Litter Ants Research Articles

Spatial Turnover and Functional Redundancy in the Ants of Urban Fragments of Tropical Dry Forest

Spatial and temporal variation in the diversity of ants in four urban fragments of the tropical dry forest in the city of Santa Marta was evaluated. The fragments were sampled four times in the dry and rainy season, from October 2019 to January 2020, using pitfall traps, mini-Winkler bags, baits, and manual collection. Both alpha and beta taxonomic diversity and their components were quantified. The functional groups were established based on proposals for Neotropical ant species. A total of 7 subfamilies, 37 genera, and 84 species were collected. Richness varied spatially from 33 to 61 species, but between the two seasons it was 72 and 76 species. Sites N01 and N02 had greater diversity than N03 and N04. In all the fragments, soil ants were dominated by Ectatomma ruidum, but litter ants showed a structure with less dominant species. The dissimilarity between fragments was 60–80%, attributable mainly to turnover (50–70%) but not to nestedness (10%). Seventeen functional groups were identified. Taxonomic diversity of ants in urban fragments in Santa Marta showed marked spatial variation, without influence from the seasons. Despite taxonomic turnover, there was broad similarity in functional groups between the fragments, indicating ecological equivalence of species between the ant assemblages.

Ant Community Structure in Secondary Logged Forest of Malua Forest Reserve, Sabah, Borneo

Ants are ecologically dominant and important in the functioning of an ecosystem. Thus, understanding their community structure has become fundamental in ecological studies. This study aims to examine the ant richness, abundance, and composition in the secondary logged forests of Sabah, Malaysia. Ground-based fogging was employed to collect canopy ants (n=38) and Winkler extraction method for leaf litter ants (n=63). A total of 12,810 ant individuals were collected, representing 389 morphospecies, 65 genera, and 11 subfamilies. The most species-rich subfamily for canopy and leaf litter ants were Formicinae (112 morphospecies, 49.34%) and Myrmicinae (116 morphospecies, 58.00%) respectively. Polyrhachis (56 morphospecies, 24.67%) was the most diverse genera in the canopy, while Pheidole (23 morphospecies, 11.50%) was the most speciose genera on the leaf litter. The most abundant species for canopy and leaf litter ants were Dolichoderus 1 (876 individuals) and Carebara 2 (1,215 individuals) respectively. The randomized species accumulation curves and species richness estimators reveal that additional sampling is required. We suggest that incorporating a variety of ant sampling methods and high sampling efforts are important to thoroughly sample the ant assemblage in an area.

An insight into the quality of sacred groves – an island habitat – using leaf-litter ants as an indicator in a context of urbanization

AbstractSacred groves (SGs) of India are islets of forests providing ecosystem and spiritual services to man. Studies suggest that SGs are deteriorating on their quality due to urbanization, invasive species, land-use change, and religious modernization. We explored diversity, community, and abundance of overall and different functional groups of litter ants, including Anoplolepis gracilipes – an invasive ant – on paired SG-neighbouring home garden (HG) sites in rural and urban landscape to (a) assess the quality of SGs and (b) examine whether the variation in ant community of the two habitats was predicted by urbanization and abundance of A. gracilipes. We considered species and local contribution to β-diversity to identify species and sites crucial for conservation of sites. Abundance and richness of overall ants, proportional trap incidence of species, and abundance of A. gracilipes were similar on SG and HG, but species diversity and abundance of certain ant functional groups were higher on SG. Ant community of SG was different from HG, but was not affected by urbanization. A. gracilipes and rural SGs contributed the most to β diversity. A. gracilipes gave little pressure on native ant community. The study concludes that SGs, despite invaded by A. gracilipes, have potential for conserving biodiversity.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of the ant community in a dry forest differ by vertical strata but not by successional stage

