Number Of Ant Species Research Articles

Species Composition of Ants in Cashew Plantations and their Interrelationships with Cashew

In cashew plantations of south west Karnataka, India, foraging activity of 49 ants species belonging to 24 genera and 7 subfamilies were recorded. The study found that ants visited cashew trees regularly throughout the year. Myrmicinae ants were most dominant comprising 22 species followed by Formicinae with 13 species while, among Aenictinae and Dorylinae, only single species was found. Species richness was high in old cashew plantations recording 89.8 % of total species, while medium and young plantations recorded only 46.9 and 24.5 %. Dominance of different ant species was noticed on cashew canopy, trunk and soil in different aged cashew plantations. Old cashew plantations were characterized by Oecophylla smaragdina, followed by Anoplolepis gracillipes, while, Camponotus compressus and C. sericeus were dominant in young and medium aged plantations. Pit fall trap collection consisted mostly of Odontomachus haematodus, Lophomyrmex quadrispinosus, Technomyrmex albipes, Myrmicaria brunnea, Diacamma sp., C. compressus and C. sericeus. During flowering and fruiting period of cashew, foraging of up to 10 ant species was seen on the same tree at a time. Activities of most ant species were predominant during winter and summer which coincides with flowering and fruiting period of cashew (December–May), while during heavy down pour of south west monsoon, activities of only 10 species were seen. A significant positive correlation was found between number of ant species and maximum air temperature (0.842) and also with afternoon soil temperature (0.925).

The architecture of subterranean ant nests: beauty and mystery underfoot

Over the 100 million years of their evolution, ants have constructed or occupied nests in a wide range of materials and situations. A large number of ant species excavate nests in the soil, and these subterranean nests have evolved into a wide range of sizes and architectures. On the basis of casts made of such nests, this variation and the patterns that govern it are described. The possible functions of architectural features are discussed, as are the behavioral “rules” through which the nests are created by worker ants.

Mapping continental Ecuadorian ant species

Ecuador is considered a megadiverse country but information on the distribution and conservation of its ant species is scarce and scattered through the literature. Here we review 150 years of published literature to assemble the first comprehensive species list of continental Ecuadorian ants (excluding the Galapagos Islands). Our main goals are to provide support to online tools ( www.theantsofecuador.com ), and to serve as a reference to the various research initiatives currently being done in the country. We found 2,124 ant records, from 679 ant species, in 180 localities, reported in 149 articles. We used a subset of this database (i.e. 1,111 records left after removal of duplicates and records with no locality info) to review the Ecuadorian regions, provinces, and national parks covered by the list. For a tropical country, both the number of records per ant species (mean=1.8, SD=1.9) and the number of ant species per locality (mean=6.2, SD=29.7) are extremely low. Moreover, the ant records in our list are biased towards three provinces (Orellana, 410 ant records and 378 ant spp.; Sucumbios, 212 and 177; Pichincha, 129 and 92), one region (Oriente, 779 records and 487 ant species) and non-protected areas (777 ant records and 510 ant spp.). Endemic ants are poorly covered by the Ecuadorian system of protected areas. This study highlights the gaps and opportunities in ant research for the country.

Ant Fauna in Megadiverse Mountains: a Checklist for the Rocky Grasslands

The rocky grasslands, environments locally known as campos rupestres , occur mainly along the Espinhaco Mountains and are considered local centers of biodiversity and endemism in Brazil. However, knowledge of ant species richness (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in this kind of environment is still poor. Aiming at filling this gap, we compiled information from empirical studies and literature records. We found a total of 288 species of 53 genera and eight subfamilies recorded in rocky grasslands. Myrmicinae and Formicinae were the most representative subfamilies, with 53% and 18% of the total species richness, respectively. The genera with the largest number of species were Pheidole (41) and Camponotus (40). This large number of ant species recorded for the rocky grasslands surpasses those found in other studies conducted in several different places. Ant species richness decreased with altitude; most species occur below 800 m a.s.l. (171), and only a few species occur above1600 m a.s.l. (17). Some genera occur only at a specific altitude (e.g., Azteca and Dolichoderus at 800/900 m a.s.l.; Leptogenys and Labidus at 1400 m a.s.l.), which points out to the potential use of ants as biological indicators. Our results suggest that the rocky grassland s favor high ant diversity. The patterns of ant richness associated with the altitude gradient reinforce the idea of considering the rocky grasslands as priority areas for biological conservation. Moreover, we observed a lack of records on the occurrence of most ant species considered in the present study (93%), which shows that Brazilian myrmecologists need to invest more in taxonomy, management, and data sharing.

