TY  - JOUR
AU  - Fichaux, M.
AU  - Béchade, B.
AU  - Donald, J.
AU  - Weyna, A.
AU  - Delabie, J.H.C.
AU  - Murienne, J.
AU  - Baraloto, C.
AU  - Orivel, J.
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Habitats shape taxonomic and functional composition of Neotropical ant assemblages
T2  - Oecologia
JO  - Oecologia
SP  - 501
EP  - 513
VL  - 189
IS  - 2
PB  - Springer Verlag
KW  - Formicidae
KW  - Functional diversity
KW  - Habitat filtering
KW  - Rainforest
KW  - Traits
N2  - Determining assembly rules of co-occurring species persists as a fundamental goal in community ecology. At local scales, the relative importance of environmental filtering vs. competitive exclusion remains a subject of debate. In this study, we assessed the relative importance of habitat filtering and competition in structuring understory ant communities in tropical forests of French Guiana. Leaf-litter ants were collected using pitfall and Winkler traps across swamp, slope and plateau forests near Saül, French Guiana. We used a combination of univariate and multivariate analyses to evaluate trait response of ants to habitat characteristics. Null model analyses were used to investigate the effects of habitat filtering and competitive interactions on community assembly at the scale of assemblages and sampling points, respectively. Swamp forests presented a much lower taxonomic and functional richness compared to slope and plateau forests. Furthermore, marked differences in taxonomic and functional composition were observed between swamp forests and slope or plateau forests. We found weak evidence for competitive exclusion based on null models. Nevertheless, the contrasting trait composition observed between habitats revealed differences in the ecological attributes of the species in the different forest habitats. Our analyses suggest that competitive interactions may not play an important role in structuring leaf-litter ant assemblages locally. Rather, habitats are responsible for driving both taxonomic and functional composition of ant communities.
SN  - 00298549 (Issn)
UR  - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85062397172&doi=10.1007%2fs00442-019-04341-z&partnerID=40&md5=61757d4b4e45ec6a5719723eba492164
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04341-z
N1  - exported from refbase (http://php.ecofog.gf/refbase/show.php?record=863), last updated on Mon, 18 Mar 2019 08:00:14 -0300
ID  - Fichaux_etal2019
ER  -