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Fire in the Amazon: impact of experimental fuel addition on responses of ants and their interactions with myrmecochorous seeds

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Abstract

The widespread clearing of tropical forests causes lower tree cover, drier microclimate, and higher and drier fuel loads of forest edges, increasing the risk of fire occurrence and its intensity. We used a manipulative field experiment to investigate the influence of fire and fuel loads on ant communities and their interactions with myrmecochorous seeds in the southern Amazon, a region currently undergoing extreme land-use intensification. Experimental fires and fuel addition were applied to 40 × 40-m plots in six replicated blocks, and ants were sampled between 15 and 30 days after fires in four strata: subterranean, litter, epigaeic, and arboreal. Fire had extensive negative effects on ant communities. Highly specialized cryptobiotic and predator species of the litter layer and epigaeic specialist predators were among the most sensitive, but we did not find evidence of overall biotic homogenization following fire. Fire reduced rates of location and transport of myrmecochorous seeds, and therefore the effectiveness of a key ecosystem service provided by ants, which we attribute to lower ant abundance and increased thermal stress. Experimental fuel addition had only minor effects on attributes of fire severity, and limited effects on ant responses to fire. Our findings indicate that enhanced fuel loads will not decrease ant diversity and ecosystem services through increased fire severity, at least in wetter years. However, higher fuel loads can still have a significant effect on ants from Amazonian rainforests because they increase the risk of fire occurrence, which has a detrimental impact on ant communities and a key ecosystem service they provide.

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Acknowledgments

We thank M. Padilha for his field assistance, T. Reis and F. Nery for helping with ant sorting, and R. Jesus and J. Chaul for assisting with ant identification. I. Leal, J. Louzada, T. Sobrinho and two anonymous referees provided valuable comments. The fire experiment was conducted by the Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia, and its staff provided field support. P. Brando and C. Oliveira-Santos provided fire data and information about the site. A. Maggi provided access to the field site and logistical support. This study was supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the National Science Foundation (Division of Environmental Biology grant 1146206), and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG). L. N. P. and R. R. C. S. are supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior grants, M. L. B. M. is supported by FAPEMIG grants, and J. H. S. and L. N. P. (process 205659/2014-4) are supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico grants.

Author contribution statement

L. N. P., M. L. B. M., R. R. C. S., R. I. C. and J. H. S. conceived and designed the experiments. L. N. P. and M. L. B. M. performed the experiments. L. N. P. and R. R. C. S. analyzed the data. L. N. P. and A. N. A. discussed the data and wrote the manuscript with input from all authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Avenida P.H. Rolfs, s/n, Campus Universitário, CEP 36570-000, Viçosa, MG, Brazil

    Lucas N. Paolucci, Maria L. B. Maia & Ricardo R. C. Solar

  2. Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Avenida P.H. Rolfs, s/n, Campus Universitário, CEP 36570-000, Viçosa, MG, Brazil

    Ricardo I. Campos & José H. Schoereder

  3. Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Ricardo I. Campos

  4. CSIRO Land and Water, Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre, PMB 44, Winnellie, NT, 0822, Australia

    Alan N. Andersen

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  1. Lucas N. Paolucci
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Correspondence to Lucas N. Paolucci.

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All applicable institutional and/or national guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. This article does not contain any studies on human participants performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

Communicated by Raphael Didham.

This study used a manipulative experiment to assess the impacts of fire on ant communities and ecosystem services that they provide in tropical forests. Although fire had variable effects, specialized taxa were particularly affected by fire. Changes in abundance, richness and foraging efficiency of the ant fauna reduced the rates of seed location and the transport of seed by ants, an important ecosystem service provided by these social insects. The widespread clearing and fragmentation of tropical forests increases the risk of fires and this study provides a framework to understand the effects of such disturbances for biodiversity and ecosystem services.

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Paolucci, L.N., Maia, M.L.B., Solar, R.R.C. et al. Fire in the Amazon: impact of experimental fuel addition on responses of ants and their interactions with myrmecochorous seeds. Oecologia 182, 335–346 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3638-x

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