Infiltration of a facultative ant–plant mutualism by the introduced Argentine ant: effects on mutualist diversity and mutualism benefits

1. Ant–plant mutualisms have been the focus of considerable empirical research, but few studies have investigated how introduced ants affect these interactions. Using 2 years of survey data, this study examines how the introduced Argentine ant [Linepithema humile (Mayr)] differs from native ants with respect to its ability to protect the extrafloral nectary‐bearing coast barrel cactus (Ferocactus viridescens) in Southern California.2. Eighteen native ant species visited cacti in uninvaded areas, but cacti in invaded areas were primarily visited by the Argentine ant. The main herbivore of the coast barrel cactus present at the study sites is a leaf‐footed bug (Narnia wilsoni).3. Herbivore presence (the fraction of surveys in which leaf‐footed bugs were present on individual cacti) was negatively related to ant presence (the fraction of surveys in which ants were present on individual cacti). Compared with cacti in uninvaded areas, those in invaded areas were less likely to have herbivores and when they did had them less often.4. Seed mass was negatively related to herbivore presence, and this relationship did not differ for cacti in invaded areas versus those in uninvaded areas.5. Although the Argentine ant might provide superior protection from herbivores, invasion‐induced reductions in ant mutualist diversity could potentially compromise plant reproduction. The cumulative number of ant species on individual cacti over time was lower in invaded areas and was associated with a shortened seasonal duration of ant protection and reduced seed mass. These results support the hypothesis that multiple partners may enhance mutualism benefits.

Negative Correlation between Ant and Spider Abundances in the Canopy of a Bornean Tropical Rain Forest

AbstractIn tropical rain forests, high canopy trees have diverse and abundant populations of ants and spiders. However, accessing high trees and their fauna remains difficult; thus, how ants and spiders interact in the canopy remains unclear. To better understand the interspecific interactions between these two dominant arthropod groups, we investigated their spatial distributions at the canopy surface in a tropical rain forest in Borneo. We sampled ants and spiders six times between 2009 and 2011 by sweeping with an insect net at the tree crown surfaces of 190 emergent or tall (≥20 m in height) trees. We collected 438 ant individuals belonging to 94 species and 1850 spider individuals (1630 juveniles and 220 adults) belonging to 142 morphospecies (adults only) from a total of 976 samples. The fact that we collected four times more spider individuals than ant individuals suggests that fewer ants forage at the tree crown surface than previously thought. The number of spider individuals negatively correlated with the number of ant individuals and the number of ant species, indicating significant exclusivity between ant and spider spatial distributions at the tree crown surface. Niche‐overlap between the two taxa confirmed this observation. Although our data do not address the causes of these spatial distributions, antagonistic interspecific interactions such as interference behaviors and intra‐guild predation are ecological mechanisms that give rise to exclusive spatial distributions.

Variable interaction specificity and symbiont performance in Panamanian Trachymyrmex and Sericomyrmex fungus-growing ants.

BackgroundCooperative benefits of mutualistic interactions are affected by genetic variation among the interacting partners, which may have consequences for interaction-specificities across guilds of sympatric species with similar mutualistic life histories. The gardens of fungus-growing (attine) ants produce carbohydrate active enzymes that degrade plant material collected by the ants and offer them food in exchange. The spectrum of these enzyme activities is an important symbiont service to the host but may vary among cultivar genotypes. The sympatric occurrence of several Trachymyrmex and Sericomyrmex higher attine ants in Gamboa, Panama provided the opportunity to do a quantitative study of species-level interaction-specificity.ResultsWe genotyped the ants for Cytochrome Oxidase and their Leucoagaricus fungal cultivars for ITS rDNA. Combined with activity measurements for 12 carbohydrate active enzymes, these data allowed us to test whether garden enzyme activity was affected by fungal strain, farming ants or combinations of the two. We detected two cryptic ant species, raising ant species number from four to six, and we show that the 38 sampled colonies reared a total of seven fungal haplotypes that were different enough to represent separate Leucoagaricus species. The Sericomyrmex species and one of the Trachymyrmex species reared the same fungal cultivar in all sampled colonies, but the remaining four Trachymyrmex species largely shared the other cultivars. Fungal enzyme activity spectra were significantly affected by both cultivar species and farming ant species, and more so for certain ant-cultivar combinations than others. However, relative changes in activity of single enzymes only depended on cultivar genotype and not on the ant species farming a cultivar.ConclusionsAnt cultivar symbiont-specificity varied from almost full symbiont sharing to one-to-one specialization, suggesting that trade-offs between enzyme activity spectra and life-history traits such as desiccation tolerance, disease susceptibility and temperature sensitivity may apply in some combinations but not in others. We hypothesize that this may be related to ecological specialization in general, but this awaits further testing. Our finding of both cryptic ant species and extensive cultivar diversity underlines the importance of identifying all species-level variation before embarking on estimates of interaction specificity.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-014-0244-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Ant community organization along elevational gradients in a temperate ecosystem

