Ant Species Diversity Research Articles

Ground-dwelling ants species diversity (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) at conservation forest and oil-palm plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia

This study aimed to investigate the diversity of ground-dwelling ant species within the conservation forest patch and the plantation area of an oil-palm plantation in Sumatra. Modified quadra protocol was applied to collect ants at five sites in the conservation forest and one location in the oil-palm plantation. A total of 76 ground-dwelling ant species belonging to 36 genera and six subfamilies were collected. The subfamily Myrmicinae was the highest in total species number (31) collected followed by Formicinae (29) and Ponerinae (9). The diversity index for the overall species collected was 3.00. Ant species diversity in both sites showed that the area still retains high diversity value for ants, and presumably for other taxa as well.

Differences in ant species diversity and species composition between managed and abandoned bamboo forests

Differences in ant species diversity and species composition between managed and abandoned bamboo forests

Diversity snapshot of green–gray space ants in two Mexican cities

This study evaluates changes in the diversity and composition of ants that inhabit contrasting environmental conditions (green and gray spaces) in two cities of different size and degree of urbanization: Xalapa and Coatepec (Veracruz, Mexico), both of which are surrounded by cloud forest remnants, croplands and pastures. In each city, a green space and a gray space of similar area were selected (~ 31 ha) and ten sampling sites were randomly placed within each environment. Tuna in oil and honey were used as baits to collect soil ants, entomological nets to capture vegetation ants and Winkler sacks for leaf-litter ants. Ant species richness (0D) and diversity (1D) was greater in Coatepec (the smaller and less urbanized city) than in Xalapa. However, the pattern observed when comparing green and gray spaces differed between the cities: the greatest diversity (0D and 1D) was observed in the gray space of Coatepec and the lowest diversity in the green space of Xalapa. In both cities, the similarity of species composition between habitat conditions was close to 50% and the comparison of green spaces between the cities showed that these are more different to each other than is the case with the gray spaces. These results suggest that the characteristics of each city influence the ant diversity contained in green and gray spaces differently and can promote differentiation in species composition within the same city.

Diversity of ant assemblages (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in an urban environment in Cameroon during and after colonization of the area by Wasmannia auropunctata

Invasive species disrupt the organization and functioning of many ant communities. Little is known about ant assemblages formerly in areas invaded by the little fire ant. In this study, we surveyed the same areas and compared the ant communities there when an invasive species first colonized the areas and 10 years later, using the same methodology (quadrat and baiting). A total of 83,299 worker ants from 17 species or morphospecies, in 4 subfamilies and 10 genera were recorded in the two periods sampled. Seven ant species were found to co-occur with W. auropunctata while 12 species were collected in the same area 10 years later, with no W. auropunctata recorded in any of the traps. In the absence of W. auropunctata, the number and diversity of ant species increased and the ant communities were dominated by the African big-headed ant, Pheidole megacephala. Our findings indicate that the disappearance of W. auropunctata is probably related to population increases in P. megacephala associated with dramatic changes in landscape. Further studies at other invaded locations should be carried out in order to reveal the generality of these patterns throughout this country.

DNA barcoding of aphid-associated ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in a subtropical area of southern China.

As one of the most abundant and complex groups of terrestrial insects, ants have associations with many other organismal groups, such as hemipteran insects producing honeydew. With the aim of expanding the knowledge base of ant species associated with aphids, this study analyzed mitochondrial COI barcodes of 301 ant samples for 37 aphid-associated ant species in a subtropical area of southern China. Sequence analyses revealed that the intraspecific and interspecific distances ranged from zero to 7.7%% and 0.2 to 31.7%, respectively. Three barcoding approaches – Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery, Bayesian Poisson Tree Processes and Generalized Mixed Yule-coalescent – were used to help delimit ant species based on COI sequences, and their results corresponded well with most of the morphospecies. All three approaches indicate cryptic diversity may exist within Tetramorium bicarinatum and Technomyrmex albipes, with intraspecific genetic distances of 7.7% and 6.24%, respectively. Our analyses also reported five species for the first time from Fujian Province of China, and the COI sequences of nine species are newly added into the GenBank. This study provides information about species diversity of aphid-associated ants in subtropical China and compiles a DNA barcode reference library for future ant barcoding work.