AbstractAnts are diverse and ecologically important organisms in tropical forests, where their spatiotemporal distribution can be highly complex. This complexity arises mainly from marked differences in microclimatic conditions and resource availability through space and time that is even more evident in highly seasonal environments, such as tropical dry forests. However, it is unclear how seasonality interacts with other factors that might shape temporal variation of ant composition (β‐diversity), like vertical strata and habitat disturbance. Our goal was to examine the potential influence of vertical stratification and the successional stage on the spatiotemporal variation of a tropical dry forest's ant species composition. We assessed whether species turnover or nestedness was the main component determining the spatiotemporal β‐diversity of ant communities across the canopy and litter strata. We sampled canopy and litter ants in ten plots, half in the early and half on the late stage of secondary succession at four times, twice in wet and twice in dry season. A high species turnover defined the spatiotemporal β‐diversity of canopy and litter ant communities across years and seasons in our focal dry forests. Importantly, the temporal ant species composition was much more stable in the canopy than in the litter. Moreover, we found that the ant community's temporal dynamics was consistently high across successional stages, not differing in the temporal β‐diversity between early and late succession. Our results provide valuable insights into the potential underlying causes of community assembly and spatiotemporal dynamics in seasonal habitats, like the highly threatened and diverse tropical dry forests.Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.

Species assemblages and diversity of litter ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) along an altitudinal gradient across two vegetation types in Hanthana Forest in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Ants account for 30% of terrestrial biomass and are highly sensitive to environmental variables. Present study investigated the effect of altitude (400-900 m) and vegetation type (mixed woodland and pine plantations in Hanthana forest) on litter ants. Two transects were laid at each of the five 100 m elevation levels. For hand-picking and litter extraction of ants, 1 m2 plots were laid at every 20 m intervals along the two sides of each transect. A total of 8689 ants in 9 subfamilies 32 genera and 56 morpho-species were collected. Subfamily Myrmicinae had the highest number of genera (15) and species (26 spp.). Genus Pheidole was represented by the highest number of species (5 spp.) while Solenopsis sp. 1 was the most widely distributed and abundant (6420 individuals) species. The mixed woodlands, regardless of elevation, were richer in ant species than pine plantations. Permutation test (ρ=0.30, P=3%) revealed a weak relationship between ant assemblages and environmental variables. Findings indicated that the difference in litter ant species assemblages and diversity in Hanthana Forest is possibly due to differences in vegetation types rather than altitude.

Occurrence of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in both Leaf Litter and Twigs in Atlantic Forest

Twigs in the litter derived from the fragmentation of tree branches form one microhabitat, where entire colonies of ants, both leaf litter and arboreal species, can be found. The objective was to survey ant species that are presente in both the leaf litter and twigs simultaneously. We describe the nest type, the social structure of the colonies and the trophic guild membership of these species. Samples were collected from 10 preserved fragments of Brazilian Atlantic forest. We used Berlese funnels to collect leaf litter ants and manual collection for twig ants. We recorded 80 ant species; 60 species were in leaf litter samples and 35 species were in twigs. Of the total species, only 15 (20%) occurred simultaneously in the leaf litter and in twigs. Of these species, Gnamptogenys striatula, Pheidole sarcina, P. sospes and Solenopsis sp. 2 were the most frequent among leaf litter dwellers, and Myrmelachista catharinae was the most common arboreal species. Most of these belonged to generalista and predator guilds, with “polydomous nests” and colonies monogynous.

Assessing sodium limitation as a resource for ground-dwelling ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in an area of the Amazonian Terra Firme Forest

The availability of nutrients in the soil acts as a filter in the ants that inhabit this layer, affecting their foraging patterns and showing preferences or limitations on their nutritional needs. Especially in environments far from the ocean, the salt deficit can be a limiting resource in the environment. Here, we test whether changes in species richness and composition reveal food preferences for ants that inhabit the soil, using sugar and salt as attractions in an area of the Amazon Forest. In total, 21 species in nine genera were collected; all species were collected in sugar and only two in salt. In addition to the ant richness eleven times greater in sugar, the composition differed between the attractions. Our results indicate that the litter ants in the preserved forest are not limited by availability of sodium and they prefer sugar to salt as attractant, even with this environment far from the coast.

