Data from: Influences of species interactions with aggressive ants and habitat filtering on nest colonization and community composition of arboreal twig-nesting ants

Ant community assembly is driven by many factors including species interactions (e.g. competition, predation, parasitism), habitat filtering (e.g. vegetation differences, food and nesting resources), and dispersal. Canopy ant communities, including dominant and twig-nesting ants, are structured by all these different factors, but we know less about the impacts of species interactions and habitat filters acting at the colonization or recruitment stage. We examined occupation of artificial twig nests placed in shade trees in coffee agroecosystems. We asked whether species interactions -- aggression from the dominant canopy ant, Azteca sericeasur (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) -- or habitat filtering -- species of tree where nests were placed, tree size, or surrounding vegetation -- influence colonization, species richness, and community composition of twig-nesting ants. We found 20 species of ants occupying artificial nests. Nest occupation was lower on trees with A. sericeasur, but did not differ depending on tree species or surrounding vegetation. Yet, there were species-specific differences in occupation depending on A. sericeasur presence and tree species. Ant species richness did not vary with A. sericeasur presence or tree species. Community composition varied with A. sericeasur presence, tree height, and surrounding vegetation. Our results suggest that species interactions with dominant ants are important determinants of colonization and community composition of twig-nesting ants. Habitat filtering by tree species did not affect twig-nesting ants, but changes in tree size or coffee management may contribute to differences in community composition with important implications for ant conservation in agricultural landscapes, as well as biological control of coffee pests.

蚂蚁群落构建（ant community assembly）过程受多种因素驱动，包括物种相互作用（如竞争、捕食、寄生）、生境过滤（如植被差异、食物与筑巢资源）以及扩散过程。树冠蚂蚁群落（包含优势种与细枝筑巢蚂蚁）受上述所有因素调控，但学界对作用于定殖或招募阶段的物种相互作用与生境过滤的影响仍知之甚少。本研究针对咖啡农业生态系统中遮荫树内放置的人工细枝巢开展占用情况调查，旨在探究两类因素对细枝筑巢蚂蚁定殖、物种丰富度与群落组成的影响：其一为物种相互作用——来自优势树冠蚂蚁银色举腹蚁（Azteca sericeasur，膜翅目：蚁科）的攻击行为；其二为生境过滤——巢所在树种、树体大小及周边植被状况。本次调查共记录到20种蚂蚁占用人工巢。带有银色举腹蚁的树体上，人工巢的占用率更低，但占用率并未因树种或周边植被状况产生显著差异。然而，不同蚂蚁物种的巢占用情况存在物种特异性差异，且该差异受银色举腹蚁的存在与否与树种共同调控。细枝筑巢蚂蚁的物种丰富度并未随银色举腹蚁的存在与否或树种发生变化，但其群落组成则随银色举腹蚁的存在、树体高度以及周边植被状况发生显著改变。本研究结果表明，与优势蚂蚁的物种相互作用是影响细枝筑巢蚂蚁定殖与群落组成的重要决定因素。树种介导的生境过滤并未对细枝筑巢蚂蚁产生显著影响，但树体大小变化或咖啡种植管理方式的调整或可导致群落组成出现差异，这对农业景观中的蚂蚁保护以及咖啡害虫的生物防治均具有重要意义。