Experimental effects of white-tailed deer and an invasive shrub on forest ant communities

Ungulate browse and invasive plants exert pressure on plant communities and alter the physical and chemical properties of soils, but little is known about their effects on litter-dwelling arthropods. In particular, ants (Formicidae) are ubiquitous in temperate forests and are sensitive to changes in habitat structure and resources. As ants play many functional roles, changes to ant communities may lead to changes in ecosystem processes. We conducted a long-term experiment that controlled white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) access and presence of an invasive understory shrub in deciduous forests located in southwestern Ohio, USA from 2011 to 2017. Several leaf-litter ant community responses and litter biomass were measured in five paired deer access and exclosure plots, each with a split-plot removal of Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii). Ant abundance and species richness increased with time in deer exclosures, but not in deer access plots. Honeysuckle removal reduced abundance and richness of ants. There were additive effects of deer and honeysuckle on ant richness, and interactive effects of deer and honeysuckle on ant abundance. Deer exclusion reduced variation in ant composition relative to access plots. There was little evidence that treatments directly influenced species diversity of ants. However, all ant measures were positively related to litter biomass, which was greater in deer exclosures relative to access plots. Our results indicate strong indirect effects of herbivores and honeysuckle on litter-dwelling ants, mediated through changes in litter biomass and likely vegetation structure, which may alter ant-mediated ecosystem processes.

KEANEKARAGAMAN JENIS SEMUT (Formicidae) ARBOREAL DI HUTAN MANGROVE KELURAHAN SETAPUK BESAR KOTA SINGKAWANG

Arboreal ants are ants that do activities and spend their lives in tree. Roles of this organism are to serve as decomposers, pollinators, predators and indicators. Ant species diversity constitutes a chain for ecosystem stability. They are responsible as decomposing insects making their presence becomes ecologically vital. Research on ant species diversity in mangrove forest remains insufficient. One of the reasons possibly is that fact that mangrove is an ecosystem which is affected by sea tide. This research aims at gathering data about ant species diversity based on types of mangrove forest vegetation located in Setapuk Besar, Singkawang City. The research used a survey method by observing types of trees whose diameter was 10 cm and above. Additionally, the tree should have a large number of ants. The data was collected through fly sheet trap set under, in the mid, and above the tidal level. Findings revealed 6 types of ants consisting 4 sub-families in 6 types of the trees i.e. Rhizopora mucronata, Avicennia lanata, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Terminalia capatta, Nypa fruticans, and Bruguiera cylindrical.. Based on the diversity index of those 6 types of trees, the divercity of arboreal ants spesies could be categorized low (H’<1). The highest diversity was nypa fruticans vegetation by 0.325. This was because the tree contains sugar level and carbohydrate. The lowest diversity was Hibiscus tiliaceus and Termialia catappa. The H’ value was 0. One of the reasons was because only one species of ants can be found in both trees, namely Oecophylla smaragdina.Keywords: Arboreal Ants, Diversity, Mangrove, Singkawang

Secondary succession has surprisingly low impact on arboreal ant communities in tropical montane rainforest