The aim of our study was to characterize the factors that shape the pattern of change in ant species richness and community structure along altitudinal gradients in two valleys located on the northern and southern side of the Pyrenees. During three summers, we sampled 20 sites distributed across two Pyrenean valleys ranging in elevation from 1,009 to 2,339 m using pitfall traps and hand collection. We employed diversity index, degree of nestedness of ant assemblages, ordination method, and multiple regression analysis to examine the effects of various environmental factors on ant species communities. In total, 41 ant species were found in the two valleys. The number of species was 26 % lower in the valley located on the northern side than in that located on the southern side. At the valley scale, the number of ant species, as well as the evenness, decreased with elevation. A significant nested pattern was observed, indicating that the species found in the poorest site represented a subset of those found at the richest one. Ants collected at mid- and high-elevation sites had a wider altitudinal range than those collected at low-elevation sites, thus complying with Rapoport’s rule. Our results suggest that, although elevation strongly influences the organization of ant communities, ecological factors such as temperature and local habitat features (sun exposure, vegetation density) are the main factors explaining the pattern of ant diversity along altitudinal gradients.

Long-term impacts of Argentine ant invasion of urban parks in Hiroshima, Japan

Ant communities are well suited for monitoring changes in ecosystems. Although numerous studies have examined the responses of ant communities to environmental disturbance, relatively few long-term studies on ant communities have been undertaken in urban environments. We examined species richness in nine urban parks in Hiroshima, Japan, and compared the survey results with data collected at the same sites by using the same methods in 1999. In both surveys, total of 25 species was recorded: 23 species in 1999 and 20 species in 2012. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed that the ant communities consisted of two distinct groups, which could in turn be characterized by three patterns of ant community changes in between the two groups. The first of these community change patterns was character ized by a shift within group 1, but the number of species remained constant (approx. 10 species). The second pattern was characterized by a shift within group 2, but the number of species remained low (approx. 4 species). The third pattern was characterized by a shift from group 1 to group 2 as the abundance of Linepithema humile (Mayr) increased over time. Unlike the first and second patterns, the number of ant species in communities of the third type decreased significantly. These findings suggest that L. humile has a marked effect on the species diversity of indigenous ant communities in urban environments.

The preservation value of a tiny sacred forest of the oak Quercus calliprinos and the impact of livestock presence

Small holy woods protected for centuries for cultural purposes may have conservation value for small animals, despite their tiny sizes. To verify this hypothesis we used transects to quantified ants in a small sacred forest in a hot Mediterranean region, and the impact of cattle presence in part of it. We hypothesized that it should be mainly inhabited by species having a northern temperate distribution. We detected ants belonging to 39 species including 15 new species for the region. As expected, the majority of them had Palearctic distribution, while others were endemic to the Levant. All of them were known to live in regions with temperate climate. The presence of cattle did not statistically impact on either the number of species or on their biodiversity indices: the average number of ant species per transect was 21 ± 4.6 (SD) in the presence of cows and 23 ± 4.8 in their absence. As hypothesized, the main impact of cattle was on community composition: in the presence of cattle more species were specialists for, or tolerant to, disturbed habitats, resulting in a relatively low Jaccard coefficient of similarity between the two parts of the forest (Sj = 0.56). In conclusion, this small sacred forest, protected for centuries, facilitates the conservation of a great number of shade-loving ant species in a hot region by providing suitable habitats, but the presence of livestock reduces the conservation value of the forest by promoting ant species tolerant to disturbed habitats.

