Effect of rainfall exclusion on ant assemblages in montane rainforests of Ecuador

被引:11
|
作者
Delsinne, Thibaut [1 ]
Arias-Penna, Tania [1 ]
Leponce, Maurice [1 ]
机构
[1] Royal Belgian Inst Nat Sci, Biol Assessment Sect, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
关键词
Climate change; Elevational gradient; Formicidae; Rainfall manipulation; Precipitation; SPECIES RICHNESS; PATTERNS; DECOMPOSITION; DIVERSITY; CLIMATE; WATER; FOOD;
D O I
10.1016/j.baae.2013.04.002
中图分类号
Q14 [生态学(生物生态学)];
学科分类号
071012 ; 0713 ;
摘要
Models of global climate change generally predict higher rainfall variability, with more intense rainfall events separated by extended dry periods. We experimentally studied the effects of prolonged droughts on diverse ant assemblages found at three elevations in an Ecuadorian montane rainforest. We hypothesized that most species will be negatively affected directly (physiological stress) or indirectly (less food or suitable nesting resources) by drought. We thus expected a decrease in species richness as well as changes in assemblage composition. As the decrease of moisture content was expected to be more marked above ground than in soil, its impact on ants should differ according to their nesting site (dead wood, leaf litter, soil). After 6-month treatments, dead wood, leaf litter and soil samples were on average 53%, 46% and 4% drier under tents than controls, respectively. The drought did not alter overall species richness in the three nesting situations. However, species composition was significantly modified, mostly in dead wood and in leaf litter. Camponotus in dead wood, Strumigenys in leaf litter and Solenopsis in all three microhabitats were more abundant under tents. In contrast, Pheidole in dead wood, and Pachycondyla in leaf litter, were less abundant than in controls. Similar trends were observed at the three study sites. To conclude, after 6-month droughts dominant ant genera in the assemblages were affected differently. In the longer term, alteration of the rainfall regime is therefore expected to have an important impact on ants, as well as on their ecosystem functions and services, through shifts in species dominance and composition.
引用
收藏
页码:357 / 365
页数:9
相关论文
共 35 条
  • [1] Consequences of exclusion of precipitation on microorganisms and microbial consumers in montane tropical rainforests
    Valentyna Krashevska
    Dorothee Sandmann
    Mark Maraun
    Stefan Scheu
    Oecologia, 2012, 170 : 1067 - 1076
  • [2] Consequences of exclusion of precipitation on microorganisms and microbial consumers in montane tropical rainforests
    Krashevska, Valentyna
    Sandmann, Dorothee
    Maraun, Mark
    Scheu, Stefan
    OECOLOGIA, 2012, 170 (04) : 1067 - 1076
  • [3] Contrasting species and functional beta diversity in montane ant assemblages
    Bishop, Tom R.
    Robertson, Mark P.
    van Rensburg, Berndt J.
    Parr, Catherine L.
    JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, 2015, 42 (09) : 1776 - 1786
  • [4] Rainfall interception in a lower montane forest in Ecuador: effects of canopy properties
    Fleischbein, K
    Wilcke, W
    Goller, R
    Boy, J
    Valarezo, C
    Zech, W
    Knoblich, K
    HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, 2005, 19 (07) : 1355 - 1371
  • [5] Effects of Treefall Gap Disturbances on Ant Assemblages in a Tropical Montane Cloud Forest
    Patrick, Margaret
    Fowler, David
    Dunn, Robert R.
    Sanders, Nathan J.
    BIOTROPICA, 2012, 44 (04) : 472 - 478
  • [6] Thermoregulatory traits combine with range shifts to alter the future of montane ant assemblages
    Bishop, Tom R.
    Parr, Catherine L.
    Gibb, Heloise
    van Rensbure, Berndt J.
    Braschler, Brigitte
    Chown, Steven L.
    Foord, Stefan H.
    Lamy, Kevin
    Munyai, Thinandavha C.
    Okey, Iona
    Tshivhandekano, Pfarelo G.
    Werenkraut, Victoria
    Robertson, Mark P.
    GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 2019, 25 (06) : 2162 - 2173
  • [7] Effects of livestock exclusion on in-stream habitat and benthic invertebrate assemblages in montane streams
    Herbst, David B.
    Bogan, Michael T.
    Roll, Sandra K.
    Safford, Hugh D.
    FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, 2012, 57 (01) : 204 - 217
  • [8] The rainfall seasonality of Brazilian Amazon tropical rainforests influences on the organization of ant-plant interaction networks
    Miranda, Patricia Nakayama
    Ribeiro, Jose Eduardo Lahoz da Silva
    da Silva, Izaias Brasil
    Delabie, Jacques Hubert Charles
    Lopes, Jose
    Dattilo, Wesley
    TROPICAL ECOLOGY, 2025, : 168 - 179
  • [9] Effects of environmental heterogeneity on species diversity and composition of terrestrial bryophyte assemblages in tropical montane forests of southern Ecuador
    Mandl, Nicole A.
    Kessler, Michael
    Gradstein, S. Robbert
    PLANT ECOLOGY & DIVERSITY, 2009, 2 (03) : 313 - U19
  • [10] Diversity and guild structure of insect assemblages under grazing and exclusion regimes in a montane grassland from Central Argentina
    L. Cagnolo
    S.I. Molina
    G.R. Valladares
    Biodiversity & Conservation, 2002, 11 : 407 - 420