AbstractUnderstanding forest regeneration processes is increasingly important as disturbed forests spread rapidly in tropical landscapes. While successional dynamics are relatively well‐understood for plants, they remain poorly known for tropical insects, particularly in montane rainforests and tree canopies. We studied the effect of montane forest succession on arboreal ant communities in New Guinea near their natural elevational limit (1800 m a.s.l.). We censused ant species and nests in replicated 0.1‐ha plots of primary, old and young secondary forests, destined to be felled for gardens by the local landowners. Overall, 1249 felled trees were dissected for all ant‐associated microhabitats. We used rarefaction‐based models manipulating vegetation structure and multivariate randomizations to assess the effects of tree density, tree size, and nesting microhabitats on the ant communities. We expected increased ant species diversity, microhabitat specialization, and species turnover among trees throughout the succession, with distinct community composition among the stages. In contrast to our expectations, ant species composition and diversity per plot did not change during succession, and species similarity among trees was significantly higher only in old secondary forest. The number of ant species per tree increased with forest age, but trees of similar size hosted only slightly more species in primary than secondary forests. Many ant species were associated with particular nesting microhabitats; however, the same microhabitat types occurred in all stages and thus did not generate successional trends in ant communities. Secondary succession had an unexpectedly low impact on tree‐dwelling ant communities in this montane ecosystem, in contrast with our previous findings from lowland rainforests. These results highlight the need to study successional processes along entire elevational gradients, as montane taxa may react differently to vegetation changes than their lowland counterparts.

Efeitos de atributos ambientais na biodiversidade de formigas sob diferentes usos do solo

O objetivo foi avaliar a influência de variáveis ambientais sobre a fauna de formigas em um fragmento de floresta nativa e em áreas sob cultivo orgânico. Os dados foram coletados no município de Seropédica-RJ, nas estações chuvosa e seca, nas seguintes áreas: plantação de bananas (Musa pariadisiaca L.); agrofloresta; cafezal (Coffea conephora Pierre) sombreado com Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.); fragmento de floresta (8 ha) em estágio intermediário de sucessão secundária. Para a amostragem, foram utilizadas cinco unidades amostrais por área, cada uma composta por três armadilhas de queda tipo pitfall e uma parcela de 1 m² onde foi extraída a cobertura morta/ serapilheira, que foi peneirada e alocada no extrator de Winkler. Foram coletadas 53 espécies de formigas, ocorrendo maior riqueza de espécies na agrofloresta (38 espécies), seguida do cafezal (31 espécies), floresta secundária (29 espécies) e plantação de bananas (28 espécies). Na estação seca houve o efeito do tipo de uso do solo e da profundidade de serapilheira sobre a riqueza e diversidade de espécies de formigas. Nas duas estações, a composição de espécies de formigas variou significativamente entre todas as áreas estudadas. O aumento da heterogeneidade estrutural do ambiente e da profundidade de serapilheira em áreas cultivadas proporcionou maior riqueza e diversidade de espécies de formigas, além de mudanças na composição de espécies. Desta forma, pela diversidade de espécies cultivadas e estratos vegetais que apresentam, os sistemas agroflorestais funcionam como alternativa às monoculturas. Principalmente, no que se refere à proteção da biodiversidade, já que estes ambientes apresentam maior disponibilidade de recursos alimentares e de locais para a nidificação, não somente para a fauna de formigas.

Diversity of ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) along a heavy metal pollution gradient: Evidence of a hump-shaped effect

Abstract Ants, as indicators of ecological changes, are widely used in land management and environmental monitoring. At the same time, effects of industrial pollution are less known compared to many other stressors. We studied variations in habitat variables and ant diversity near the Karabash copper smelter (KCS) in Russia, in 2009 and 2014. Pitfall traps were set up at 10 birch forest sites (3 plots per site and 5 traps per plot) located to the north and south of the smelter within a 1–32-km range, with two samplings per season (June and August). The tree height, stand basal area, species richness of the field and moss layers, and the cover of the field layer decreased towards the smelter. The vegetation almost disappeared at the industrial barren close to KCS. In total, 21 ant species of 7 genera were registered. The highest species richness, diversity, and total occurrence of ants were observed in the transitional zone between moderately polluted forest habitats and industrial barren. Ant diversity and occurrence showed the same pattern in different years. Our results conform to the intermediate disturbance hypothesis predicting the greatest diversity at intermediate frequencies or intensities of disturbance or environmental change. Apparently, contaminant exposure affects ant communities near KCS indirectly, through habitat transformation. The study emphasizes the need for thorough planning of field studies of pollution effects on ants with examination of the full range of exposures. In addition, the nonlinear pattern of diversity and abundance of the ant community along the pollution gradients suggests caution, when assessing the magnitude of human impact and the state of ecosystems with ants as bioindicators.

