The role of vegetation structure and abiotic factors affecting the temporal dynamics of ant foraging
The study of foraging dynamics is essential to understanding the way organisms arrange themselves to reduce the effects of competition in the most diverse natural systems. The analysis of temporal foraging patterns is an important tool for understanding how ant communities respond to different envi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Sociobiology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/7422 |
| _version_ | 1818118331489583104 |
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| author | Josieia Teixeira Santos Emanuelle Luiz da Silva Brito Gilberto Marcos de Mendonça Santos |
| author_facet | Josieia Teixeira Santos Emanuelle Luiz da Silva Brito Gilberto Marcos de Mendonça Santos |
| author_sort | Josieia Teixeira Santos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The study of foraging dynamics is essential to understanding the way organisms arrange themselves to reduce the effects of competition in the most diverse natural systems. The analysis of temporal foraging patterns is an important tool for understanding how ant communities respond to different environmental conditions. Thus, to verify how complexity of the vegetation and abiotic factors can influence ground-dwelling ants communities, we evaluated the foraging temporal patterns in three types of landscapes (Grassland, Arboreal Caatinga, Shrub Caatinga) in an área of dry seasonal rainforest. These environments were characterized by abundance of plant life forms. The ants were collected by pitfall trap, arranged in six rows each with five traps. The pitfalls were inspected every hour from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, and temperature and humidity data were taken at the same time. The foraging structure of ant communities presented a nested pattern between the phytophysiognomies, but with variation in the observed metric values. For less complex environments, foraging activity was restricted to preferential times, demonstrating a temporal niche partition. Despite more complex environments have a greater richness of species foraging throughout the day, we found greater diversity in environment with intermediate complexity. Temperature influences the richness of foraging ants throughout the day, but we found no effect on diversity. Our results indicate that, although temperature may influence the temporal dynamics of ground-dwelling ant communities, changes in the structural complexity of the environment affect the foraging activity among species, influencing ant-mediated ecological processes.
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| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T04:52:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9ceab5d128d24f8c99baebfddbbf88e0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0361-6525 2447-8067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T04:52:36Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sociobiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-9ceab5d128d24f8c99baebfddbbf88e02022-12-22T01:20:21ZengUniversidade Estadual de Feira de SantanaSociobiology0361-65252447-80672022-07-0169210.13102/sociobiology.v69i2.7422The role of vegetation structure and abiotic factors affecting the temporal dynamics of ant foragingJosieia Teixeira Santos0Emanuelle Luiz da Silva Brito1Gilberto Marcos de Mendonça Santos2Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Programa de Pós-Graduação em ZoologiaUniversidade Federal de Goiás, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e EvoluçãoUniversidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas The study of foraging dynamics is essential to understanding the way organisms arrange themselves to reduce the effects of competition in the most diverse natural systems. The analysis of temporal foraging patterns is an important tool for understanding how ant communities respond to different environmental conditions. Thus, to verify how complexity of the vegetation and abiotic factors can influence ground-dwelling ants communities, we evaluated the foraging temporal patterns in three types of landscapes (Grassland, Arboreal Caatinga, Shrub Caatinga) in an área of dry seasonal rainforest. These environments were characterized by abundance of plant life forms. The ants were collected by pitfall trap, arranged in six rows each with five traps. The pitfalls were inspected every hour from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, and temperature and humidity data were taken at the same time. The foraging structure of ant communities presented a nested pattern between the phytophysiognomies, but with variation in the observed metric values. For less complex environments, foraging activity was restricted to preferential times, demonstrating a temporal niche partition. Despite more complex environments have a greater richness of species foraging throughout the day, we found greater diversity in environment with intermediate complexity. Temperature influences the richness of foraging ants throughout the day, but we found no effect on diversity. Our results indicate that, although temperature may influence the temporal dynamics of ground-dwelling ant communities, changes in the structural complexity of the environment affect the foraging activity among species, influencing ant-mediated ecological processes. http://periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/7422Habitat complexitySemi-arid regionNiche partitioningComplex networksCompetition |
| spellingShingle | Josieia Teixeira Santos Emanuelle Luiz da Silva Brito Gilberto Marcos de Mendonça Santos The role of vegetation structure and abiotic factors affecting the temporal dynamics of ant foraging Sociobiology Habitat complexity Semi-arid region Niche partitioning Complex networks Competition |
| title | The role of vegetation structure and abiotic factors affecting the temporal dynamics of ant foraging |
| title_full | The role of vegetation structure and abiotic factors affecting the temporal dynamics of ant foraging |
| title_fullStr | The role of vegetation structure and abiotic factors affecting the temporal dynamics of ant foraging |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of vegetation structure and abiotic factors affecting the temporal dynamics of ant foraging |
| title_short | The role of vegetation structure and abiotic factors affecting the temporal dynamics of ant foraging |
| title_sort | role of vegetation structure and abiotic factors affecting the temporal dynamics of ant foraging |
| topic | Habitat complexity Semi-arid region Niche partitioning Complex networks Competition |
| url | http://periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/7422 |
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