Can variation in seed removal patterns of Neotropical pioneer tree species be explained by local ant community composition?

Many plants depend on animals for seed dispersal, and ants commonly fill this role. We examined if heterogeneity in ant community composition among sites, between above- and below-ground foraging guilds, or between seasons predicts observed variation in seed removal rates for 12 nonmyrmecochorous Neotropical pioneer tree species on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. We also investigated if ants associated with removing seeds differed in specific morphological characters from the larger ant community. We observed ant-seed interactions at caches to determine which ants removed seeds of 12 tree species. We also sampled ant community composition by placing 315 pitfall traps and 160 subterranean traps across the five sites where seed removal rates were quantified. Above-ground ant community composition varied by site but not season. Among-site variation in ant composition did not predict seed removal patterns at these same sites. Below-ground ant communities differed from above-ground ant commun...