Xerothermic Grassland Protection by Means of Sheep Grazing: What is the Short-Term Effect on Ants?

Livestock grazing is a common management practice recommended to protect biodiversity of semi-natural grasslands. However, the effects of specific management regimes on species diversity can differ considerably among taxonomic groups. We studied short-term effects of sheep grazing on species diversity of ants. We investigated whether one season of sheep grazing affects the species richness of ants and causes a compositional change in species occurrence. We conducted our study in southern Poland at five Natura 2000 sites that create favourable habitats for thermo- and xerophilic ants. The average number of ant species detected in grazed plots was slightly but insignificantly higher as compared with that in ungrazed ones. Three species were detected only in ungrazed plots. Our results are in accordance with other reports, leading to the conclusion that the variation in ant diversity may be primarily driven by site-specific conditions rather than grazing per se.

Species-level predation network uncovers high prey specificity in a Neotropical army ant community.

Army ants are among the top arthropod predators and considered keystone species in tropical ecosystems. During daily mass raids with many thousand workers, army ants hunt live prey, likely exerting strong top-down control on prey species. Many tropical sites exhibit a high army ant species diversity (>20 species), suggesting that sympatric species partition the available prey niches. However, whether and to what extent this is achieved has not been intensively studied yet. We therefore conducted a large-scale diet survey of a community of surface-raiding army ants at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. We systematically collected 3,262 prey items from eleven army ant species (genera Eciton, Nomamyrmex and Neivamyrmex). Prey items were classified as ant prey or non-ant prey. The prey nearly exclusively consisted of other ants (98%), and most booty was ant brood (87%). Using morphological characters and DNA barcoding, we identified a total of 1,103 ant prey specimens to the species level. One hundred twenty-nine ant species were detected among the army ant prey, representing about 30% of the known local ant diversity. Using weighted bipartite network analyses, we show that prey specialization in army ants is unexpectedly high and prey niche overlap very small. Besides food niche differentiation, we uncovered a spatiotemporal niche differentiation in army ant raid activity. We discuss competition-driven multidimensional niche differentiation and predator-prey arms races as possible mechanisms underlying prey specialization in army ants. By combining systematic prey sampling with species-level prey identification and network analyses, our integrative approach can guide future research by portraying how predator-prey interactions in complex communities can be reliably studied, even in cases where morphological prey identification is infeasible.

IMPACT OF HIKING TRAIL DISTURBANCE ON ANTS` DIVERSITY AT MOUNT SINAI, ST. KATHERINE PROTECTORATE, EGYPT

Saint Katherine Protectorate (SKP) is one of the most important regions for biodiversity in Egypt. Tourism and its associated activities has become the main economic driver in SKP which might have negative impacts on biodiversity. Ants are effective biological indicators, since ant species diversity correlates with the assembly of other invertebrate fauna of particular habitats. The current study aimed at assessing the impact of some anthropogenic activities along the touristic hiking trail passing through Mount Sinai area on ants` diversity. A total of 583 individuals belonging to nine ant species, three subfamilies, from (Family: Formicidae; Order: Hymenoptera) were recorded within the study localities in Mount Sinai. Our study showed that the hiking trail disturbance had a negative environmental impact on the species richness and abundance of ants within the study localities in Mount Sinai. Based on our results it is advisable to move the hiking trails to slopes of Mount Sinai away from its current location within the basins (farshs). More studies are needed to assess the impact of hiking trails and associated human activities on other biodiversity elements in SKP

Forest cover drives leaf litter ant diversity in primary rainforest remnants within human-modified tropical landscapes

