Diurnal foraging ant-tree co-occurrence networks are similar between canopy and understorey in a Neotropical rain forestPalabras Clave
Por:
Antoniazzi, Reuber, Garcia-Franco, Jose, Janda, Milan, Leponce, Maurice, Dattilo, Wesley
Publicada:
1 jul 2020
Categoría:
Ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics
Resumen:
Discussion of the vertical stratification of organisms in tropical
forests has traditionally focused on species distribution. Most studies
have shown that, due to differences in abiotic conditions and resource
distribution, species can be distributed along the vertical gradient
according to their ecophysiological needs. However, the network
structure between distinct vertical strata remains little-explored. To
fill this gap in knowledge, we used baits to sample ants in the canopy
and understorey trees of a Mexican tropical rain forest to record the
ant-tree co-occurrences. We examined the ant-tree co-occurrences in the
canopy and understorey using complementary network metrics (i.e.,
specialization, interaction diversity, modularity, and nestedness). In
addition, we evaluated co-occurrence patterns between ant species on
trees, using C-score analysis. In general, we found no differences in
the network structure, although the interaction diversity was greater in
the understorey than in the canopy networks. We also observed that
co-occurrence networks of each vertical stratum featured four ant
species in the central core of highly co-occurring species, with three
species unique to each stratum. Moreover, we found a similar trend
toward ant species segregation in the both strata. These findings reveal
a similar pattern of ant-ant co-occurrences in both vertical strata,
probably due to the presence of arboreal-nesting ants in the
understorey. Overall, we showed that despite the marked differences in
species composition and environmental conditions between understorey and
canopy strata, ant-tree co-occurrences in these habitats could be
governed by similar mechanisms, related to dominance and resource
monopolization by ants. in Spanish is available with online material.
Filiaciones:
Antoniazzi, Reuber:
Inst Ecol AC, Red Ecoetol, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
Garcia-Franco, Jose:
Inst Ecol AC, Red Ecol Func, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
Janda, Milan:
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Lab Nacl Anal & Sintesis Ecol, Escuela Nacl Estudios Super, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico
Leponce, Maurice:
Royal Belgian Inst Nat Sci, Biodivers Monitoring & Assessment, Brussels, Belgium
Univ Libre Bruxelles, Evolutionary Biol & Ecol, Brussels, Belgium
Dattilo, Wesley:
Inst Ecol AC, Red Ecoetol, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
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