Community structure and species diversity of ant in Qufu, Shandong Province

Abstract

Ant specimens of 4 subfamilies, 15 genera and 19 species were collected by trap and sample plot methods in Qufu area, Shandong. The dominant species are Pheidole rhombinoda, Messor aciculatus and Lasius alienus, of which the first two species are widely distributed over the study area. Based on these samples, species composition, species diversity, and similarity of ant communities in five habitats were analyzed, and the extent of influence by human activity and habitat heterogeneity were examined. We find that species composition and diversity indices of ant communities are different in each of the five habitats. The number of species, Shannon Wiener′s diversity index ( H ′) and Pielou′s evenness index ( J ) in deciduous broad leaved forest are the highest, while the diversity index in artificial poplar plantations is the lowest. The number of nests, number of individuals and McNaughton′s dominant index ( D) is the highest in grasslands of river floodplains. The more the habitats are disturbed, the lower the diversity index of ant community is. The highest diversity indices were observed in the habitats with high quality and high heterogeneity. Clustering analysis for five ant communities and ordination analysis for community structure by multidimensional scaling (MDS) were carried out and basiccally identical results were obtained. The results show that similarity of ant communities between artificial poplar plantation and residential districts is the highest, and similarities between other habitats are much lower. Nest size and individual number of colonys of the same ant species are different in different habitats.