Nest microhabitats and tree size mediate shifts in ant community structure across elevation in tropical rainforest canopies

Declines or mid-elevation peaks in invertebrate diversity with elevation are often attributed to climate and geometric constraints. However, vegetation structure may also drive diversity patterns, especially for tree-dwelling species, via its effects on microhabitat use and competitive interactions. Here we investigate these effects on the diversity and community structure of tree-nesting ants over elevation. We exhaustively sampled ant nests in 1254 trees within continuous plots of primary rainforest at low (200 m a.s.l.), mid (900 m a.s.l.) and high (1800 m a.s.l.) elevation in Papua New Guinea. Ant diversity, nest abundance and tree occupancy peaked at mid-elevation. Although host tree diversity also peaked at mid-elevation, there was low specialisation of ant species to tree species at all elevations. Mid-elevation trees hosted more species, more nests and a greater diversity of nest types than trees of a similar size at low or high elevation. Tree size and nest microhabitat use wer...