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Variation in spatial scale of competing polydomous twig-nesting ants in coffee agroecosystems

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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgments

G. Lopez Bautista, G. Domíngez-Martínez, and F. Sánchez-López assisted with field collection and sample processing. We thank Finca Irlanda for allowing us to conduct research on the farm. We thank SEMARNAT (Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales) for permission to collect and export samples and J. Rojas and E. Chamé Vasquez for facilitating the process of acquiring permits. N. Tsutsui provided helpful comments on the manuscript. Funding was provided by a Packard Foundation Grant to SRR, National Science Foundation DEB-1262086 to SMP, and National Science Foundation GRFP DGE 1106400 and National Institutes of Health Award Number K12GM000708 to KAM.

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  1. K. A. Mathis

    Present address: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, 1041 East Lowell St, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94702-3114, USA

    K. A. Mathis

  2. Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1165 High St, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA

    S. M. Philpott

  3. Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, 2320 Storer Hall, 1 Shields Ave, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    S. R. Ramirez

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Mathis, K.A., Philpott, S.M. & Ramirez, S.R. Variation in spatial scale of competing polydomous twig-nesting ants in coffee agroecosystems. Insect. Soc. 63, 447–456 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-016-0489-8

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