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...诸多植物依赖动物完成种子传播，而蚂蚁通常承担这一生态功能。我们针对巴拿马巴罗科罗拉多岛上的12种非蚁播（nonmyrmecochorous）新热带先锋树种，探究了以下因素能否预测种子移除率的观测变异：不同样地间的蚂蚁群落组成异质性、地上与地下觅食功能群间的差异，以及季节间的差异。此外，我们还探究了参与种子移除的蚂蚁，其特定形态特征是否与整体蚂蚁群落存在差异。我们通过观察种子投放点处的蚂蚁-种子互作，明确了移除12种树木种子的蚂蚁类群。我们还在量化了种子移除率的5个样地中，布设了315个巴氏陷阱（pitfall trap）与160个地下陷阱，以采样蚂蚁群落组成。地上蚂蚁群落组成随样地不同而存在差异，但季节间无显著变化。蚂蚁组成的样地间变异，并无法预测对应样地的种子移除模式。地下蚂蚁群落与地上蚂蚁群落存在显著差异……