Journal article
One ant's trash is another ant's treasure: Army ant middens provide resources for diverse ant assemblages
Biotropica, v 56(1), pp 58-70
01 Jan 2024
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
The army ant Eciton burchellii boasts more animal associates than any other animal species yet described, but the relationship between army ants and other ant species has only been studied in the context of predation. The waste deposits (middens) of army ant colonies are nitrogen-rich, a potentially high-value nutrient source for leaflitter arthropods. We explored this bottom-up role of army ant middens in the context of tropical ant communities. Our three main questions were the followings: (1) Which ant species forage on army-ant middens? (2) How does the bi-phasic life cycle of army ant colonies (affecting midden size, persistence, and abundance) affect which and how many ant species a midden boasts? (3) How do the ants that forage on army ant middens differ across elevations? Across 39 bivouacs, we found 36 species of ants foraging on army ant middens. These included highly predatory ants, nitrogen-limited arboreal ants, and fungus-farming ants. Per-midden richness was significantly lower for the usually smaller middens deposited during the nomadic phase and was higher for the typically larger middens deposited during the statary phase. Per-midden richness was not significantly different across elevations, but there was far greater species turnover across elevations than across phases within the same elevational site. Our results suggest that army ant middens are an important resource for a wide variety of tropical ants, informing a better understanding of the complex network of associations revolving around this keystone species.
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Details
- Title
- One ant's trash is another ant's treasure: Army ant middens provide resources for diverse ant assemblages
- Creators
- Karen Y. Robles Lopez - University of Southern MississippiJeffrey Sosa-Calvo - National Museum of Natural HistoryJuliana M. Calixto - Arizona State UniversityEmilia Zoppas de Albuquerque - Smithsonian InstitutionKaitlin M. Baudier - University of Southern Mississippi
- Publication Details
- Biotropica, v 56(1), pp 58-70
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 13
- Grant note
- Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University University of Southern Mississippi Claudio Elia Environmental Science Engineering Drexel University School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University 1927161 / Division of Environmental Biology; National Science Foundation (NSF); NSF - Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001098897700001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85176209153
- Other Identifier
- 991021861299304721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Ecology