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Comparison of Ant Community Diversity and Functional Group Composition Associated to Land Use Change in a Seasonally Dry Oak Forest

Neotropical Entomology volume 45, pages 170–179 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

Ants have been used to assess land use conversion, because they reflect environmental change, and their response to these changes have been useful in the identification of bioindicators. We evaluated ant diversity and composition associated to different land use change in a temperate forest (above 2000 m asl) in Mexico. The study was carried out in “Flor del Bosque” Park a vegetation mosaic of native Oak Forests and introduced Eucalyptus and grasslands. Species richness, dominance and diversity rarefaction curves, based on ant morphospecies and functional groups, were constructed and compared among the three vegetation types, for the rainy and the dry seasons of 2008–2009. Jaccard and Sorensen incidence-based indices were calculated to obtain similarity values among all the habitats. The Oak Forest was a rich dominant community, both in species and functional groups; the Eucalyptus plantation was diverse with low dominance. The most seasonality habitat was the grassland, with low species and high functional group diversity during the dry seasons, but the reverse pattern during the wet season. The Oak Forest was more similar to the Eucalyptus plantation than to the grassland, particularly during the dry season. Oak Forests are dominated by Cold Climate Specialists, specifically Prenolepis imparis (Say). The Eucalyptus and the grassland are characterized by generalized Myrmicinae, as Pheidole spp. and Monomorium ebenium (Forel). The conservation of the native Oak Forest is primordial for the maintenance of Cold Climate Specialist ant communities. The microclimatic conditions in this forest, probably, prevented the invasion by opportunistic species.

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Acknowledgments

Leonor Lastra and the students of the Entomology Course Summer 2009 helped with fieldwork. Cecilia Martínez Pérez helped with the sorting of ants, under the supervision of Jorge Valenzuela and Luis Quiroz. This research was supported by the grant Fondo Mixto Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología - Gobierno del Estado de Puebla PUE-2008-1-108571 to Ernesto I. Badano. The Administration of the State Park and Ecological Reserve Lázaro Cárdenas del Río “Flor del Bosque” granted permission to carry out the study and provided logistic support.

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Affiliations

  1. Depto de Ciencias Químico-Biológicas, Univ de las Américas-Puebla, Sta. Catarina Mártir s/n, Cholula, Puebla, C.P. 72810, Mexico

    M Cuautle & C H Vergara

  2. División de Ciencias Ambientales, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica, A. C., San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

    E I Badano

Authors
  1. M Cuautle
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  2. C H Vergara
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  3. E I Badano
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Correspondence to M Cuautle.

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Edited by Fernando B Noll – UNESP

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Cuautle, M., Vergara, C.H. & Badano, E.I. Comparison of Ant Community Diversity and Functional Group Composition Associated to Land Use Change in a Seasonally Dry Oak Forest. Neotrop Entomol 45, 170–179 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-015-0353-y

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Keywords

  • Cold climate specialist
  • functional groups
  • generalized Myrmicinae
  • Prenolepis imparis