Sampling and Analysis Methods for Ant Diversity Assessment

Delabie, Jacques H. C.; Koch, Elmo Borges de Azevedo; Dodonov, Pavel; Caitano, Bianca; DaRocha, Wesley; Jahyny, Benoît; Leponce, Maurice; Majer, Jonathan; Mariano, Cléa dos Santos Ferreira

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-53226-0_2

Cited by 25 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 103 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…We collected six bromeliads within a six‐meter horizontal distance from the center of the tree crown, prioritizing those that were the largest and most accessible to the climber and as far from each other as possible, for a total of 360 individual bromeliads. We used the “canopy hamper” method to collect the bromeliads and the associated ant fauna together with all of the associated organic matter and suspended soil (for details of this sampling technique, see: DaRocha, Ribeiro, et al, 2015, Delabie et al, 2021). The ants associated with the suspended soil were extracted by direct collection using a Winkler trap while still in the field (Bestelmeyer et al, 2000).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling the factors that shape bromeliad and ant communities in the canopies of cocoa agroforestry and preserved Atlantic Forest

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In tropical forest canopies, host tree characteristics shape epiphyte communities, and both host tree characteristics and epiphytes determine invertebrate communities, for example, ants. Tree height is among the factors most often mentioned as a strong predictor for both bromeliad and ant communities. However, many factors interact dynamically in shaping the tree-bromeliad-ant association. Here, we investigated the effects of the host tree and canopy structural characteristics on both bromeliads and ants. We sampled bromeliads on 180 trees and ants in 360 bromeliads living on a subset of 60 of those trees in a continuum of native forest fragments and agroforestry systems in the Atlantic Forest, a Brazilian biodiversity hotspot. We found that the host trees' crown area had a positive effect on the abundance of bromeliads. Also, the introduced tree species had higher abundance of bromeliads than native tree species. Moreover, we found that the ant species composition was different between native and introduced trees. In addition, we observed a positive effect of the size of bromeliads and tree crown height on ant species richness on both bromeliad and tree scales, but there was no effect of tree height. Taken together, our findings highlight the importance of trees with large crowns for the maintenance of bromeliads, which are also associated with richer ant communities in both Atlantic Forest and agroforestry systems. These results emphasize the importance of trees with larger crowns for biodiversity conservation in both native forest fragments and agroforestry systems.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling the factors that shape bromeliad and ant communities in the canopies of cocoa agroforestry and preserved Atlantic Forest

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…distincta ), many subordinate species might be overlooked (especially when a dominant species monopolises most baits). To obtain precise information on arboreal ant species richness, complementary methods are needed such as arboreal pitfall traps installed along tree trunks (Garcia‐Martinez et al ., 2018; Delabie et al ., 2020; Law & Parr, 2020; Leponce et al ., 2021). (ii) The use of exceptionally high quality, patchy baits likely affect ant behaviour through the ants' opportunistic presence and abundance.…”

Section: Conclusion: Pros and Cons Of The Baitline Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are four major arboreal ant collection methodologies. First, various climbing‐based collection methods include visual search, arboreal baits, arboreal traps, vegetation beating, epiphyte inspection, and branch clipping (Antoniazzi et al ., 2020; Delabie et al ., 2020). Second, canopy fogging, which consists of spraying an insecticide, usually pyrethrum, into the tree crowns using a fumigator is very useful for the study of ant species richness (Floren et al ., 2014; Yusah et al ., 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid assessment of the three‐dimensional distribution of dominant arboreal ants in tropical forests

Leponce

Déjean

Mottl

et al. 2021

Insect Conserv Diversity

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ants are omnipresent in tropical forests, especially territorially dominant arboreal ants whose territories are spatially segregated forming ‘ant mosaics’. These ecologically important species are rarely used in conservation monitoring because of the difficulty in collecting them. We developed a standardised baitline protocol to study the distribution of dominant ants on canopy trees and also a procedure to objectively define species dominance, even in unknown ant assemblages. Besides eliminating the need to climb trees, this protocol allows live arboreal ant specimens to be sampled at different heights. Behavioural aggressiveness assays between the collected workers provide data on the three‐dimensional distribution of colonies and on interactions between species. We compared the results of the behavioural tests to those from null models. In the New Guinean lowland forest studied, we show that the canopy was either shared by multiple territorial species or inhabited by a single species with a large territory. The baitline protocol collected up to half of the arboreal ant species found in a felling census. However, the proportion of species collected at baits decreased with the increasing spatial dominance of single territorial species. Behavioural observations used in the protocol allowed a more efficient detection of ant mosaics than null models. Territorially dominant ants were active on both understorey and canopy trees. The protocol is fast and easy to replicate. It is a potential tool for understanding and monitoring the spatiotemporal dynamics of arboreal ant assemblages and can detect populous colonies, including those of invasive species.

show abstract

“…Our final selection included 17 papers published between 1993 and 2018, corresponding to studies carried out in several continental regions present in the tropical climatic zone [Africa (2), Asia (2), Oceania (2), and South America (3)] and temperate zone [Europe (1), North America (1), and Oceania (6)]. The selected studies employed 11 methods of ant sampling: Pitfall traps (15), Winkler for leaf litter samples (3), baits (2), hand collection (2), baited arboreal pitfall traps (1), baited pitfall traps (1), baited subterranean traps (baited Eppendorf's tubes) (1), soil monolith method (1), quadrat sampling (insect vacuum and mouth aspirator) (1), sweep netting and foliage shaking (1), and Tullgren funnels with leaf litter and surface soil samples (1) (Table 3) (for a general review of sampling ants methods, see Delabie et al, 2021). These methods were used for ant sampling in different strata (arboreal, leaf litter, soil, and subterranean).…”

Section: Study Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Habitat Conversion on Ant Functional Groups: A Global Review

2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Conversion of natural to anthropogenic environments affects biodiversity, and the understanding of these impacts may be improved by assessing how different functional groups respond to such land conversion. We studied land conversion impacts on ant functional groups, as ants are ecologically important and respond well to various environmental changes. We hypothesized that conversion of natural to anthropogenic environments modifies the composition of functional groups, fostering generalist and opportunistic groups over specialist ones, with more responses of this type in tropical than in temperate regions. We recovered 412 papers from ISI Web of Science, of which we selected 17 studies, published between 1993 and 2018, that addressed our study’s question. We assessed whether each functional group responded positively or negatively to conversion of natural habitat into anthropogenic land uses and used Monte Carlo tests to assess significance. Ants were affected by natural habitat conversion into monoculture and polyculture and by the conversion of savannas and of tropical and subtropical forests. Land conversion affected six of the 13 functional groups assessed here. In the temperate zone, cryptic species, predators, subordinate Camponotini, cold-climate specialists and tropical-climate specialists were impaired, whereas hot-climate specialists were favored. In the tropics, land conversion negatively impacted fungus-growers and predators. In both climatic zones, several functional groups, mainly those with broad ecological niches, did not respond to land conversion. Our results corroborate that land conversion effects vary among ant functional groups and indicate that the ant fauna of temperate ecosystems may be more susceptible than that of tropical regions.

show abstract

Sampling and Analysis Methods for Ant Diversity Assessment

Cited by 25 publications

References 103 publications

Disentangling the factors that shape bromeliad and ant communities in the canopies of cocoa agroforestry and preserved Atlantic Forest

Disentangling the factors that shape bromeliad and ant communities in the canopies of cocoa agroforestry and preserved Atlantic Forest

Rapid assessment of the three‐dimensional distribution of dominant arboreal ants in tropical forests

Effects of Habitat Conversion on Ant Functional Groups: A Global Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About