The main effects of habitat loss and fragmentation have been addressed through changes in diversity patterns at different spatial levels. Species richness and diversity are the most used descriptors to assess the effect of changes in land use on tropical communities. However, other biological responses such as richness and diversity of trophic guilds may also provide a better understanding about the robustness and resilience of tropical environments to disturbance. In this study, we evaluated how changes in local and landscape characteristics associated to habitat loss and fragmentation affect: (i) species richness and Shannon diversity as well as (ii) trophic guild richness and diversity of leaf litter ants in human-modified tropical rainforest landscapes in Mexico. For this, we sampled ants in 16 sampling sites and recorded a series of descriptors at both local (i.e. elevation, temperature, relative humidity, soil pH, canopy cover, litter volume and vegetation structure) and landscape level (i.e. landscape heterogeneity, forest cover and connectivity). Overall, we observed that increasing primary forest cover within the sampling sites positively influenced richness and diversity of species and trophic guilds. In addition, at the local level, we found that only richness and diversity of ant species were negatively associated with tree density (i.e. number of trees, litter volume and canopy cover). These findings suggest that opportunistic species can be favored in environments with low tree density. In short, our complementary approach highlights the importance of environmental variability and primary forest cover in the maintenance of ant biodiversity in primary rainforest remnants.

Boreal Sand Hills are Areas of High Diversity for Boreal Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The boreal forest in Canada comprises a wide variety of ecosystems, including stabilized (overgrown) sand dunes, often referred to as sand hills. Globally, sandy soils are known for supporting a high diversity of invertebrates, including ants, but little is known for boreal systems. We used pitfall trap sampling in sand hill, aspen parkland and peatland ecosystems to compare their ant diversity and test the prediction that areas with sandy soils have higher invertebrate diversity compared to more mesic/organic soils. Overall, sand hills had ~45% more ant species compared to other sampled ecosystems from Alberta. Similar to other studies, local canopy cover within sand hills was found to be inversely related to ant species richness and diversity. Although sand hills are rare across the region, they are high biodiversity areas for ants, with the sand hills of north-central Alberta having higher species richness of ants compared to other studied areas in Canada.

KEANEKARAGAMAN JENIS SEMUT (Formicidae) DI HUTAN KOTA KABUPATEN KETAPANG KALIMANTAN BARAT

The diversity of ant species is one of the links in ecosystem stability as decomposing insects as well as food sources so that its existence becomes very ecologically important. Information about the types of ants found in the urban forest of Ketapang Regency is not yet available, therefore the problem of this research is how the diversity of ant species (Formicidae) in the urban forest of Ketapang Regency. This study aims to document the richness and diversity of ant species in the urban forest of Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan. The method used was purposive sampling and systematic where the placement of traps was carried out according to the presence of ants in terrestrial and arboreal types in secondary forest habitats. Based on the results of research in the urban forest of Ketapang Regency, which was carried out in two types, namely terrestrial type and arboreal type, 10 species of 5 sub-families were found. Sub-families and types of ants found include: Dolichoderinae (Dolichoderus burmanicus, Dolichoderus taprobanae ceramensis), Formicinae (Aphomomyrmex afer, Polirachis browni, Prenolepis fisheri, Chepalotes femoral), Myrmicinae (Crematogester yameni, Crematogester indet), Ponerinae (Odontomachus haematodus), Pseudomyrmecinae (Tetraponera attenuata). The species diversity index (H') in terrestrial type secondary forest habitat (H'= 0.62) and arboreal type (H'= 0.81), the results of the two types in the secondary forest can be concluded that it is still relatively low.Keywords: Ants, Secondary forest habitat, Species diversity

Community structure and ant species diversity across select sites of Western Ghats, India

