Arboreal Ant Community Patterns in Brazilian Cocoa Farms

The distribution of arboreal-foraging ants on cocoa trees was investigated at the Centre for Cocoa Research in Bahia, Brazil. The interactions between ant species were quantified using data on the presence or absence of ant species on 1100 cocoa trees. The distribution of ants was also mapped in fou...

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Main Authors: Majer, Jonathan, Delabie, J., Smith, M.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 1994
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/28219
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author Majer, Jonathan
Delabie, J.
Smith, M.
author_facet Majer, Jonathan
Delabie, J.
Smith, M.
author_sort Majer, Jonathan
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The distribution of arboreal-foraging ants on cocoa trees was investigated at the Centre for Cocoa Research in Bahia, Brazil. The interactions between ant species were quantified using data on the presence or absence of ant species on 1100 cocoa trees. The distribution of ants was also mapped in four 30 x 40 m plots of cocoa, and the species richness and biomass of ants was assessed by chemical knockdowns from within the territories of five of the dominant ant species. Ninety-one species of ant were encountered, of which seven reached dominant status. A quantitative evaluation of the number of positive and negative associations between each ant species confirmed the status of most of these dominants and also indicated that a further 10 species may have sub-dominant status. The dominants were distributed in a mosaic-like fashion and, except in an old, non-pesticide-treated cocoa plot, gaps in the mosaic were few. Some of the dominant ants influenced the number of associated ant species, the length of those ant species with which they were able to co-exist, and also the species composition of ants within their territory
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 1994
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-282192017-01-30T13:03:46Z Arboreal Ant Community Patterns in Brazilian Cocoa Farms Majer, Jonathan Delabie, J. Smith, M. arboreal ants - Brazil - cocoa The distribution of arboreal-foraging ants on cocoa trees was investigated at the Centre for Cocoa Research in Bahia, Brazil. The interactions between ant species were quantified using data on the presence or absence of ant species on 1100 cocoa trees. The distribution of ants was also mapped in four 30 x 40 m plots of cocoa, and the species richness and biomass of ants was assessed by chemical knockdowns from within the territories of five of the dominant ant species. Ninety-one species of ant were encountered, of which seven reached dominant status. A quantitative evaluation of the number of positive and negative associations between each ant species confirmed the status of most of these dominants and also indicated that a further 10 species may have sub-dominant status. The dominants were distributed in a mosaic-like fashion and, except in an old, non-pesticide-treated cocoa plot, gaps in the mosaic were few. Some of the dominant ants influenced the number of associated ant species, the length of those ant species with which they were able to co-exist, and also the species composition of ants within their territory 1994 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/28219 fulltext
spellingShingle arboreal ants - Brazil - cocoa
Majer, Jonathan
Delabie, J.
Smith, M.
Arboreal Ant Community Patterns in Brazilian Cocoa Farms
title Arboreal Ant Community Patterns in Brazilian Cocoa Farms
title_full Arboreal Ant Community Patterns in Brazilian Cocoa Farms
title_fullStr Arboreal Ant Community Patterns in Brazilian Cocoa Farms
title_full_unstemmed Arboreal Ant Community Patterns in Brazilian Cocoa Farms
title_short Arboreal Ant Community Patterns in Brazilian Cocoa Farms
title_sort arboreal ant community patterns in brazilian cocoa farms
topic arboreal ants - Brazil - cocoa
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/28219