Spatial patterns and influencing factors of ground ant species diversity on the land-bridge islands in the Thousand Island Lake, China

Abstract

To explore spatial patterns and environmental factors affecting ground ant species diversity in the Thousand Island Lake, China, we surveyed ground ants using pitfall traps, leaf litter extraction and hand collecting on 33 islands from May to August in 2017 and 2018. We divided all ground ants into predator or omnivore ants and then used the regression models to analyze relationships between ant species diversity and island attributes. Island area had positive effects on species richness of total ants, predator ants and omnivore ants; but isolation had no significant effects. The β diversity of ants was dominated by spatial turnover component. Difference in island area had positive effects on the nestedness-resultant component of total ants, predator ants and omnivore ants communities. Difference in isolation had significant positive effects on the total β diversity of omnivore ants. Island area was the main factor affecting spatial patterns of ant species richness. In addition, island area affected the β diversity of ants via changing nestedness-resultant component, which indicates a selective extinction process in ant community assembly. Different responses of predator ants and omnivore ants to island attributes may be due to variation of dispersal ability.

Patterns of Tadpole β Diversity in Temperate Montane Streams

“…However, this is not the case for β diversity conducted in island ecosystems. For example, Zhou et al found that the β diversity of ant assemblages in the Thousand Island Lake, China, was mainly contributed to by the nestedness component [52]. Similarly, nestedness also dominated the β diversity of butterfly assemblages in the Zhoushan Archipelago of China [53].…”

Taxon‐dependent effects of dispersal limitation versus environmental filters on bryophyte assemblages―Multiple perspective studies in land‐bridge islands

“…The z value in the linearized power function log S = log C + z × log A was influenced by the degree of isolation to an extent. To compare z values of the SARs of bryophytes with those of other biotas, with the data of large ground‐dwelling mammals (Xu et al, 2014), small mammals (Wang et al, 2010; Zhao et al, 2009), birds (Ding et al, 2013), lizards (Hu et al, 2012), spiders (Ge, 2015), ants (Zhou et al, 2019), and vascular plants (Hu et al, 2011) in TIL, we modeled the SARs of bryophytes and the above biotas with the same area unit (m 2 ).…”