Spatio-Temporal Pattern of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Endau Rompin Oil Palm Ecosystem, Pahang

This study was conducted to determine the spatio-temporal pattern of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in order to understand the ecology of ants in palm oil ecosystem at Endau Rompin, Pahang. Sampling was carried out for four consecutive months on three types of soils, i.e. clay (plots A1 & A2), deep peat (plots B1 & 82) and shallow peat (plots C1 & C2). Pitfall trapping was used as it is suitable for ants that forages on the ground. A total of 3,968 individuals were captured consisting of 13 genera in four subfamilies. Anoplolepis was the most abundant with 1,692 individuals (45.75%) followed by Pheidole (862 individuals; 23:31%) and Paratrechina (228 individuals; 6.17%). In clay, Anoplolepis is the most abundant meanwhile in deep and shallow peat, Pheidole have the highest number of individuals compared to other genera. Two-way Chi-squared analysis identified that there were significant differences (p < 0.05) in the compositions amongst the eight genera (Anoplolepis, Oecophylla, Paratrechina, Odontomachus, Ponera, Crematogaster, Pheidole, and Tetramorium) with soil, months and genus combined. As for the spatio-temporal distribution pattern, Formicinae showed in overall clustered patterns (Ia > 1; p < 0.05) while Ponerinae, Myrmicinae and Aenictinae showed a randomised distribution pattern ( Ia <= 1; p > 0.05). Local spatio-teinporal pattern for the subfamilies was dynamic with patchy patterns and gaps varied across months .The spatio-temporal pattern amongst ants observed in this study showed a strong relationship between the ecology and the behaviour of some ant genera despite observation was done at the subfamily level. Further study to identify the spatio-temporal associations amongst subfamilies is needed to elucidate behavioural ecology of ants and interactions within the diferrent functional groups.