Determinants of ant species spatial distribution in habitats from central Argentina

Abstract

A great challenge in ecology is to link patterns in nature with the factors that determine species coexistence and community structure. In general, these patterns have been associated with different environmental conditions and species traits. The coexistence of ant species could be affected by the availability of food and nesting resources, which depend on vegetation diversity and structural complexity. In this study, we attempt to reproduce, through null models, the properties of ant community structure in areas with different physiognomy of vegetation associated to different wildfire regimes. The null model construction considered ant traits such as occurrence frequency, body size, and nest type; and site characteristics such as vegetation height and extra-floral nectar availability, and their combinations. The null models were compared to observed species segregation and nestedness patterns. Ant species were more aggregated in space than expected by chance. Vegetation height and extra-floral nectar availability were included in the most successful models in predicting ant segregation and aggregation pattern. Furthermore, ants' body size was enough to reproduce the nestedness of species distribution in sites. Our results suggest that under post-fire conditions, habitat complexity, resource availability and species traits such as body size may be the determinants of ant community structure.

Assessment on Ecological Distribution of ‘<i>Crematogaster chiarinii</i>’ ant in South-western Ethiopia

“…But, the distribution is insignificant between intact forests and partially disturbed forests. This is in agreement with the previous studies that the existence of the ant could be affected by the availability of food and nesting resources which relied on the vegetation diversity and structural complexity which could determine the abundance of diverse animals, fungi and microorganisms inter dependent on each other [16] and [20]. Of the total nest, more than 90% of them were counted on larger trees.…”

Karstic Microrefugia Host Functionally Specific Ant Assemblages

“…The island-like attributes (e.g., funnel-shaped geometry of dolines) and the presence of Fagus sylvatica forests on the plateau may reinforce the spatial isolation of grassland microhabitats within dolines, resulting in the coexistence of less aggressive species or species with different social structure (cf. Tavella et al, 2018). We believe that this study provides further evidence to the hypothesis that heterogeneous karst landscapes may maintain functionally diverse animal assemblages and will play an important role in buffering the negative effects of global warming.…”

“…Generally, environmental heterogeneity has a positive effect on ant distribution (Ribas et al, 2003;Fagundes et al, 2015;Tavella et al, 2018), decreasing the monopolisation of space by behaviourally dominant species, thereby, providing more hiding places and foraging opportunities for subordinate species (Gibb and Parr, 2010;Koptur et al, 2010). Our results stand in contrast with these studies to some extent, indicating that baits in dolines were visited more frequently by moderately aggressive (e.g., M. ruginodis) and less by subordinate species (e.g., M. scabrinodis) than those on the plateau.…”

Spatial variation in ant–tree bipartite networks is driven by a bottom‐up process

“…Nonetheless, it is important to note that many other environmental and species traits can influence ant diversity. Environmental factors such as solar radiation, temperature and humidity, may affect ant distribution both directly and indirectly, and plant traits, such as presence/absence of nectar and extrafloral nectaries and insect abundance impact ant diversity at the species level (Tavella et al, 2018).…”