Land use impacts poison frog chemical defenses through changes in leaf litter ant communities

ABSTRACT Much of the world’s biodiversity is held within tropical rainforests, which are increasingly fragmented by agricultural practices. In these threatened landscapes, there are many organisms that acquire chemical defenses from their diet and are therefore intimately connected with their local food webs. Poison frogs (Family Dendrobatidae) are one such example, as they acquire alkaloid-based chemical defenses from their diet of leaf litter ants and mites. It is currently unknown how habitat fragmentation impacts chemical defense across trophic levels, from arthropods to frogs. We examined the chemical defenses and diet of the Diablito poison frog (Oophaga sylvatica), and the diversity of their leaf litter ant communities in secondary forest and reclaimed cattle pasture. Notably, this research was performed in collaboration with two high school science classrooms. We found that the leaf litter of forest and pasture frog habitats differed significantly in ant community structure. We also found that forest and pasture frogs differed significantly in diet and alkaloid profiles, where forest frogs contained more of specific alkaloids and ate more ants in both number and volume. Finally, ant species composition of frog diets resembled the surrounding leaf litter, but diets were less variable. This suggests that frogs tend to consume particular ant species within each habitat. To better understand how ants contribute to the alkaloid chemical profiles of frogs, we chemically profiled several ant species and found some alkaloids to be common across many ant species while others are restricted to a few species. At least one alkaloid (223H) found in ants from disturbed sites was also found in skins from pasture frogs. Our experiments are the first to link anthropogenic land use changes to dendrobatid poison frog chemical defenses through variation in leaf litter communities, which has implications for conservation management of these threatened amphibians.

Expect the Unexpected: A New Ant from a Backyard in Utah

Urban centers are not where one expects to find new species. Yet, we report here a newly recognized ant, Strumigenys ananeotes sp. nov., in an urban yard in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, USA. The genus Strumigenys is a major radiation of litter ants that are found primarily in the wet tropics and subtropics. They are extremely rare in western North America, known only from sites hundreds of kilometers south and west of Salt Lake City. The new species is related to species from southern Arizona and is presumed native. We propose that it is normally restricted to moist, subterranean microhabitats in an otherwise arid region, but that anthropogenic activity has created an urban forest with summer conditions similar to eastern deciduous forest. Strumigenys ananeotes may now have a greatly expanded habitat and visibility, a case of a native species benefiting from human development rather than being displaced.

A tale of scale: Plot but not neighbourhood tree diversity increases leaf litter ant diversity.

Diversity of producers (e.g. plants) usually increases the diversity of associated organisms, but the scale (i.e. the spatial area of plant diversity considered) at which plant diversity acts on other taxa has rarely been studied. Most evidence for cross-taxon diversity relations come from above-ground consumers that directly interact with plants. Experimental tests of plant diversity effects on elusive organisms inhabiting the leaf litter layer, which are important for nutrient cycling and decomposition, are rare. Using a large tree diversity experiment, we tested whether tree diversity at the larger plot (i.e. community) or the smaller neighbourhood scale relates to the abundance, species richness, functional and phylogenetic diversity of leaf litter ants, which are dominant organisms in brown food webs. Contrary to our expectations of scale-independent positive tree diversity effects, ant diversity increased only with plot but not neighbourhood tree diversity. While the exact causal mechanisms are unclear, nest relocation or small-scale competition among ants may explain the stronger tree diversity effects at the plot scale. Our results indicate that even for small and less mobile organisms in the leaf litter, effects of tree diversity are stronger at relatively larger scales. The finding emphasizes the importance of diverse forest stands, in which mixing of tree species is not restricted to small patches, for supporting arthropod diversity in the leaf litter.

A taxonomic revision of the Strumigenys nitens and simulans groups (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), two Caribbean radiations of leaf litter ants

In this study, we revise two groups of cryptic leaf litter ants, the Strumigenys nitens and Strumigenys simulans species groups. These two groups are restricted to the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. We redefine the species groups, provide a key for the five species in the S. nitens group, and differentiate the two species in the S. simulans group. Four new species are described: Strumigenys caiman sp. nov., S. economoi sp. nov., S. hubbewatyorum sp. nov., and S. zemi sp. nov. We review and provide a key for the Strumigenys fauna of Hispaniola, which comprises the two endemic species S. economoi and S. zemi, six more broadly distributed Neotropical species, and three pan-tropical "tramp" species.

