Trees as islands: canopy ant species richness increases with the size of liana-free trees in a Neotropical forest
Trees as islands: canopy ant species richness increases with the size of liana-free trees in a Neotropical forest
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DOI：
10.1111/ecog.02608
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发表时间：
2017-09-01
期刊：
影响因子：
5.9
通讯作者：
Yanoviak, Stephen P.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Adams, Benjamin J.;Schnitzer, Stefan A.;Yanoviak, Stephen P.
生境的物理特征塑造了当地的群落结构;一个典型的例子是岛屿生境的大小与物种丰富度之间的正相关关系。尽管森林中树冠密度高，距离近，但树木是一些分类群的孤立栖息地。具体来说，树冠隔离（即树冠羞怯）防止小型爬行动物在树木之间移动。在这里，我们测试的假设，蚂蚁（S-A）的物种丰富度在个别，孤立的树木嵌入在热带森林冠层增加与树的大小。我们预测，当树木被藤本植物（木本藤蔓）连接时，或者当蚂蚁物种之间的强烈相互作用决定了树木的占有率时，这种模式就会消失。调查了巴拿马低地热带森林213个树冠上的蚂蚁。平均而言，9.2（范围= 2-20）蚂蚁物种占据了一个单一的树冠。平均（+/- SE）S-a在有藤本植物的树木（10.2 +/- 0.26）比没有藤本植物的树木（8.0 +/- 0.51）高出约25%。在无藤本的情况下，S-a随树高的增加而增加（S-a = 10.99A（0.256）），而在有藤本的情况下，S-a不随树高的增加而增加。蚂蚁种类组成也不同的树木和没有藤本植物。具体而言，蚂蚁物种与孤独的觅食更频繁地发生在树木与藤本植物。在其他树栖蚂蚁群落中观察到的物种共现的马赛克样模式在这片森林中没有发现。总的来说，这项研究的结果表明，藤本植物发挥了重要作用，在塑造当地的群落结构的树栖蚂蚁克服了孤立的性质树冠。
The physical characteristics of habitats shape local community structure; a classic example is the positive relationship between the size of insular habitats and species richness. Despite the high density and proximity of tree crowns in forests, trees are insular habitats for some taxa. Specifically, crown isolation (i.e. crown shyness) prevents the movement of small cursorial animals among trees. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the species richness of ants (S-a) in individual, isolated trees embedded within tropical forest canopies increases with tree size. We predicted that this pattern disappears when trees are connected by lianas (woody vines) or when strong interactions among ant species determine tree occupancy. We surveyed the resident ants of 213 tree crowns in lowland tropical forest of Panama. On average, 9.2 (range = 2-20) ant species occupied a single tree crown. Average (+/- SE) S-a was ca 25% higher in trees with lianas (10.2 +/- 0.26) than trees lacking lianas (8.0 +/- 0.51). S-a increased with tree size in liana-free trees (S-a = 10.99A(0.256)), but not in trees with lianas. Ant species composition also differed between trees with and without lianas. Specifically, ant species with solitary foragers occurred more frequently in trees with lianas. The mosaic-like pattern of species co-occurrence observed in other arboreal ant communities was not found in this forest. Collectively, the results of this study indicate that lianas play an important role in shaping the local community structure of arboreal ants by overcoming the insular nature of tree crowns.