Litter-dwelling ants as bioindicators to gauge the sustainability of small arboreal monocultures embedded in the Amazonian rainforest |
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| Affiliation: | 1. CNRS, UMR EcoFoG, AgroParisTech, Cirad, INRA, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, 97310, Kourou, France;2. U.P.A. Laboratório de Mirmecologia, Convênio UESC/CEPLAC, C.P. 7, 45600-000, Itabuna, Bahia, Brazil;3. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá D.C., Colombia;4. Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LMGE, F-63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France;5. Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecology, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Rue Vautier 29, B-1000, Brussels, Belgium;6. Ecolab, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INPT, UPS, Toulouse, France;1. Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, China;2. Department of Chemistry, College of Natural Sciences, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun-State, Nigeria;3. Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225, China;1. Department of Hydrobiology, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Egyetem Square 1, Hungary;2. Balaton Limnological Institute, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, H-8237 Tihany, Klebelsberg Kuno Street 3, Hungary;3. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Egyetem Square 1, Hungary;4. Department of Ecology, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Egyetem Square 1, Hungary;5. Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Agilent Atomic Spectroscopy Partner Laboratory, Universtiy of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Egyetem Square 1, Hungary;1. Department of Geoecology and Geochemistry, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 30, Lenin av., Tomsk, Russia;2. CREIDD Research Centre on Environmental Studies & Sustainability, Department of Humanities, Environment & Information Technology (HETIC), University of Technology of Troyes, UMR 6281, Troyes, France;1. Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano 6, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy;2. Institute for Environmental Sciences, University Koblenz-Landau, Campus Landau, Fortstraße 7, D-76829 Landau, Germany;3. Department of Agri-Food Production and Environmental Sciences, University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine 18, I-50144 Florence, Italy;1. Insect Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, Uttar Pradesh, India;2. Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, Uttar Pradesh, India |
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| Abstract: | One of the greatest threats to biodiversity and the sustainable functioning of ecosystems is the clearing of forests for agriculture. Because litter-dwelling ants are very good bioindicators of man-made disturbance, we used them to compare monospecific plantations of acacia trees, cocoa trees, rubber trees and pine trees with the surrounding Neotropical rainforest (in contrast to previous studies on forest fragments embedded in industrial monocultures). Although the global level of species turnover was weak, species richness decreased along a gradient from the forest (including a treefall gap) to the tree plantations among which the highest number of species was noted for the cocoa trees, which are known to be a good compromise between agriculture and conservation. Species composition was significantly different between natural habitats and the plantations that, in turn, were different from each other. Compared to the forest, alterations in the ant communities were (1) highest for the acacia and rubber trees, (2) intermediate for the cocoa trees, and, (3) surprisingly, far lower for the pine trees, likely due to very abundant litter. Functional traits only separated the rubber tree plantation from the other habitats due to the higher presence of exotic and leaf-cutting ants. This study shows that small monospecific stands are likely sustainable when embedded in the rainforest and that environmentally-friendly strategies can be planned accordingly. |
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| Keywords: | Ant diversity Community alteration Forest species Functional traits Human disturbance Tree monocultures |
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