Ant diversity in an Amazonian savanna: Relationship with vegetation structure, disturbance by fire, and dominant ants
The savannas of South America support a relatively diverse ant fauna, but little is known about the factors that influence the structure and dynamics of these assemblages. In 1998 and 2002, we surveyed the ground-dwelling ant fauna and the fauna associated with the woody vegetation (using baits and...
| Autor principal: | Vasconcelos, Heraldo L. |
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| Outros Autores: | Leite, Marcos F., Vilhena, José M.S., Lima, Albertina Pimental, Magnusson, William Ernest |
| Grau: | Artigo |
| Idioma: | English |
| Publicado em: |
Austral Ecology
2020
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| Acesso em linha: |
https://repositorio.inpa.gov.br/handle/1/18574 |
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oai:repositorio:1-18574 |
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oai:repositorio:1-18574 Ant diversity in an Amazonian savanna: Relationship with vegetation structure, disturbance by fire, and dominant ants Vasconcelos, Heraldo L. Leite, Marcos F. Vilhena, José M.S. Lima, Albertina Pimental Magnusson, William Ernest Ant Community Dynamics Dominance Environmental Disturbance Fire Intraspecific Competition Population Decline Recruitment (population Dynamics) Savanna Spatial Variation Temporal Variation Vegetation Cover Amazonia South America Formicidae Poaceae Solenopsis Geminata Solenopsis Substituta Trachypogon Plumosus Wasmannia Auropunctata The savannas of South America support a relatively diverse ant fauna, but little is known about the factors that influence the structure and dynamics of these assemblages. In 1998 and 2002, we surveyed the ground-dwelling ant fauna and the fauna associated with the woody vegetation (using baits and direct sampling) from an Amazonian savanna. The aim was to evaluate the influence of vegetation structure, disturbance by fire and dominant ants on patterns of ant species richness and composition. Variations in the incidence of fires among our 39 survey plots had no or only limited influence on these patterns. In contrast, spatial variations in tree cover and cover by tall grasses (mostly Trachypogon plumosus), significantly affected ant species composition. Part of the variation in species richness among the study plots correlated with variations in the incidence of a dominant species (Solenopsis substituta) at baits. Ant species richness and composition also varied through time, possibly as an indirect effect of changes in vegetation cover. In many plots, and independently of disturbance by fire, there was a major increase in cover by tall grasses, which occupied areas formerly devoid of vegetation. Temporal changes in vegetation did not directly explain the observed increase in the number of ant species per plot. However, the incidence of S. substituta at baits declined sharply in 2002, especially in plots where changes in vegetation cover were more dramatic, and that decline was correlated with an increase in the number of ground-dwelling species, a greater turnover of bait-recruiting species and the appearance of the little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata. The extent to which these changes in fact resulted from the relaxation of dominance by S. substituta is not clear. However, our results strongly suggest that the ant fauna of Amazonian savannas is affected directly and indirectly by the structure of the vegetation. © 2008 The Authors. 2020-06-15T22:02:08Z 2020-06-15T22:02:08Z 2008 Artigo https://repositorio.inpa.gov.br/handle/1/18574 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2007.01811.x en Volume 33, Número 2, Pags. 221-231 Restrito Austral Ecology |
| institution |
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - Repositório Institucional |
| collection |
INPA-RI |
| language |
English |
| topic |
Ant Community Dynamics Dominance Environmental Disturbance Fire Intraspecific Competition Population Decline Recruitment (population Dynamics) Savanna Spatial Variation Temporal Variation Vegetation Cover Amazonia South America Formicidae Poaceae Solenopsis Geminata Solenopsis Substituta Trachypogon Plumosus Wasmannia Auropunctata |
| spellingShingle |
Ant Community Dynamics Dominance Environmental Disturbance Fire Intraspecific Competition Population Decline Recruitment (population Dynamics) Savanna Spatial Variation Temporal Variation Vegetation Cover Amazonia South America Formicidae Poaceae Solenopsis Geminata Solenopsis Substituta Trachypogon Plumosus Wasmannia Auropunctata Vasconcelos, Heraldo L. Ant diversity in an Amazonian savanna: Relationship with vegetation structure, disturbance by fire, and dominant ants |
| topic_facet |
Ant Community Dynamics Dominance Environmental Disturbance Fire Intraspecific Competition Population Decline Recruitment (population Dynamics) Savanna Spatial Variation Temporal Variation Vegetation Cover Amazonia South America Formicidae Poaceae Solenopsis Geminata Solenopsis Substituta Trachypogon Plumosus Wasmannia Auropunctata |
| description |
The savannas of South America support a relatively diverse ant fauna, but little is known about the factors that influence the structure and dynamics of these assemblages. In 1998 and 2002, we surveyed the ground-dwelling ant fauna and the fauna associated with the woody vegetation (using baits and direct sampling) from an Amazonian savanna. The aim was to evaluate the influence of vegetation structure, disturbance by fire and dominant ants on patterns of ant species richness and composition. Variations in the incidence of fires among our 39 survey plots had no or only limited influence on these patterns. In contrast, spatial variations in tree cover and cover by tall grasses (mostly Trachypogon plumosus), significantly affected ant species composition. Part of the variation in species richness among the study plots correlated with variations in the incidence of a dominant species (Solenopsis substituta) at baits. Ant species richness and composition also varied through time, possibly as an indirect effect of changes in vegetation cover. In many plots, and independently of disturbance by fire, there was a major increase in cover by tall grasses, which occupied areas formerly devoid of vegetation. Temporal changes in vegetation did not directly explain the observed increase in the number of ant species per plot. However, the incidence of S. substituta at baits declined sharply in 2002, especially in plots where changes in vegetation cover were more dramatic, and that decline was correlated with an increase in the number of ground-dwelling species, a greater turnover of bait-recruiting species and the appearance of the little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata. The extent to which these changes in fact resulted from the relaxation of dominance by S. substituta is not clear. However, our results strongly suggest that the ant fauna of Amazonian savannas is affected directly and indirectly by the structure of the vegetation. © 2008 The Authors. |
| format |
Artigo |
| author |
Vasconcelos, Heraldo L. |
| author2 |
Leite, Marcos F. Vilhena, José M.S. Lima, Albertina Pimental Magnusson, William Ernest |
| author2Str |
Leite, Marcos F. Vilhena, José M.S. Lima, Albertina Pimental Magnusson, William Ernest |
| title |
Ant diversity in an Amazonian savanna: Relationship with vegetation structure, disturbance by fire, and dominant ants |
| title_short |
Ant diversity in an Amazonian savanna: Relationship with vegetation structure, disturbance by fire, and dominant ants |
| title_full |
Ant diversity in an Amazonian savanna: Relationship with vegetation structure, disturbance by fire, and dominant ants |
| title_fullStr |
Ant diversity in an Amazonian savanna: Relationship with vegetation structure, disturbance by fire, and dominant ants |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Ant diversity in an Amazonian savanna: Relationship with vegetation structure, disturbance by fire, and dominant ants |
| title_sort |
ant diversity in an amazonian savanna: relationship with vegetation structure, disturbance by fire, and dominant ants |
| publisher |
Austral Ecology |
| publishDate |
2020 |
| url |
https://repositorio.inpa.gov.br/handle/1/18574 |
| _version_ |
1787144556405325824 |
| score |
11.653393 |