Abstract Soil removal by ants when building or adapting their nests generates ecological changes within the soil and on its surface, impacting both soil physical properties and plant growth. Ectatomma sp. 2 (E. ruidum complex) is a dominant hunting ant in numerous neotropical agricultural systems; however, its bioturbation impact on agroecosystems of economic importance, such as coffee, has not been studied. We evaluated it on coffee seedlings in Andean plantations of Colombia. Sixty colonies of this ant (30 in sun coffee, 30 in shaded coffee) were added within enclosed experimental units (EUs) containing coffee seedlings, and compared with their respective controls without ants. On average, dry soil removal by colony was 104.4 g during the two months experimental period (1.6 g day−1 colony−1), 13 times higher than in controls. A conservative estimate of their global bioturbation impact was calculated at between 59.3 and 203.1 kg dry soil ha−1, considering only two months of digging activity year−1 colony−1, a likely underestimation of the actual digging activity of this species. Positive effects of the presence of ants were found on several plant growth variables and on soil microporosity in shaded coffee plantations. Taking into consideration only the 14 colonies that were fully active until the end of the experiment, dry soil removal was on average 228.8 g (3.5 g day−1 colony−1) during the two months experimental period and coffee seedling growth in these EUs was significantly higher than in controls, indicating that, at the global scale, our bioturbation estimate could be higher under less restricted natural conditions and higher nest densities as found in other regions. Ectatomma ruidum sp. 2 appears as a functional agent in agroecosystems due to its ubiquity and its high bioturbation impact during the nest excavation period of activity, providing support services in agroecosystems and neotropical natural systems.

中文翻译：

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占主导地位的狩猎蚂蚁 Ectatomma sp. 筑巢的影响。2 (E. ruidum complex)，在安第斯咖啡种植园

摘要 蚂蚁在筑巢或适应巢穴时清除土壤会在土壤内部及其表面产生生态变化，影响土壤物理性质和植物生长。Ectatomma sp. 2（E. ruidum complex）是许多新热带农业系统中的主要狩猎蚂蚁；然而，尚未研究其对具有经济重要性的农业生态系统（如咖啡）的生物扰动影响。我们在哥伦比亚安第斯种植园的咖啡树苗上对其进行了评估。将这种蚂蚁的 60 个菌落（太阳咖啡中 30 个，遮荫咖啡中 30 个）添加到包含咖啡幼苗的封闭实验单元 (EU) 中，并与它们各自没有蚂蚁的对照进行比较。平均而言，在两个月的实验期间（1.6 g 天-1 个菌落-1），菌落去除的干土为 104.4 g，比对照高 13 倍。对它们的全球生物扰动影响的保守估计计算为 59.3 至 203.1 kg 干土 ha-1，考虑到只有两个月的挖掘活动 year-1 群落-1，可能低估了该物种的实际挖掘活动。发现蚂蚁的存在对几个植物生长变量和遮荫咖啡种植园的土壤微孔率有积极影响。仅考虑到实验结束前完全活跃的 14 个菌落，在两个月的实验期间干土去除平均为 228.8 g（3.5 g 天-1 个菌落-1），这些 EU 的咖啡幼苗生长为显着高于对照，表明在全球范围内，在其他地区发现的自然条件限制较少且巢穴密度较高的情况下，我们的生物扰动估计值可能更高。Ectatomma ruidum sp. 2 由于其无处不在且在巢穴挖掘活动期间的高生物扰动影响，在农业生态系统和新热带自然系统中提供支持服务，因此它作为农业生态系统中的功能剂出现。