Arboreal ants are both highly diverse and ecologically dominant in the tropics. This ecologically important group is particularly useful in ongoing efforts to understand processes that regulate species diversity and coexistence. Our study addresses how polydomy can influence patterns of nest occupation in competing arboreal ants. We examined the spatial structure of nest occupation (nest distance, abundance and density) in three polydomous co-occurring twig-nesting ant species (Pseudomyrmex simplex, P. ejectus and P. PSW-53) by mapping twigs occupied by ants from each species within plots in our study site. We then used two colony structure estimators (intraspecific aggression and cuticular hydrocarbon variation) to determine the relative degree of polydomy for each species. All work was conducted in coffee agroforests in Chiapas, Mexico. Our results revealed that the two species with highest abundance and nest density were also highly polydomous, where both species had either single or multiple non-aggressive colonies occupying nests on a large spatial scale (greater than the hectare level). Our results also indicate that the species with the lowest abundance and density is less polydomous, occupying several overlapping and territorial colonies at the hectare level in which multiple colonies never co-occur on the same host plant. These results contribute evidence that successful coexistence and highly polydomous colony structure may allow ants, through reduced intraspecific aggression, to successfully occupy more nests more densely than ant species that have multiple territorial colonies. Furthermore our study highlights the importance of considering intraspecific interactions when examining community assembly of ants.

中文翻译：

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咖啡农业生态系统中竞争性多角树枝筑巢蚂蚁的空间尺度变化

树栖蚂蚁在热带地区既高度多样化，又在生态上占优势。这个生态上重要的群体在不断努力了解调节物种多样性和共存的过程中特别有用。我们的研究解决了多态性如何影响竞争树栖蚂蚁的巢穴占领模式。我们通过绘制每个物种的蚂蚁占据的树枝，检查了三种多居性共生树枝筑巢蚂蚁物种（Pseudomyrmex simplex、P.jectus 和 P. PSW-53）的巢穴占据空间结构（巢穴距离、丰度和密度）在我们研究地点的地块内。然后我们使用两个菌落结构估计器（种内攻击和表皮碳氢化合物变异）来确定每个物种的相对多态性程度。所有工作均在墨西哥恰帕斯州的咖啡农林中进行。我们的结果表明，丰度和巢穴密度最高的两个物种也是高度多态的，这两个物种都有单个或多个非侵略性殖民地，占据大空间尺度（大于公顷）的巢穴。我们的结果还表明，具有最低丰度和密度的物种的多态性较低，在公顷水平上占据多个重叠和领土殖民地，其中多个殖民地永远不会在同一寄主植物上同时出现。这些结果证明，成功的共存和高度多态的菌落结构可能允许蚂蚁通过减少种内侵略，成功地占据比具有多个领土殖民地的蚂蚁物种更密集的巢穴。