Leaf Litter’ protocol in a montane evergreen (shola) and deciduous forests in the Wayanad region of Western Ghats, southern India. Distinct variations in the guild structure of litter ant communities in shola and deciduous forests have been recorded. Predators dominated deciduous and omnivores in the shola forests. Cryptic species was the dominant functional guild in both litter stands, although hot-climate specialists have not been recorded from the shola forests. Rank-abundance plots attributed the difference in diversity between the forests to the dominance of Tapinoma sp. and Myrmicaria brunnea in deciduous forest. Physical characteristics of the habitat critically influenced ant abundance in both forest types. Functional group model classification was found to be a better model for the classification of litter ants than the conventional feeding-guild categorization as it enabled a meaningful comparison in relation to physical factors.