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Rainy season decreases ground-dwelling ant richness, but increases the difference in species composition in a tropical relictual mountain forest

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Abstract

The structure of biological communities is strongly driven by climatic conditions (e.g. seasonality) and local factors (e.g. habitat structure). In particular, seasonality affects local communities by altering resource availability and their frequency over seasons, limiting the establishment of many taxa locally. Simultaneously, local conditions (e.g. canopy height), alter the availability of nesting and foraging sites, leading to changes in local patterns of diversity. We hypothesize that rainfall decreases ground-dwelling ant richness and increases species turnover, because the heterogeneity of resources decreases with rainfall affecting ant species activity. Moreover, canopy height should enhance ant richness and beta diversity. Our sampling method involved four primary linear transects, each spaced 100 m apart. Within this framework, we established a grid of 16 collection points for pitfall-trap installation, spaced 200 m from each other while maintaining a minimum distance of 50 m from any forest border. An analysis of covariance was conducted, examining the influence of seasonal variation (dry versus rainy periods) and canopy height (CH) on ant richness and beta diversity components (turnover and nestedness). This 12-month study was conducted in a tropical relictual mountain forest in Northeastern Brazil. Our results partially supported our hypothesis, showing that an increase in rainfall led to a decrease in ant species richness and an increase in the difference in species composition (nestedness) between seasons. Additionally, CH was found to decrease species richness, total beta diversity, and turnover, with no discernible impact on nestedness. In conclusion, our results suggest that seasonal changes and canopy height might play crucial roles in shaping ant community assembly and foraging activities in tropical forest enclaves within the Caatinga biome.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

A.D. received support from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES;88887495257/2020-00), JBRA acknowledges the support provided by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES/Brazil, Finance Code 001), FAPEAM-Programa POSGRAD, the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq/Brazil, Finance Code 001), and the support granted under EDITAL N. 001/2023 - UNIVERSAL - FAPEAM 20 Anos.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, CEP. 59078-970, Natal, RN, Brasil

    Anderson Dantas¹

  2. Departamento de Fitotecnia e Ciências Ambientais, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Rodovia PB-079 km-12, CEP: 58397-000, Areia, Paraíba, Brasil

    Rosemberg F. Menezes² & José Domingos Ribeiro-Neto²

  3. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Entomologia), ³Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araújo, 2936, CEP 69067-375, Petrópolis, Manaus, AM, Brasil

    Janderson Batista Rodrigues Alencar³

  4. Laboratório de Invertebrados, Departamento de Biociências, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Rodovia PB-079 km-12, CEP: 58397-000, Areia, Paraíba, Brasil

    Carlos Henrique de Brito

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  1. Anderson Dantas¹
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Contributions

CHB, AD and JBRA contributed to the study conception and sampling design. CHB and JBRA conducted the fieldwork over the 12-month study period. AD ran all statistical analyses and drew the tables and figures. JDRN and RFM contributed with theoretical background and gave valuable suggestions to improve this manuscript. AD and RFM wrote the first draft of the manuscript and all authors contributed to the subsequent versions of the draft.

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Correspondence to Anderson Dantas¹.

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Dantas¹, A., Menezes², R.F., Ribeiro-Neto², J.D. et al. Rainy season decreases ground-dwelling ant richness, but increases the difference in species composition in a tropical relictual mountain forest. Trop Ecol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42965-024-00344-x

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