Elevation and leaf litter interact in determining the structure of ant communities on a tropical mountain

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60076658%3A12310%2F21%3A43902960" target="_blank" >RIV/60076658:12310/21:43902960 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/60077344:_____/21:00542404

Result on the web

<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/btp.12914" target="_blank" >https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/btp.12914</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/btp.12914" target="_blank" >10.1111/btp.12914</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Elevation and leaf litter interact in determining the structure of ant communities on a tropical mountain

Original language description

Tropical mountains encompass a wide range of environmental conditions and are useful models for studying drivers of community structure. Invertebrate species richness and abundance show various elevational patterns. However, the drivers of these differences are not well understood, although microhabitat complexity is potentially important. We studied ground-dwelling ants using pitfall trapping and hand collection on Mt. Wilhelm (Papua New Guinea) from 169 to 3,795 m a. s. l. We tested for the effects of elevation and leaf litter depth (as a measure of microhabitat complexity) on ant abundance, species richness, and composition. We sampled 118 species, with ants present up to 2,331 m a. s. l. Species richness peaked at mid-elevation (similar to 700 m), but the elevational pattern for abundance varied depending on sampling scale. Leaf litter depth negatively affected abundance once elevation had been accounted for, while elevation and litter depth had an interactive effect on species richness. Species richness was positively related to litter depth at lower elevations, but negatively above similar to 700 m. Species composition varied with elevation and less strongly with leaf litter depth. We speculate that in the lowlands, litter depth rather than temperature limits ant communities. At high elevations, the deeper litter decreases temperature of the litter layer, and temperature becomes limiting. At mid-elevations, temperature is not yet too low, and litter is still relatively deep, hence generating a mid-elevation peak in ant richness. Our results may explain differing richness-elevation patterns of litter arthropods around the world and provide testable predictions for future studies on this topic.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10618 - Ecology

Project

<a href="/en/project/GA21-00828S" target="_blank" >GA21-00828S: Does competition really structure ant communities in tropical forest canopies?</a><br>

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2021

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Biotropica

ISSN

0006-3606

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

53

Issue of the periodical within the volume

3

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

14

Pages from-to

906-919

UT code for WoS article

000615889300001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85100532857