Local and landscape drivers of biodiversity of four groups of ants in coffee landscapes

Mora, Aldo De la; Murnen, Cody; Philpott, Stacy M.

doi:10.1007/s10531-013-0454-z

Cited by 48 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…All sites were located between 900-1,400 masl and averaged 4,000 mm rain per year. Coffee sites were organically or conventionally managed and also varied both in tree diversity and density and in canopy cover (De la Mora et al 2013). The most common coffee shade trees in the study region include Inga micheliana Harms (Fabaceae), Inga sapindoides Willd (Fabaceae), Trema micrantha (L.) Blume (Ulmaceae), and Alchornea latifolia Swartz (Euphorbiaceae).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the local scale, site characteristics were examined, and farmers were interviewed regarding agrochemical use. Thirteen local factors were included: elevation, humus mass, tree circumference, tree height, percent canopy cover, richness of shade trees, density of shade trees, number of rotten logs, coffee plant density, and use of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and fungicides (De la Mora et al 2013). Seven landscape variables were studied including distance to the nearest forest edge, the area of forest within 50, 200, and 500 m of study sites, and the area of rustic coffee within 50, 200, and 500 m of study sites as determined with ArcGIS (Philpott et al 2008b, De la Mora et al 2013.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thirteen local factors were included: elevation, humus mass, tree circumference, tree height, percent canopy cover, richness of shade trees, density of shade trees, number of rotten logs, coffee plant density, and use of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and fungicides (De la Mora et al 2013). Seven landscape variables were studied including distance to the nearest forest edge, the area of forest within 50, 200, and 500 m of study sites, and the area of rustic coffee within 50, 200, and 500 m of study sites as determined with ArcGIS (Philpott et al 2008b, De la Mora et al 2013. To summarize vegetation and agrochemical use, two indices were created: 1) a vegetation complexity index (VCI) and 2) an agrochemical index (AI; Philpott et al 2008a, De la Mora et al 2013.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seven landscape variables were studied including distance to the nearest forest edge, the area of forest within 50, 200, and 500 m of study sites, and the area of rustic coffee within 50, 200, and 500 m of study sites as determined with ArcGIS (Philpott et al 2008b, De la Mora et al 2013. To summarize vegetation and agrochemical use, two indices were created: 1) a vegetation complexity index (VCI) and 2) an agrochemical index (AI; Philpott et al 2008a, De la Mora et al 2013. Both indices range from 0 (low vegetation complexity or agrochemical use) to 1 (high vegetation complexity or agrochemical use).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This interaction is important to investigate given the role of ants as biological control agents and predators in coffee agroecosystems (Ibarra-Nú ñ ez et al 2001, Philpott and Armbrecht 2006, Lachaud and Pérez-Lachaud 2009. Ants are also indicators of habitat quality (Andersen et al 2002, Bution et al 2010, and are sensitive to landscape fragmentation (Perfecto and Vandermeer 2002, Armbrecht and Perfecto 2003, Paolucci et al 2012, De la Mora et al 2013. Therefore, tropical agroforestry systems are an ideal system to study how both local and landscape changes influence ant parasitism with potential impacts for natural crop pest control.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Local and Landscape Drivers of Ant Parasitism in a Coffee Landscape

Mora¹,

Pérez‐Lachaud²,

Lachaud³

et al. 2015

Environ Entomol

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Parasitism of ants that nest in rotting wood by eucharitid wasps was studied in order to examine whether habitat and season influence ant parasitism, vegetation complexity and agrochemical use correlate with ant parasitism, and whether specific local and landscape features of agricultural landscapes correlate with changes in ant parasitism. In a coffee landscape, 30 coffee and 10 forest sites were selected in which local management (e.g., vegetation, agrochemical use) and landscape features (e.g., distance to forest, percent of rustic coffee nearby) were characterized. Rotten logs were sampled and ant cocoons were collected from logs and cocoons were monitored for parasitoid emergence. Sixteen ant morphospecies in three ant subfamilies (Ectatomminae, Ponerinae, and Formicinae) were found. Seven ant species parasitized by two genera of Eucharitidae parasitoids (Kapala and Obeza) were reported and some ant-eucharitid associations were new. According to evaluated metrics, parasitism did not differ with habitat (forest, high-shade coffee, low-shade coffee), but did increase in the dry season for Gnamptogenys ants. Parasitism increased with vegetation complexity for Gnamptogenys and Pachycondyla and was high in sites with both high and low agrochemical use. Two landscape variables and two local factors positively correlated with parasitism for some ant genera and species. Thus, differences in vegetation complexity at the local and landscape scale and agrochemical use in coffee landscapes alter ecological interactions between parasitoids and their ant hosts.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Local and Landscape Drivers of Ant Parasitism in a Coffee Landscape

Mora¹,

Pérez‐Lachaud²,

Lachaud³

et al. 2015

Environ Entomol

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Between two trees: Environmental effects of I. micheliana and A. latifolia on leaf litter ants in a coffee agroecosystem

Rolón

Perfecto

2023

Ecosphere

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Shade trees provide important ecological services that support productivity in coffee agroforestry systems. Processes such as biological nitrogen fixation play a key role in this. Less is known, however, about potential indirect mechanisms by which nitrogen fixation supports coffee productivity. One potential route for this to occur is by providing ecological benefits to other above-and belowground organisms that enrich the overall function of agroecosystems. A useful lens with which to evaluate the ecological benefits to these communities under shade trees is to assess how ground-dwelling ant communities respond to the quality of leaf litter from established nitrogen (N)-fixing tree species. Here, we use two trees commonly planted in coffee agroecosystems: Inga micheliana, an N-fixing species, and Alchornea latifolia, a non-N-fixing species. In this study, we set out to answer the following questions: (1) How does the leaf litter environment differ between I. micheliana and A. latifolia? (2) Do differences in environmental factors between I. micheliana and A. latifolia correlate with differences in ant abundance and species richness? and (3) Do differences in environmental factors between I. micheliana and A. latifolia correlate with differences in ant community composition? Twenty-eight randomly selected sites (14 I. micheliana and 14 A. latifolia) were established within a 45-ha plot in a shaded organic coffee farm in Chiapas, Mexico. Three 1-m 2 quadrats within a 5-m radius from the base of the selected trees were established, and the leaf litter within the quadrats was removed and sieved.Ant specimens were extracted from leaf litter collected from quadrats using the mini-Winkler method and identified to genus and species, or morphospecies, level.Results indicate that I. micheliana, the N-fixing species, has a lower C:N ratio than A. latifolia. Differences in C:N ratios are correlated with ant abundance but not with ant species richness. Distance to edge (in meters) has significant effects on leaf litter ant abundance, richness, and species composition. Results suggest that there may be unaccounted feedbacks from N-and non-N-fixing vegetation to brown food webs enabling them to sustain similar ground-dwelling ant communities.

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Detrimental Effects of Agrochemical-Based Agricultural Intensification on Biodiversity: Evidence from Some Past Studies

Akinsorotan,

Adewale

et al. 2023

Sustainable Development and Biodiversity

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Local and landscape drivers of biodiversity of four groups of ants in coffee landscapes

Cited by 48 publications

References 74 publications

Local and Landscape Drivers of Ant Parasitism in a Coffee Landscape

Local and Landscape Drivers of Ant Parasitism in a Coffee Landscape

Between two trees: Environmental effects of I. micheliana and A. latifolia on leaf litter ants in a coffee agroecosystem

Detrimental Effects of Agrochemical-Based Agricultural Intensification on Biodiversity: Evidence from Some Past Studies

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