The Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Leaf-Litter Dwelling Ants in the Tropical Dry Forest of the Colombian Caribbean
There have been few advances in understanding the organization and dynamics of ants in tropical dry forests. The latter are a seriously threatened ecosystem, and ants are important indicators of diversity, disturbance, and restoration in forest ecosystems. Using diversity data and morphofunctional t...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-11-01
|
| Series: | Diversity |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/11/687 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846153766323093504 |
|---|---|
| author | Jose Camargo-Vanegas Sebastian de la Hoz-Pedraza Hubert Sierra-Chamorro Roberto J. Guerrero |
| author_facet | Jose Camargo-Vanegas Sebastian de la Hoz-Pedraza Hubert Sierra-Chamorro Roberto J. Guerrero |
| author_sort | Jose Camargo-Vanegas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There have been few advances in understanding the organization and dynamics of ants in tropical dry forests. The latter are a seriously threatened ecosystem, and ants are important indicators of diversity, disturbance, and restoration in forest ecosystems. Using diversity data and morphofunctional traits, we evaluated the spatial and temporal variation of taxonomic and functional ant groups; in addition, we explored the variation in functional traits and diversity among communities. Ants were sampled during the dry and rainy seasons using mini-Winkler bags. A total of 9 subfamilies, 57 genera, and 146 species were collected. Ant species composition and richness varied both spatially (75 to 119 species) and temporally (121 and 127 species). The fragments from N2 and N3 showed higher diversity than those from N1. The dissimilarity among all areas was moderate (50–60%), mainly attributable to species turnover processes (77%). Twenty functional groups were identified. The N3 fragments had the highest functional diversity, with lower resistance to species loss, while the N1 and N2 fragments reduced functional diversity and increased similarity among species. Our results highlight the importance of integrating a functional analysis with the taxonomic assessment of ants as an important contribution to understanding the organization and dynamics of this community of insects that inhabit the tropical dry forest. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f2ad1dfc001d42c1930b0f0a9f35d959 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj-art-f2ad1dfc001d42c1930b0f0a9f35d9592024-11-26T18:00:27ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182024-11-01161168710.3390/d16110687The Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Leaf-Litter Dwelling Ants in the Tropical Dry Forest of the Colombian CaribbeanJose Camargo-Vanegas0Sebastian de la Hoz-Pedraza1Hubert Sierra-Chamorro2Roberto J. Guerrero3Universidad del Magdalena, Santa Marta 470003, ColombiaUniversidad del Magdalena, Santa Marta 470003, ColombiaUniversidad del Magdalena, Santa Marta 470003, ColombiaUniversidad del Magdalena, Santa Marta 470003, ColombiaThere have been few advances in understanding the organization and dynamics of ants in tropical dry forests. The latter are a seriously threatened ecosystem, and ants are important indicators of diversity, disturbance, and restoration in forest ecosystems. Using diversity data and morphofunctional traits, we evaluated the spatial and temporal variation of taxonomic and functional ant groups; in addition, we explored the variation in functional traits and diversity among communities. Ants were sampled during the dry and rainy seasons using mini-Winkler bags. A total of 9 subfamilies, 57 genera, and 146 species were collected. Ant species composition and richness varied both spatially (75 to 119 species) and temporally (121 and 127 species). The fragments from N2 and N3 showed higher diversity than those from N1. The dissimilarity among all areas was moderate (50–60%), mainly attributable to species turnover processes (77%). Twenty functional groups were identified. The N3 fragments had the highest functional diversity, with lower resistance to species loss, while the N1 and N2 fragments reduced functional diversity and increased similarity among species. Our results highlight the importance of integrating a functional analysis with the taxonomic assessment of ants as an important contribution to understanding the organization and dynamics of this community of insects that inhabit the tropical dry forest.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/11/687functional groupsfunctional homogenizationspatial differentiationspecies richnessspecies turnover |
| spellingShingle | Jose Camargo-Vanegas Sebastian de la Hoz-Pedraza Hubert Sierra-Chamorro Roberto J. Guerrero The Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Leaf-Litter Dwelling Ants in the Tropical Dry Forest of the Colombian Caribbean Diversity functional groups functional homogenization spatial differentiation species richness species turnover |
| title | The Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Leaf-Litter Dwelling Ants in the Tropical Dry Forest of the Colombian Caribbean |
| title_full | The Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Leaf-Litter Dwelling Ants in the Tropical Dry Forest of the Colombian Caribbean |
| title_fullStr | The Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Leaf-Litter Dwelling Ants in the Tropical Dry Forest of the Colombian Caribbean |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Leaf-Litter Dwelling Ants in the Tropical Dry Forest of the Colombian Caribbean |
| title_short | The Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Leaf-Litter Dwelling Ants in the Tropical Dry Forest of the Colombian Caribbean |
| title_sort | taxonomic and functional diversity of leaf litter dwelling ants in the tropical dry forest of the colombian caribbean |
| topic | functional groups functional homogenization spatial differentiation species richness species turnover |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/11/687 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT josecamargovanegas thetaxonomicandfunctionaldiversityofleaflitterdwellingantsinthetropicaldryforestofthecolombiancaribbean AT sebastiandelahozpedraza thetaxonomicandfunctionaldiversityofleaflitterdwellingantsinthetropicaldryforestofthecolombiancaribbean AT hubertsierrachamorro thetaxonomicandfunctionaldiversityofleaflitterdwellingantsinthetropicaldryforestofthecolombiancaribbean AT robertojguerrero thetaxonomicandfunctionaldiversityofleaflitterdwellingantsinthetropicaldryforestofthecolombiancaribbean AT josecamargovanegas taxonomicandfunctionaldiversityofleaflitterdwellingantsinthetropicaldryforestofthecolombiancaribbean AT sebastiandelahozpedraza taxonomicandfunctionaldiversityofleaflitterdwellingantsinthetropicaldryforestofthecolombiancaribbean AT hubertsierrachamorro taxonomicandfunctionaldiversityofleaflitterdwellingantsinthetropicaldryforestofthecolombiancaribbean AT robertojguerrero taxonomicandfunctionaldiversityofleaflitterdwellingantsinthetropicaldryforestofthecolombiancaribbean |