Co-occurrence patterns in a diverse arboreal ant community are explained more by competition than habitat requirements.

ABSTRACT: A major goal of community ecology is to identify the patterns of species associations and the processes that shape them. Arboreal ants are extremely diverse and abundant, making them an interesting and valuable group for tackling this issue. Numerous studies have used observational data of species co-occurrence patterns to infer underlying assembly processes, but the complexity of these communities has resulted in few solid conclusions. This study takes advantage of an observational dataset that is unusually well-structured with respect to habitat attributes (tree species, tree sizes, and vegetation structure), to disentangle different factors influencing community organization. In particular, this study assesses the potential role of interspecific competition and habitat selection on the

SUBMITTER: Camarota F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5192950 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature