Data from: Geographical variation in ant foraging activity and resource use is driven by climate and net primary productivity

Aim: Foraging activity is critical for animal survival. Comprehending how
ecological drivers influence foraging behavior would benefit our
understanding of the link between animals and ecological processes. Here,
we evaluated the influence of ecological drivers on ant foraging activity
and relative resource use. Location: Six Brazilian biomes: Amazon,
Atlantic rainforest, Caatinga, Cerrado, Pampa and Pantanal. Taxon:
Formicidae. Methods: We assessed ant foraging activity and resource use by
sampling across 60 sites. We placed baited tubes that contained one of
five liquid resources (sugar, lipids, amino acid, sodium and distilled
water). We used model selection to assess the influence of ecological
drivers (temperature, precipitation, temperature seasonality and net
primary productivity) on ant foraging activity and relative resource use.
Results: Foraging activity was higher in wetter, more productive and less
thermally seasonal environments. The relative use of amino acids increased
at higher temperatures while the relative use of lipids decreased. The
relative use of sugar increased in drier and less productive environments
with high temperature seasonality while the relative use of amino acid and
sodium decreased in those environments. The relative use of lipids was
complex: increasing with increasing temperature seasonality and decreasing
with increasing precipitation. Further, the relative use of sodium was
greater where the foraging activity was high. Main Conclusions: We
demonstrate how ecological drivers are correlated to ant foraging activity
and resource use in the field across large spatial scales. The search for
resources encompasses different interactions involving ants with abiotic
and biotic components in the ecosystem. Thus, we suggest that changes in
climate and NPP, which influence the intensity and the way that ants
search for resources, will result in changes in ant-mediated ecological
processes.