Ant-Plant Interactions: Impacts of Humans on Terrestrial Ecosystems

0477758 - BC 2018 RIV GB eng M - Monography Chapter
Klimeš, Petr
Diversity and specificity of ant-plant interactions in canopy communities: insights from primary and secondary tropical forests in New Guinea.
Ant-Plant Interactions: Impacts of Humans on Terrestrial Ecosystems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017 - (Oliveira, P.; Koptur, S.), s. 26-51. ISBN 978-1-10715-975-4
R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36098G
EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 669609 - Diversity6continents
Institutional support: RVO:60077344
Keywords : diversity * tropical forests * New Guinea
OECD category: Ecology

In this chapter I review current knowledge of changes due to tropical forest disturbance and fragmentation in ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the canopies of primary and disturbed (secondary and logged) forest ecosystems. Furthermore, I examine arboreal ant communities and their host trees in primary and secondary lowland forest in New Guinea, where a plot- based census of all tree-dwelling ants and their nests was conducted. I show how the diversity and host-specificity of the interactions between ants, their host tree species and nest microhabitats change between the two forest stages, and discuss potential consequences for the conservation of diverse canopy communities. My results show that environmental predictors explain a similar proportion (12%) of the variance in ant community composition in both primary and secondary forests. Most of this variance is linked to tree size and nest site variability, whereas the effect of tree host species themselves on ants is very low (1%). Primary forests support a greater variability of microhabitats, and the rarity of some nest sites in secondary forests can result in the loss of particular ant taxa.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0282906