Darker ants dominate the canopy: Testing macroecological hypotheses for patterns in colour along a microclimatic gradient.

ABSTRACT: Gradients in cuticle lightness of ectotherms have been demonstrated across latitudes and elevations. Three key hypotheses have been used to explain these macroecological patterns: the thermal melanism hypothesis (TMH), the melanism-desiccation hypothesis (MDH) and the photo-protection hypothesis (PPH). Yet the broad abiotic measures, such as temperature, humidity and UV-B radiation, typically used to detect these ecogeographical patterns, are a poor indication of the microenvironment experienced by small, cursorial ectotherms like ants. We tested whether these macroecological hypotheses explaining cuticle lightness held at habitat and microclimatic level by using a vertical gradient within a tropical rainforest. We sampled 222 ant species in lowland, tropical rainforest across four vertica

SUBMITTER: Law SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7027836 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature