Trophic Change and Community Decline in Acrobat Ants After Rainforest Conversion to Cash Crops.

ABSTRACT: The conversion of tropical rainforests to agriculture causes population declines and biodiversity loss across taxa. This impacts ants (Formicidae), a crucial tropical group for ecosystem functioning. While biodiversity loss among ants is well documented, the responses of individual ant taxa and their adjustments in trophic strategies to land-use change are little studied. Here, we investigated a collection of > 12,000 acrobat ants (Crematogaster) from 14 species collected by canopy fogging in four land-use systems in Jambi Province, Sumatra, including (1) lowland rainforest, (2) jungle rubber (low impact rubber agroforestry), and monocultures of (3) rubber and (4) oil palm. Abundance-weighted trophic positions as indicated by stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen were significantly

SUBMITTER: Ehlers J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11664207 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature