Revision of the African Ants of the Bothroponera pumicosa Species Complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae)

Joma, Abdulmeneem M. A.; Mackay, William P.

doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v62i4.845

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The occurrence of these different ant species in primary native and secondary regenerated native forest types may depend on either suitable environmental condition offered by native tree species, even though the mode of life of each ant species has also to be considered (Kronauer et al 2007). Odontomachus troglodytes for instance is a very common and wide-spread wood ant species in Central Africa (Booher 2019) as well as Botrhoponera talpa (Joma & Mackay 2015). Little information about the mode of life is available for Dorylus congolensis (Bolton & Fisher 2011), Hypoponera segnis (Raimundo et al 2009) and Strumigenys sarisa (del Toro et al 2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

Soil-litter ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) community response to reforested lands of Gishwati tropical montane forest, northern-western part of Rwanda

Nsengimana

Dekoninck

2021

J. Trop. Ecol.

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Recently, human activities have impacted biodiversity-rich forest in western Rwanda, creating a need to enhance restoration activities of degraded lands in the region. To evaluate the effects of reforestation activities on the community composition of soil-litter ants, research was conducted in Gishwati tropical montane forest, located in northern-western part of Rwanda. The ant fauna was studied in reforested lands dominated by regenerated native species and exotic tree species. Further, a primary forest made of native trees served as a reference. In each forest type, nine sampling points were used to sample ants. Ant specimens were collected using pitfalls, hand sampling and Winkler extractor. They were identified to subfamilies, genus and species levels using dichotomous keys, and also statistically analysed for species richness, diversity, evenness and community composition. We collected a total of 2,481 individuals from 5 subfamilies, 18 genera and 35 species. Higher abundance, diversity and species richness were found in soil-litter under natural primary and secondary forests dominated by regenerated native plant species compared to exotic tree forest. The ant community composition analysis indicated higher similarities in ant species sampled under primary native forest and secondary forest dominated by regenerated native species. Reforestation by regenerating native species may be given priority in restoration of degraded lands due to their importance in species richness and species diversity.

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confidence: 99%

Soil-litter ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) community response to reforested lands of Gishwati tropical montane forest, northern-western part of Rwanda

Nsengimana

Dekoninck

2021

J. Trop. Ecol.

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“…Ants collected from pitfall traps were stored in 70% ethanol and taken to the laboratory for identification. Ants were identified to the genus level using taxonomic keys (Wheeler 1913, Francoeur 1973, Baroni Urbani 1978, Mackay 2000, Fernández 2007, Jimenez et al 2008, Longino 2009, Branstetter 2012, Cuezzo and Guerrero 2012, Kallal and LaPolla 2012, Pacheco et al 2013, Stockan et al 2016, Williams and LaPolla 2016, Morgan and Mackay 2017). Specimens were sent to the following specialists for their identification: L. Quiroz, J. E. Valenzuela, G. R. Pérez‐Toledo (Instituto de Ecología, A.C.) and W. Mackay (University of Texas, Laboratory for Environmental Biology Centennial Museum).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat simplification affects functional group structure along with taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of temperate‐zone ant assemblages over a ten‐year period

Pérez‐Toledo,

Cuautle,

Castillo‐Guevara

et al. 2024

Oikos

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Biodiversity is declining at various scales due to habitat simplification. Nevertheless, there is scarce information on how the biotic and abiotic changes linked to simplification affect several diversity dimensions, such as taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversities. This study investigated whether transforming natural oak forests into induced grasslands affected species diversity, functional group structure, and phylogenetic diversity of ant assemblages inhabiting a temperate forest in central Mexico. We placed over 1000 pitfall traps in five sampling events covering a ten‐year period. We used Hill numbers to evaluate species diversity differences between vegetation types and patterns over time. Ant species were classified into stress‐related functional groups, which were analyzed for their association with vegetation types and changes to their proportional abundance over time. We calculated the standardized effect size of the mean nearest taxon distance to quantify the evolutionary history and test for non‐random patterns within vegetation types and sampling years. Species richness did not differ between vegetation types, yet grasslands showed greater diversity for the q = 1 and q = 2 orders. , We also found three ant species as bioindicators for each type of vegetation. Regarding functional structure, cold climate specialists were associated with oak forests. In contrast, generalist species were predominant in induced grasslands. Higher phylogenetic diversity with an overdispersed structure was associated with oak forest, whereas lower phylogenetic diversity and a clustered pattern were found in induced grassland. These results indicate that habitat simplification may not affect the number of ant species, but rather increases their relative abundance and reorganizes the functional and phylogenetic structure in the ecosystem, particularly shifting towards the dominance of evolutionary closely related species and broad‐stress‐tolerant groups. These results highlight the importance of integrating further dimensions of diversity to properly evaluate the reassembly dynamics after habitat simplification, and understand the mechanisms driving this biodiversity loss.

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“…The small, acorn‐dwelling ant Temnothorax longispinosus is the main host of the dulotic or ‘slavemaking’ parasite T. americanus (Herbers & Foitzik, 2002), which relies on the host work force to perform virtually all colony tasks (Wesson, 1939). The geographical distribution of the host extends from Quebec, Canada, in the north to Mississippi, USA, in the south and from Nova Scotia in eastern Canada to Minnesota, USA, in the west (Mackay, 2000), and consequently covers a diverse range of climates. Its parasite coinhabits these areas, albeit in higher densities in warmer regions compared to the host (Jongepier et al., 2014, 2015; Kaur et al., 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic basis of adaptation to climate and parasite prevalence and the importance of odorant perception in the ant Temnothorax longispinosus

Macit,

Collin,

Pfenninger

et al. 2024

Molecular Ecology

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A co‐evolutionary arms race ensues when parasites exhibit exploitative behaviour, which prompts adaptations in their hosts, in turn triggering counter‐adaptations by the parasites. To unravel the genomic basis of this coevolution from the host's perspective, we collected ants of the host species Temnothorax longispinosus, parasitized by the social parasite Temnothorax americanus, from 10 populations in the northeastern United States exhibiting varying levels of parasite prevalence and living under different climatic conditions. We conducted a genome‐wide association study (GWAS) to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with both prevalence and climate. Our investigation highlighted a multitude of candidate SNPs associated with parasite prevalence, particularly in genes responsible for sensory perception of smell including odorant receptor genes. We further focused on population‐specific compositions of cuticular hydrocarbons, a complex trait important for signalling, communication and protection against desiccation. The relative abundances of n‐alkanes were correlated with climate, while there was only a trend between parasite prevalence and the relative abundances of known recognition cues. Furthermore, we identified candidate genes likely involved in the synthesis and recognition of specific hydrocarbons. In addition, we analysed the population‐level gene expression in the antennae, the primary organ for odorant reception, and established a strong correlation with parasite prevalence. Our comprehensive study highlights the intricate genomic patterns forged by the interplay of diverse selection factors and how these are manifested in the expression of various phenotypes.

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Revision of the African Ants of the Bothroponera pumicosa Species Complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae)

Cited by 4 publications

References 17 publications

Soil-litter ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) community response to reforested lands of Gishwati tropical montane forest, northern-western part of Rwanda

Soil-litter ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) community response to reforested lands of Gishwati tropical montane forest, northern-western part of Rwanda

Habitat simplification affects functional group structure along with taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of temperate‐zone ant assemblages over a ten‐year period

Genomic basis of adaptation to climate and parasite prevalence and the importance of odorant perception in the ant Temnothorax longispinosus

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