Ant diversity patterns across tropical elevation gradients: effects of sampling method and subcommunity

AbstractLocal diversity may be influenced by niche assembly processes involving competition for limited resources, or by niche conservatism and the length of time clades have had to diversify. Mid‐elevation peaks in ant diversity on wet forest elevational gradients are most consistent with niche conservatism effects. However, it is possible that subsets of the ant community vary in the degree to which niche assembly processes are important, and this may be revealed by sampling methods that bias toward particular subsets. A previous study of ant‐elevation patterns in Middle American wet forest relied on Winkler sampling, a method that samples much of the ant community that occurs in leaf litter and rotten wood on the forest floor. Here, we evaluate richness patterns at the same sites as the previous study, using two alternative methods: baiting and beating. Baiting attracts ants to a concentrated resource and might be expected to attract a community more shaped by competitive interactions. Diversity patterns at baits were nearly identical to patterns from Winkler samples, for all ants combined and for the genus Pheidole, which are abundant omnivorous ants that are among the most common at baits. There was no evidence that stronger competitive effects influenced the shape of the diversity curve. Beating samples capture ants that forage on low vegetation, a distinct arboreal community with lower phylogenetic diversity than litter ants and inhabiting a more variable microclimate. Arboreal ants differed from litter ants in having a less distinct mid‐elevation peak, with less of a decline from 500 m to sea level. The lowland decline in litter ant diversity may be caused by the recent upslope shift in temperature associated with the current interglacial period. Arboreal ants may be buffered from this effect by adaptation to canopy life, tolerating broader extremes of temperature, or by high rates of dispersal from warmer regions.

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.

Use of Soil and Litter Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as Biological Indicators of Soil Quality Under Different Land Uses in Southern Rwanda.

The use of soil and litter arthropods as biological indicators is a way to assess environmental changes, where ant species in particular may serve as important indicators of soil quality. This study aimed at relating the abundance of soil and litter ant species to soil parameters under different tree species, both native and exotic, and varieties of coffee and banana plantations. Variations were found in soil physicochemical parameters. A total of 30 species belonging to 14 genera, and four subfamilies, the Formicinae, Dorylinae, Myrmicinae, and Ponerinae were identified. Higher abundance was found in coffee plantations compared to banana plantations, exotic and native tree species. Species of Camponotus cinctellus and Odontomachus troglodytes occurred in all land uses which is a sign of tolerance to a wide range of soil properties. In addition, these species, together with Myrmicaria SP02, Phrynoponera gabonensis, Camponotus SP06, Myrmicaria opaciventris, Pheidole SP03, Tetramorium simillimum, Pheidole SP01, and Tetramorium laevithorax were not strongly correlated with soil physicochemical parameters. Species of Pheidole SP02 and Camponotus SP05 were restricted to specific soil physicochemical properties, while species of Tetramorium zonacaciae and Bothroponera talpa discriminated between native tree species, coffee plantations, soil organic carbon, sandy soil texture, and aggregate stability. We concluded that these ant species can differently indicate the soil quality depending on the land use. We recommended further studies in order to generalize these findings.

Competence of Litter Ants for Rapid Biodiversity Assessments

Rapid Biodiversity Assessment approaches associated with focusing taxa have overcome many of the problems related to large scale surveys. This study examined the suitability of litter ants as a focusing taxon by checking whether diversity and species assemblages of litter ants reflect the overall picture of arthropod diversity and assemblages in leaf litter in two vegetation types: secondary forest and pine plantation in Upper Hanthana forest reserve, Sri Lanka. In each vegetation type, arthropods were sampled using three sampling methods (Winkler extraction, hand collection, and pitfall traps) along three 100 m line transects. From the two sites, 1887 litter ants (34 species) and 3488 litter arthropods (52 species) were collected. Species assemblages composition of both ants and other arthropods differed significantly between the two sites (ANOSIM,p=0.001) with both groups generating distinct clusters for the two sites (SIMPROF,p=0.001). But there was no significant correlation (p>0.05) between abundance and richness of litter ants and those of other arthropods in both vegetation types. The overall finding suggests that the litter ants do not reflect the holistic picture of arthropod diversity and assemblages in leaf litter, but the quality of the habitat for the survival of all litter arthropods.

