Pheidole fallax data

Pheidole fallax is one the most abundant ants in sites where coal mines have undergone rehabilitation and in forests without mine intervention. The impact that this species may have as ecosystem engineer needs to be assessed. We aimed to test whether P. fallax nests have an effect on soil chemical properties, characterize the organic debris found in the refuse piles and describe nest architecture as proxy of bioturbation effect. The study was carried out in areas with 16 and 20 years of rehabilitation in a coal mine in Colombia. Samples were taken from inside the nests, from the external refuse pile and from a control area one meter away from the nest. Chemical analysis and near infrared spectra (NIRS) of the three sample types were obtained. Our results showed that P. fallax use food resources of different trophic levels, being arthropods and seeds the main items in their diet. The NIRS analysis enabled distinguishing the origin of the sample: refuse pile, interior of nest or control soil. The refuse piles of P. fallax had a lower pH and accumulated high contents of Ca + 2, Mg + 2, K + 1 and organic matter, when compared with the other two sites.
Three dataframe are provided: (1) organic debris found in the refuse piles, (2) Chemical properties of soils collected in Pheidole fallax (n = 7) nests, coal mine, refuse piles and control soil from 20-y site in Cerrejón mine, located in La Guajira, Colombia and (3) NIRS results analysis of refuse piles (RP), soil of Pheidole fallax nests and control soil (CS), in the plane defined by the first two factors in the 20-y site.