Roads increase population growth rates of a native leaf-cutter ant in Neotropical savannahs

A challenge in applied ecology is understanding the responses of native species to roads, which are ubiquitous drivers of environmental heterogeneity. While most studies highlight their negative effects, the potential for native species to increase in abundance near roads has been underappreciated, and the demographic mechanisms underlying abundance changes remain unclear. Elucidating these mechanisms requires first determining how demographic vital rates and life-history stages interact to influence population growth. One can then assess how roads alter the relative importance of the alternative demographic pathways – increased performance of early vs. late life stages – suggested as the principal drivers of increased population growth. We parameterized demographic models with 3 years of census data and conducted perturbation analyses to evaluate how proximity to roads altered abundance and demography. To do so, we used the leaf-cutter ant Atta laevigata as our model organism. Leaf-cut...应用生态学领域的核心挑战之一，在于厘清本土物种对道路的响应规律——道路作为环境异质性的普遍驱动因子，广泛分布于各类生境中。尽管多数研究均着重强调了道路的负面影响，但本土物种在道路周边种群丰度提升的潜在可能性却长期被低估，且丰度变化背后的种群动态机制仍不明晰。阐明此类机制，首先需要明确种群动态生命率（demographic vital rates）与生活史阶段如何协同作用于种群增长。随后便可评估道路如何改变两类替代种群动态路径的相对重要性——即早期生命阶段与晚期生命阶段的性能提升，这两类路径被提出为种群增长提升的核心驱动因素。我们基于3年的野外普查数据对种群动态模型完成参数化，并开展扰动分析，以此评估道路临近度如何改变物种丰度与种群动态特征。为此，我们选用切叶蚁（Atta laevigata）作为模式生物。切叶……