Consistency of effects of tropical-forest disturbance on species composition and richness relative to use of indicator taxa.

Lawton etal. (1998) found, in a highly cited study, that the species richness of 8 taxa each responds differently to anthropogenic disturbance in Cameroon forests. Recent developments in conservation science suggest that net number of species is an insensitive measure of change and that understanding which species are affected by disturbance is more important. It is also recognized that all disturbance types are not equal in their effect on species and that grouping species according to function rather than taxonomy is more informative of responses of biodiversity to change. In a reanalysis of most of the original Cameroon data set (canopy and ground ants, termites, canopy beetles, nematodes, and butterflies), we focused on changes in species and functional composition rather than richness and used a more inclusive measure of forest disturbance based on 4 component drivers of change: years since disturbance, tree cover, soil compaction, and degree of tree removal. Effects of disturbance on compositional change were largely concordant between taxa. Contrary to Lawton etal.'s findings, species richness for most groups did not decline with disturbance level, providing support for the view that trends in species richness at local scales do not reflect the resilience of ecosystems to disturbance. Disturbance affected species composition more strongly than species richness for butterflies, canopy beetles, and litter ants. For these groups, disturbance caused species replacements rather than just species loss. Only termites showed effects of disturbance on species richness but not composition, indicating species loss without replacement. Although disturbance generally caused changes in composition, the strength of this relationship depended on the disturbance driver. Butterflies, litter ants, and nematodes were correlated with amount of tree cover, canopy beetles were most strongly correlated with time since disturbance, and termites were most strongly correlated with degree of soil disturbance. There were moderately divergent responses to disturbance between functional feeding groups. Disturbance was most strongly correlated with compositional differences of herbivores within beetles and nematodes and humus feeders within termites. Our results suggest that consideration of the impact of different forms of disturbance on species and functional composition, rather than on net numbers of species, is important when assessing the impacts of disturbance on biodiversity.

A Multi‐Taxa Assessment of Biodiversity Change After Single and Recurrent Wildfires in a Brazilian Amazon Forest

AbstractIn the last decades, due to human land management that uses fire as a tool, and due to abnormal droughts, many tropical forests have become more susceptible to recurrent wildfires with negative consequences for biodiversity. Yet, studies are usually focused on few taxa and rarely compare different fire frequencies. We examined if the effects of single and recurrent fires are consistent for leaf litter ants, dung beetles, birds (sampled with point‐counts PC and mist net‐MN), saplings, and trees. Recurrent fires had a great effect on forest structure, reducing live tree biomass and number of lianas, and increasing canopy openness and numbers of saplings alive. Recurrent fires had consistently stronger effects on species richness and composition across all sample groups than single fires, except ants. Birds and plants were more grouped in the congruence analysis. The average dissimilarities between control and recurrent‐burned forest were higher than between control and once‐burned forest for all sample groups, furthermore birds and vegetation communities in recurrent‐burned forest are almost entirely dissimilar from the unburned forest. While beta diversity of ants, birds (MN), and trees was not affected by the frequency of fire, it changed for dung beetles, birds (PC), and saplings. Effects of fire on faunal community structure were more due to indirect effects, through vegetation, than through the fire itself. These results reinforce the effect of single and recurrent fires on tropical forests, and highlight the mechanisms acting behind them. Policy‐makers need to explicitly address protection of tropical forests from wildfires in conservation planning.

DIVERSIDADE DE FORMIGAS (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) DA SERRAPILHEIRA EM DIFERENTES SISTEMAS DE USO DO SOLO

http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/1980509819612Neste trabalho são listadas as espécies de formigas de serrapilheira encontradas em quatro ambientes localizados na região noroeste do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, a fim de verificar o impacto da ação antrópica realizada no meio rural. Para a coleta das formigas da serrapilheira foi utilizado o método do extrator de Winkler. Foram coletados 6.300 espécimes pertencentes a oito subfamílias, 18 tribos, 31 gêneros e 108 espécies. A floresta nativa possui a maior riqueza observada com 90 espécies coletadas, seguida por eucalipto com 65 espécies, agricultura e pastagem exótica com 20 espécies cada. O índice de diversidade de Margalef foi de 11,21 para área com floresta nativa, 8,37 para eucalipto, 3,48 para agricultura e, 2,71 na área de pastagem exótica. O índice de diversidade de Shannon obtido foi de 2,89; 3,15; 2,43 e 1,98 e de equitabilidade 0,64; 0,75; 0,84 e 0,66 para as áreas com: floresta nativa, eucalipto, agricultura e pastagem, respectivamente. O maior valor do índice de diversidade para a área de eucalipto pode ser devido à área possuir 28 anos de implantação, sem ter sido manejada, com sub-bosque de espécies nativas, formando um dossel contínuo e espessa camada de serrapilheira, já a floresta nativa por sofrer intervenções antrópicas, possui um valor de diversidade de Shannon menor comparado à área com eucalipto.

Riparian reserves within oil palm plantations conserve logged forest leaf litter ant communities and maintain associated scavenging rates.

Summary The expansion of oil palm plantations at the expense of tropical forests is causing declines in many species and altering ecosystem functions. Maintaining forest‐dependent species and processes in these landscapes may therefore limit the negative impacts of this economically important industry. Protecting riparian vegetation may be one such opportunity; forest buffer strips are commonly protected for hydrological reasons, but can also conserve functionally important taxa and the processes they support.We surveyed leaf litter ant communities within oil palm‐dominated landscapes in Sabah, Malaysia, using protein baits. As the scavenging activity of ants influences important ecological characteristics such as nutrient cycling and soil structure, we quantified species‐specific rates of bait removal to examine how this process may change across land uses and establish which changes in community structure underlie observed shifts in activity.Riparian reserves had similar ant species richness, community composition and scavenging rates to nearby continuous logged forest. Reserve width and vegetation structure did not affect ant species richness significantly. However, the number of foraging individuals decreased with increasing reserve width, and scavenging rate increased with vegetation complexity.Oil palm ant communities were characterized by significantly lower species richness than logged forest and riparian reserves and also by altered community composition and reduced scavenging rates.Reduced scavenging activity in oil palm was not explained by a reduction in ant species richness, nor by replacement of forest ant species by those with lower per species scavenging rates. There was also no significant effect of land use on the scavenging activity of the forest species that persisted in oil palm. Rather, changes in scavenging activity were best explained by a reduction in the mean rate of bait removal per individual ant across all species in the community. Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that riparian reserves are comparable to areas of logged forest in terms of ant community composition and ant‐mediated scavenging. Hence, in addition to protecting large continuous areas of primary and logged forest, maintaining riparian reserves is a successful strategy for conserving leaf litter ants and their scavenging activities in tropical agricultural landscapes.

Litter ants: diversity and composition in Megamalai, Western Ghats

Diversity and composition of litter ants in Megamalai, Western Ghats was investigated in the present study. The study reveals that, tropical evergreen forest has more number of individuals compared to openrock with grassland, tropical moist deciduous forest and tropical dry deciduous forest. The diversity analysis reveals that, the simpson and Shannon diversity indices was higher during November and October in tropical evergreen forest as well as open rock with grassland accordingly. In the case of tropical dry and moist deciduous forests, it was in the month of February and December respectively. Among the study months, the species distribution was found even in the month of February followed by August in tropical evergreen forest, while it was dry deciduous forest, it was in the month of January (0.7622). Thus, the study reveals higher species abundance and diversity in tropical evergreen forest than other study sites.