Data from: Functional richness shows spatial scale dependency in Pheidole ant assemblages from Neotropical savannas

There is a growing recognition that spatial scale is important for
understanding ecological processes shaping community membership, but
empirical evidence on this topic is still scarce. Ecological processes
such as environmental filtering can decrease functional differences among
species and promote functional clustering of species assemblages, whereas
interspecific competition can do the opposite. These different ecological
processes are expected to take place at different spatial scales, with
competition being more likely at finer scales and environmental filtering
most likely at coarser scales. We used a comprehensive dataset on species
assemblages of a dominant ant genus, Pheidole, in the Cerrado (savanna)
biodiversity hotspot to ask how functional richness relate to species
richness gradients and whether such relationships vary across spatial
scales. Functional richness of Pheidole assemblages decreased with
increasing species richness, but such relationship did not vary across
different spatial scales. Species were more functionally dissimilar at
finer spatial scales, and functional richness increased less than expected
with increasing species richness. Our results indicate a tighter packing
of the functional volume as richness increases and point out to a primary
role for environmental filtering in shaping membership of Pheidole
assemblages in Neotropical savannas.