Information available on species composition, richness and diversity of ant communities of Western Ghats is limited. Recognizing this, the study (2010−2013) was undertaken to evaluate richness and diversity of ants in eight sites of Western Ghats, India, with added notes on how it varies on elevation gradient. Spanning across broad altitudinal and latitudinal gradient, selected sites differed greatly for various micro-habitat variables. Using standard collection protocols and employing five collection techniques, 173 species belonging to 65 genera in 10 subfamilies were collected including twenty species published as new to science and two genera and six species reported for the first time from India. Varying among sites, species richness was recorded lowest (S = 29) at Manalar and highest (S = 116) at Periyar Tiger Reserve. With little but significant variations among sites, the Shannon-Wiener's species diversity index (H′) was recorded highest (H′ = 2.60) at Periyar Tiger Reserve and lowest (H′ = 2.11) at Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary connoting that sites with lower richness were not necessarily less diverse. Beta diversity (β-diversity) was lowest (19%) between contiguous sites like Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary and Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary and highest between site Manalar and Periyar Tiger Reserve at 68% suggesting that ant species composition distinctly varied in these sites. Our results indicated that only few species were adapted to full spectrum of environmental variation along altitudinal gradient studied and both species richness and diversity peaked at mid-elevations as against higher elevations wherein it underwent rapid decline. Such behavior is presumably due to favorable ecological conditions at middle altitudes. Our findings rank high as they not only provide baseline data against which futuristic faunal changes could be assessed with respect to perturbations in a biodiversity hotspot but they also could be used to designate ecological sensitivities to various regions of Western Ghats for future conservation programs.

Idiosyncrasies in cities: evaluating patterns and drivers of ant biodiversity along urbanization gradients

Abstract Urbanization is expected to reduce biodiversity. However, an increasing number of studies report urban biodiversity comparable to that of surrounding nonurban areas, leaving open the question: what maintains biodiversity in cities? We characterized patterns of ant biodiversity across urbanization gradients of three major cities in the Midwestern United States and evaluated the support for two mechanisms underlying the maintenance of biodiversity in cities, specifically via introduced non-native species and differential phenology of communities along each urbanization gradient. We observed idiosyncrasies in ant species diversity such that each city displayed either increased, decreased or no change in biodiversity across the urbanization gradient. We found partial support (one of the three cities) for the hypothesis that non-native species can contribute positively to overall species diversity in cities, though even with introduced species removed from consideration, native ant biodiversity was maintained along the urbanization gradient. We found no support for systematic differential phenology across urbanization gradients, although species diversity did vary over time across all sites. Our results further challenge the assumption of biodiversity loss in cities, as two of our three cities exhibited maintained species diversity along the urbanization gradient. Most importantly, our study demonstrates that urban biodiversity can be maintained entirely by native communities.

Spatial patterns and influencing factors of ground ant species diversity on the land-bridge islands in the Thousand Island Lake, China

Spatial patterns and influencing factors of ground ant species diversity on the land-bridge islands in the Thousand Island Lake, China

Dirt roads and fire breaks produce no edge effects on litter-dwelling arthropods in a tropical dry-forest: a case study

Edge effects threaten organisms and ecological processes in habitat remnants, but they have been poorly studied in non-humid forests such as cerradao, a tropical dry forest sometimes derived from fire-suppressed savanna in Brazil. The diverse ecosystem functions performed by arthropods may be disrupted by edge effects, and there is pressing need for more studies on this subject. We sampled fragments of cerradao facing either a road or fire breaks, assessing edge effects in: beta diversity and community composition of epigaeic (litter-dwelling) arthropod orders, ant species, and ant functional groups; ant species richness and diversity; leaf litter depth; and colony residence time of a predatory ground-dwelling ant, Odontomachus chelifer (Ponerinae). None of the variables measured differed between edge and interior of the sites sampled. Dry forests have high micro-climatic variations caused by discontinuities in the canopy cover and, as such, changes in abiotic variables in cerradao edges might not be as clear as those observed in tropical rainforests. Our study demonstrates that edge effects may not be so prevalent in cerradao facing roads or fire breaks, which possibly increases the chances of survival of a higher fraction of the original arthropod fauna compared to rainforest fragments.