Richness of Termites and Ants in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil

Previous studies on the effects of environmental factors, such as altitude, latitude, temperature, deforestation, forest fragmentation, fire, and flood on the community structure of termites and ants were conducted in various regions of Brazil; few of them were carried out in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Here we describe termites and ants diversity at different sites along the four geomorphologic units of this state. We recorded 16 taxa of termites, of which three are new state records, increasing to 19 the number of termite species known to occur in the state. Accordingly, we also found 73 species and 115 morphospecies of ants, of which only one was a new record, raising to 265 taxa the number of ant species known to occur in the state. As expected, we found a higher species richness of ants than termites. The low richness of both groups relative to other Brazilian regions could be a consequence of the subtropical to temperate climate in the state, since most portions of the state are below 30o latitude, the study areas be above 500 m altitude, and other environmental characteristics of each site. We suggest a positive relationship between species richness of termites and altitude, while ant richness indicated an inverse relationship. However, our data are not conclusive, due to the low number of replications in each altitude, particularly for termites. This study is unique in presenting an updated checklist of termites and ants in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

New records of nine ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) for the Galapagos Islands

Collections of the Charles Darwin Research Station, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, as well as new field samples obtained from several islands on Galapagos yielded new records of nine ant species for the archipelago: Tapinoma sp. HH07, Nylanderia steinheili (Forel, 1893), Crematogaster sp. JTL-022, Pheidole sp. HH01, Tetramorium lucayanum Wheeler, 1905, Strumigenys eggersi (Emery, 1890), Solenopsis sp. HH06, Hypoponera opacior (Forel, 1893), Odontomachus ruginodis Smith, 1937. Currently, the known number of ant species in the Galapagos is 51, 36 of which are thought to be introduced. Reasons for this recent increase of records of introduced ant species are discussed.

Further Ergatoid Gyne Records in the Ant Tribe Dacetini (Formicidae: Myrmicinae).

Variants of gynes and workers occur in a substantial number of ant species; however, dacetine ergatoid gynes have been recorded just once in the literature thus far. In the present paper, we provide abridged descriptions of five ergatoid female reproductives in five species of Neotropical dacetines belonging to two genera: Acanthognathus brevicornis Smith, Acanthognathus ocellatus Mayr, Acanthognathus rudis Brown & Kempf, Strumigenys cosmostela Kempf, and Strumigenys hindenburgi Forel. We also compare the ergatoids with conspecific gynes and workers.

Especies de hormigas del suelo en el Parque Nacional Natural Gorgona, Pacífico Colombiano

Gorgona is one of the two insular areas of the Colombian tropical rain forest at the Pacific and is amongst the most diverse biogeographic regions of the world, the Choco. This study compiles information on ant species from published (1991) and unpublished (2006) studies and provides new records for ant species collected in 2010. Ants were sampled and information was obtained from 15 sites in Gorgona island (13.82km2), including the Gorgonilla atoll (0.49km2). Collecting methods included pitfall traps, tuna baits, mini-Winkler extraction of leaf litter, Malaise traps, entomological net and direct search. The soil and understory ant inventory resulted in 107 ant species and morphospecies, 46 genera in 12 subfamilies. Myrmicinae held the highest species richness (37 species), followed by Ponerinae (27) and Formicinae (12). The richest genera were Pachycondyla (15 species), Camponotus (nine) and Pheidole (eight), while 30 genera were represented by a single species. Twelve species were very common (both in distribution and time): Azteca sp., Atta cephalotes, Camponotus sericeiventris, Eciton vagans, Ectatomma goninion, Gnamptogenys annulata, Odontomachus bauri, Pachycondyla bugabensis, P. harpax, P. verenae, Paraponera clavata and Wasmannia auropunctata. Direct search was the most efficient method to collect diferent species and was responsible for 52% of the total species found. Compared to other Neotropical islands, Gorgona holds a suprisingly high number of ant species, none of them invasive. The invasive Monomorium floricola, which was collected 20 years ago, was not found in 2010. These evidences suggest that ecological mechanisms and natural recovery processes in the ecosystem have generated microhabitats allowing their coexistence. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (Suppl. 1): 265-276. Epub 2014 February 01.

