Spatial-temporal dynamics of Neotropical velvet ant (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) communities along a forest-savanna gradient

Understanding how and why biological communities are organized over space and time is a major challenge and can aid biodiversity conservation in times of global changes. Herein, spatial-temporal variation in the structure of velvet ant communities was examined along a forest-savanna gradient in the Brazilian Cerrado to assess the roles of environmental filters and interspecific interactions upon community assembly. Velvet ants were sampled using 25 arrays of Y-shaped pitfall traps with drift fences for one year along an environmental gradient from cerrado sensu stricto (open canopy, warmer, drier) to cerradão (closed canopy, cooler, moister). Dataloggers installed on each trap recorded microclimate parameters throughout the study period. The effects of spatial distances, microclimate parameters and shared ancestry on species abundances and turnover were assessed with canonical correspondence analysis, generalized dissimilarity modelling and variance components analysis. Velvet ant diver...

阐明生物群落在时空维度上的组装机制与驱动因素是生态学领域的核心难题之一，同时可为全球变化背景下的生物多样性保护提供理论支撑。本研究以巴西塞拉多（Cerrado）生态系统的林-稀树草原梯度为研究对象，调查了绒蚁（velvet ant）群落在该梯度上的时空结构变异，以解析环境过滤（environmental filters）与种间相互作用（interspecific interactions）在群落组装（community assembly）过程中的作用。研究人员沿从狭义塞拉多（cerrado sensu stricto，开放冠层，温暖干燥）到密冠塞拉多（cerradão，闭合冠层，凉爽湿润）的环境梯度，采用25组带漂移栅栏的Y形地面诱捕陷阱（Y-shaped pitfall traps with drift fences），开展了为期一年的绒蚁采样工作。每个诱捕陷阱上均安装了数据记录仪（dataloggers），可在整个研究周期内记录微气候参数（microclimate parameters）。本研究采用典范对应分析（canonical correspondence analysis）、广义相似性建模（generalized dissimilarity modelling）与方差分量分析（variance components analysis），解析了空间距离、微气候参数以及系统发育共祖（shared ancestry）对绒蚁物种多度与群落周转的影响。绒蚁的多样性（原文后续内容未完整呈现）