The role of habitat simplification and seasonality in shaping interactions between ants, plants and herbivores in a Neotropical savanna

We investigated the role of chronic anthropogenic disturbances (CAD) in the outcomes of interactions between ants and extrafloral nectary-bearing (EFN-bearing) plants, with particular emphasis on the role of seasonal variation in shaping the responses of ants, herbivores, and plants. Thus, we focused not only on the responses of ants and herbivores to CAD, but also to phenological aspects of the trees, including the proportion of active nectaries, and leaf stages (sprouting, new, old). More specifically, we tested the following hypotheses: i) The amount of active EFNs will be greater in the rainy season than in the dry season, in new leaves than in old leaves, and in the cerrado area than in the pasture; ii) The richness, abundance, and diversity of ants (total and arboreal) will be greater in the rainy season than in the dry season, especially when there are new leaves and a greater proportion of active EFNs. Furthermore, we expect to find a greater diversity of ants in the cerrado tha..., , # Data from: The role of habitat simplification and seasonality in shaping interactions between ants, plants and herbivores in a Neotropical savanna

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.02v6wwqhk](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.02v6wwqhk)

## Description of the data and file structure

### Files and variables

All missing data represented as NA.

**File: monthly_data.csv**

In this file, the data are organized by sampling event (data separated for each month):

* **collect:** Indicates the sampling event to which the data correspond (one of the 12 sampling events conducted).

- **environment:** Area where the data were collected (cerrado or pasture).

* **season:** Season during which the sampling was conducted (dry or rainy).

- **month:** Month in which the sampling occurred.

* **plant:** *Qualea grandiflora* individuals sampled monthly.

- **leaf_herbivory:** Percentage of leaf herbivory estimated for each plant monthly (leaf area removed by herbivorous insects).

* **leaf_stage:** Predomina...,