Numerically dominant species drive patterns in resource use along a vertical gradient in tropical ant assemblages

Resource availability can influence the foraging strategy adopted by different ant species as they endeavor to meet nutrient demands of the colony. In tropical rain forests, environmental conditions including resource availability vary over a vertical gradient. Consequently, nitrogen is predicted to become more limiting than carbohydrates toward the canopy as food webs shift to become more reliant on plant-based resources. We used a “bait-choice” experiment in a tropical rain forest to examine differences in protein and carbohydrate use with height and determined whether there were differences in response between common (numerically dominant) and rare species. Additionally, we investigated the nutrient use at the species level. Using species co-occurrence analysis, we examined interspecific competition by testing the co-occurrence of ant species at the tree level. Over the 12 trees investigated, 124 morphospecies were identified with eight species comprising 90% of total ant abundance. Species richness and protein use increased with height of bait for all species pooled and for common species but not rare species. Correspondingly, relative carbohydrate use decreased with height. We found greater species richness of rare species on carbohydrate baits compared with protein baits. Ant species were randomly distributed among trees when all species were included in co-occurrence analysis. However, when only common species were considered, segregation between species was evident among trees providing evidence for the presence of ant mosaics. Our results suggest that nitrogen limitation in the canopy may not be true for the whole ant assemblage but rather for the few common species.     

下肢优势侧和非优势侧相同负重往返跑对青年学员平衡能力的影响

目的：本研究评定运动强度相同,不同运动量下肢优势侧和非优势侧相同负重往返跑对青年学员平衡能力产生的影响。方法：10名健康男性受试者平均年龄（20.80±2.04）岁,身高（173.99±2.87）cm。采用随机交互设计,10名受试者分别完成4次单侧负重往返跑：优势侧20 m×5、非优势侧20 m×5、优势侧20 m×10和非优势侧20 m×10,分别在运动后即刻和运动后20 min进行平衡能力测试,并记录R-R间期。结果：与安静状态相比,运动后,HR、EPOC和TRIMP值均显著增加（P<0.01）,优势侧和非优势20 m×10 EPOC和TRIMP值显著大于20 m×5（P<0.01）。与安静值相比,优势侧和非优势侧20 m×5和20 m×10运动后即刻,整体、前后和左右方向摆动均显著增加（P<0.05）,20 m×10优势侧和非优势侧左右方向摆动程度均显著高于20 m×5（P<0.05）,但优势侧和非优势侧之间不存在显著差异（P>0.05）,表现出对称性的变化;此外,恢复期20 min内均迅速回落到安静值（P>0.05）。结论：运动后即刻平衡能力受到干扰;运动量增加,左右方向损害程度增加;优势侧和非优势侧平衡能力的变化相似,可能存在交互效应。