Influência de Áreas Verdes Urbanas sobre a Mirmecofauna

O trabalho objetivou estudar a influencia de caracteristicas da arborizacao das areas verdes urbanas sobre a mirmecofauna. A pesquisa foi conduzida no Municipio de Tres Rios-RJ, em um parque urbano e em cinco pracas publicas arborizadas. Foram obtidas a densidade de arvores, a densidade de especies de arvores e a temperatura do ar. As formigas foram coletadas no solo e sobre o tronco de arvores, com iscas de sardinha. Foram coletadas 44 especies de formigas, 26 especies no solo e 37 especies nas arvores. A densidade de especies de arvores influenciou positivamente o numero total de especies de formigas e a diversidade de especies coletadas nas arvores. Conclui-se que o aumento da densidade de especies de arvores nas areas verdes urbanas pode colaborar para a conservacao da diversidade biologica.

Riqueza e composição de espécies de formigas no processo de recuperação de uma voçoroca

Neste trabalho, objetivou-se verificar como a riqueza e a composição de espécies de formigas se comporta com as mudanças ocorridas no processo de recuperação de uma voçoroca. A área em estudo possui 0,9 hectares subdivididos em três setores denominados braços: "A"; "B" e "C". Para a definição dos setores tomou-se como base o nível de atividade erosiva e a regeneração natural. Foram lançadas quatro transeções de forma sistemática na área da voçoroca e no entorno composto com mata e pastagem. Cada transeção possuía três armadilhas do tipo "pitfall" distante entre si 10 metros, sendo que as capturas de formigas foram realizadas em duas épocas, chuvosa e seca. Foi realizada uma análise de variância para comparar o número de espécies de formigas capturadas por parcela nos ambientes e aplicado teste Scott-Knott a 5% para comparação das médias. Para verificar a similaridade de espécies entre os ambientes foi realizada uma análise de similaridade (ANOSIM) e para a ordenação dos ambientes uma "Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling" (NMDS). Foram capturadas 74 espécies de formigas no interior da voçoroca e no entorno. O ambiente mais degradado e em estágio inicial de regeneração, apresentou maior riqueza de espécies de formigas. A composição de espécies de formigas foi diferente entre os ambientes em recuperação e o entorno. Os parâmetros das comunidades de formigas analisados, riqueza e composição de espécies, foram influenciados pela regeneração da área, indicando que as formigas podem ser usadas como bioindicadoras de recuperação de voçorocas.

Silvopastoral systems and ant diversity conservation in a cattle-dominated landscape of the Colombian Andes

Conventional cattle ranching in Latin America has been based mostly on extensive pasture monocultures planted with minimum tree cover. The current trend towards replacing treeless pastures with silvopastoral systems that include tree and shrub species enhances productivity and provides environmental services within these systems. We studied the ant fauna in cattle farms at La Vieja river basin, Colombia, with the aim of analyzing the relations between tree cover and ant species diversity and composition in different land uses in this cattle-dominated landscape. Monitoring was performed between 2004 and 2007 in 21 plots representing seven contrasting land uses characteristic of this Andean landscape. Ants were sampled with baits (arboreal and ground) and pitfall traps. A total of 68,860 individuals belonging to 227 ant species was recorded. Ant diversity was positively related to the presence of woody vegetation. The largest number of ant species was found in secondary forests followed by improved pastures with trees. Pastures without trees had less than half the number of ant species in pastures with trees. Ant species richness in intensive Leucaena leucocephala (Mimosaceae) silvopastoral systems also surpassed that recorded in treeless pastures. This study provides evidence supporting the conservation value of silvopastoral systems at the landscape level in the Colombian Andes. The conservation of forest fragments in this area is vital, as they provide refuge for a unique regional ant fauna

Food Webs in the Litter: Effects of Food and Nest Addition on Ant Communities in Coffee Agroecosystems and Forest

Community assembly is driven by multiple factors, including resource availability and habitat requirements. Litter nesting ants respond to food and nest site availability, and adding food and nests may increase ant species richness and abundance. However, litter decomposers share food resources with ants, and increasing food availability may speed decomposition processes, eliminating twigs and seeds in which litter ants nest. We manipulated ant food and nest resources in three habitat types (forest, high-shade coffee, and low-shade coffee) to determine ant community responses after 1 and 2 mo. We examined changes in numbers of ant species, colonies, workers, brood, colony growth rate, and ant species composition. Habitat type strongly affected ant communities, influencing ant species richness, numbers of colonies and workers, and ant species composition. However, food addition and nest addition did not affect these community characteristics. Colony growth rate did not differ with food addition but was greater in forest and low-shade coffee compared with high-shade coffee. Habitat differences in colony growth may be because of presence of an aggressive species (Wasmannia auropunctata Roger) in high-shade coffee plots or naturally low arthropod densities during a time when ant colonization was low. Thus, in coffee landscapes, habitat type impacts litter nesting ant community structure, composition, and colony growth rate; however, food and nest addition had small impacts.

Changes in Ground‐dwelling Ant Functional Diversity are Correlated with Water‐Table Level in an Amazonian Terra Firme Forest

AbstractAreas with shallow water tables comprise a significant portion of tropical forests and have distinct forest structure and plant‐assemblage composition. It is not clear, however, how the water table regime shapes the distributions of other organisms. Here, we evaluated the influence of water‐table level on ant‐assemblage richness, abundance, and composition in a terra firme forest, in Central Amazonia. We sampled ants in ten 250 m‐long transects, regularly distributed over 5 km2 by extracting ants from 100 1‐m2 litter samples, 100 pitfall traps, and 100 sardine baits. During 1 year, the water‐table level in each transect was monitored every 15 d with a 6‐m deep dipwell. Overall the abundance of individuals and occurrence of species were lower in areas where the water table was closer to the surface (< 1 m depth) for longer periods (~ 5.5 mo). The number of ant species, however, was higher in transects where the water table was close to the surface more frequently. Changes in number of species were mainly a result of an increase in generalist species associated with a decrease in the number of specialist predators and small hypogeic generalist foragers. Although disturbance by the water table may increase local alpha diversity, only one third of generalist species seems to prefer areas with shallow water table.

Long-term temporal variation in the organization of an ant–plant network

Functional groups of species interact and coevolve in space and time, forming complex networks of interacting species. A long-term study of temporal variation of an ant-plant network is presented with the aims of: (1) depicting its structural changes over a 20-year period; (2) detailing temporal variation in network topology, as revealed by nestedness and modularity analysis and other parameters (i.e. connectance, niche overlap); and (3) identifying long-term turnover in taxonomic structure (i.e. switches in ant resource use or plant visitor assemblages according to taxa). Fieldwork was carried out at La Mancha, Mexico, and ant-plant interactions were observed between 1989 and 1991, between 1998 and 2000, and between May 2010 and 2011. Occurrences of ants on extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) were recorded. The resulting ant-plant networks were constructed from qualitative presence-absence data determined by a species-species matrix defined by the frequency of occurrence of each pairwise ant-plant interaction. Network variation across time was stable and a persistent nested structure may have contributed to the maintenance of resilient and species-rich communities. Modularity was lower than expected, especially in the most recent networks, indicating that the community exhibited high overlap among interacting species (e.g. few species were hubs in the more recent network, being partly responsible for the nested pattern). Structurally, the connections created among modules by super-generalists gave cohesion to subsets of species that otherwise would remain unconnected. This may have allowed an increasing cascade-effect of evolutionary events among modules. Mutualistic ant-plant interactions were structured 20 years ago mainly by the subdominant nectarivorous ant species Camponotus planatus and Crematogaster brevispinosa, which monopolized the best extrafloral nectar resources and out-competed other species with broader feeding habits. Through time, these ants, which are still present, lost their position as network hubs and diminished in their importance in structuring the network; simultaneously, plants gained in importance. The long-term network analysis reveals a decrease in attended plant species richness, a notable increase in plant species participation from 1990 to 2010 (sustained by less plant taxonomic similarity in the older 1990 network), an increase in the number of ant species and a diminishing dominance of super-generalist ants. The structure of the community has remained highly nested and connected with low modularity, suggesting overall a more participative, homogeneous, cohesive interaction network. Although previous studies have suggested that interactions between ants and EFN-bearing plants are susceptible to seasonality, abiotic factors and perturbation, this cohesive structure appears to be the key for biodiversity and community maintenance.