Ant assemblages in isolated trees are more sensitive to species loss and replacement than their woodland counterparts

Isolated trees possess an arthropod assemblage different to that found in woodland trees. While isolated trees become an increasingly dominant part of many landscapes, with ‘off reserve’ habitat conservation potential, we know little about the drivers of their assemblage structure. While sampling bi...

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Main Authors: Majer, Jonathan, Gove, Aaron, Rico-Gray, V.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2009
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10493
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author Majer, Jonathan
Gove, Aaron
Rico-Gray, V.
author_facet Majer, Jonathan
Gove, Aaron
Rico-Gray, V.
author_sort Majer, Jonathan
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Isolated trees possess an arthropod assemblage different to that found in woodland trees. While isolated trees become an increasingly dominant part of many landscapes, with ‘off reserve’ habitat conservation potential, we know little about the drivers of their assemblage structure. While sampling bimonthly for 12 months in the seasonally dry tropics of Mexico, we characterized the ant species most likely to occupy isolated trees in comparison to small woody patches (‘matorral’; 0.13–0.74 ha), and examined the influence of environmental variables on the respective ant assemblages at both canopy and ground level. Isolated trees possessed a predictable ant assemblage: when compared to the woodland patches, isolated trees were characterised by a lack of specialised arboreal species and an increase in generalised terrestrial species reaching the canopy. Arboreal woodland ant species were as affected by tree isolation as the terrestrial woodland ant fauna.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-104932017-09-13T16:07:07Z Ant assemblages in isolated trees are more sensitive to species loss and replacement than their woodland counterparts Majer, Jonathan Gove, Aaron Rico-Gray, V. Isolated trees possess an arthropod assemblage different to that found in woodland trees. While isolated trees become an increasingly dominant part of many landscapes, with ‘off reserve’ habitat conservation potential, we know little about the drivers of their assemblage structure. While sampling bimonthly for 12 months in the seasonally dry tropics of Mexico, we characterized the ant species most likely to occupy isolated trees in comparison to small woody patches (‘matorral’; 0.13–0.74 ha), and examined the influence of environmental variables on the respective ant assemblages at both canopy and ground level. Isolated trees possessed a predictable ant assemblage: when compared to the woodland patches, isolated trees were characterised by a lack of specialised arboreal species and an increase in generalised terrestrial species reaching the canopy. Arboreal woodland ant species were as affected by tree isolation as the terrestrial woodland ant fauna. 2009 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10493 10.1016/j.baae.2008.02.005 restricted
spellingShingle Majer, Jonathan
Gove, Aaron
Rico-Gray, V.
Ant assemblages in isolated trees are more sensitive to species loss and replacement than their woodland counterparts
title Ant assemblages in isolated trees are more sensitive to species loss and replacement than their woodland counterparts
title_full Ant assemblages in isolated trees are more sensitive to species loss and replacement than their woodland counterparts
title_fullStr Ant assemblages in isolated trees are more sensitive to species loss and replacement than their woodland counterparts
title_full_unstemmed Ant assemblages in isolated trees are more sensitive to species loss and replacement than their woodland counterparts
title_short Ant assemblages in isolated trees are more sensitive to species loss and replacement than their woodland counterparts
title_sort ant assemblages in isolated trees are more sensitive to species loss and replacement than their woodland counterparts
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10493