Microclimatic factors associated with elevational changes in army ant density in tropical montane forest

Abstract

Abstract 1. The density (rate of encountering foraging raids) and species richness of army ants (Formicidae: Ecitoninae, and behaviourally convergent Ponerinae) was measured in montane tropical forest. Above‐ground and subterranean army ant raids were sampled using standard protocols at four sites across an elevational gradient (1200–1650 m above mean sea level) in and near cloud forest in the area of Monteverde, Costa Rica.2. Mean ambient temperature differed among sites, and decreased with elevation. For the above‐ground foraging army ant species, raid rates also declined with elevation. Surface army ant raid rates, however, were not affected by day to day weather variation within sites (temperature, cloud cover, or precipitation).3. For the underground foraging army ant species, raid rates did not vary directionally with elevation, and subterranean raid rates were not affected by day to day weather variation within sites.4. Army ant species richness was not directionally related to elevation, and species sharing among sites was generally high.5. Army ant community structure changes with elevation in Neotropical montane forest, and the results suggest that the strongest effects are of temperature regimes on the density of raids. These findings provide a baseline against which to detect changes in army ant communities that may accompany directional climate change in tropical cloud forests.