Importance of Nesting Resources and Soil Conditions for the Recovery of Ant Diversity During Secondary Succession in a Tropical Rainforest

Abstract

The secondary succession of tropical rainforest in abandoned agricultural fields modifies components of species diversity and processes of species colonization and replacement. In general, knowledge on invertebrate reassembly is lacking, even though invertebrate assemblages directly influence the maturation of forests. Ants are especially useful for testing hypotheses about the effects of resource diversity and microhabitat conditions. We experimentally assessed the effects of different successional stages on nest colonization. Then, we assessed whether nesting resources and microhabitat conditions (i.e., abiotic conditions) are potential mechanisms that influence the colonization pattern of twig-dwelling ants along a natural chronosequence for 1 year in the Lacandon region, Mexico. We found that ant species richness in twigs is correlated with total species found in leaf litter. The nest occupancy increased as succession progressed, but species richness did not change. Nests occupation increased to greater artificial nesting resource decomposition rates and lower soil pH. Meanwhile, species richness was increased only with lower soil compaction. Species composition changes among successional categories; the changes were greater with greater soil compaction and soil pH. The diversity of nesting resources did not drive twig-dwelling ant assembly. We conclude that the natural maturation of tropical forest enables greater colonization of twig-dwelling ants, but recovery of the species composition of assemblages after 30 years is incomplete, although it shows a recovery trend.

Above- and below-ground links mediated by arboreal ants and host tree modify soil aggregation scaling, infiltration, and chemistry

“…Attine) ants (Meyer 2013; Reis et al 2015). Although, some studies present soils (compaction, granulometric composition, and pH) as being what affects ant biodiversity and community structure (Rocha-Ortega and García-Martínez 2018; Costa-Milanez et al 2017), most other available studies support the reverse, ant modifications of soil properties (Shukla et al 2013; Kotova, Umarov, and Zakalyukina 2015; Sankovitz and Purcell 2022), ultimately aligning with the context behind this study. More specifically, clearer evidence of ant effects on finer-scale soil structural properties, such as soil aggregate or pore size distributions, remains rare, but may be useful for interdisciplinary ecological models (Bennett et al 2019).…”

Influence of season on leaf litter ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) diversity in the locality of Minko'o (Southern, Cameroon)

“…Moreover, ants occupy various trophic levels and make substantial contribution to ecosystem processes (Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990; Jouquet, Dauber, Lagerlof, Lavelle, & Lepage, 2006). In tropical ecosystems, habitat heterogeneity and resource availability have been reported as important factors driving ant species richness (Armbrecht, Perfecto, & Vandermeer, 2004; Ribas & Schoereder, 2007; Rocha‐Ortega & García‐Martínez, 2018). For these reasons, ants are considered to be sensitive to seasonal and landscape structure variation (Reddy & Venkataiah, 1990).…”

Ant Occupation of Twigs in the Leaf Litter of the Atlantic Forest: Influence of the Environment and External Twig Structure

“…The same pattern was observed in other forest types (Byrne, 1994;Kaspari, 1996aKaspari, , 1996b, suggesting that the availability of twigs alone is unlikely to strongly shape litter ant communities (Sagata et al, 2010). A twig may be available but not occupied by ants because it is very hard (Carvalho & Vasconcelos, 2002) or very decomposed (Rocha-Ortega & Garc ıa-Mart ınez, 2018). A lack of cavities in the twig (Carvalho & Vasconcelos, 2002) also makes it hard to occupy (De La Mora et al, 2013).…”