Variation in spatial scale of competing polydomous twig-nesting ants in coffee agroecosystems.

ABSTRACT: Arboreal ants are both highly diverse and ecologically dominant in the tropics. This ecologically important group is particularly useful in ongoing efforts to understand processes that regulate species diversity and coexistence. Our study addresses how polydomy can influence patterns of nest occupation in competing arboreal ants. We examined the spatial structure of nest occupation (nest distance, abundance and density) in three polydomous co-occurring twig-nesting ant species (Pseudomyrmex simplex, P. ejectus and P. PSW-53) by mapping twigs occupied by ants from each species within plots in our study site. We then used two colony structure estimators (intraspecific aggression and cuticular hydrocarbon variation) to determine the relative degree of polydomy for each sp

SUBMITTER: Mathis KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5082435 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature