Above- and below-ground effects of an ecosystem engineer ant in Mediterranean dry grasslands.

ABSTRACT: Within a local assemblage, ecosystem engineers can have major impacts on population dynamics, community composition and ecosystem functions by transforming or creating new habitats. They act as an ecological filter altering community composition through a set of environmental variables. The impact of ants on their environment has been widely studied, but their multi-component effects (both trophic and non-trophic) have been rarely addressed. We investigated the roles of Messor barbarus, one of the commonest harvester ant species in south-western European Mediterranean grasslands. We analysed soil physico-chemical parameters, above-ground vegetation (e.g. species richness, plant community, micro-local heterogeneity, plant biomass) and above- and below-ground fauna (macrofauna, Collem

SUBMITTER: De Almeida T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7542819 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature