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113 results for “Ant ecology”
Microsatellite genotype data from: Male-biased dispersal in a fungus-gardening ant symbiosis (Matthews et al, Ecology and Evolution)
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Data from: Underlying mechanisms and ecological context of variation in exploratory behavior of the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile
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A large-scale assessment of ant diversity across the Brazilian Amazon Basin: integrating geographic, ecological, and morphological drivers of sampling bias
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Data from: Drought-induced relocation of ant colonies and its consequences for the long-term spatial ecology of a population under stress
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Ecological diversification preceded geographical expansion during the evolutionary radiation of Cataglyphis desert ants
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Thistle-down velvet ants in the Desert Mimicry Ring and the evolution of white coloration: Müllerian mimicry, camouflage, and thermal ecology
Adaptive coloration among animals is one of the most recognizable outcomes of natural selection. Here we investigate evolutionary drivers of white coloration in velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae), which has previously been considered camouflage with the fruit of creosote bush. Our analyses indicate instead that velvet ants evolved white coloration millions of years before creosote bush was widespread in North America's hot deserts. Furthermore, velvet ants and the creosote fruit exhibit different spectral reflectance patterns, which appear distinct to potential insectivorous predators. While the white coloration in velvet ants likely did not evolve as camouflage, we find that white-colored species remain cooler than their red/orange relatives, and therefore we infer the white coloration likely evolved in response to Neogene desertification. This study shows the importance of cross-disciplinary investigation and the importance of testing multiple hypotheses when investigating evolutionary drivers of adaptive coloration.
Multidimensional trait morphology predicts ecology across ant lineages
<p>1. Understanding the link between ecology and morphology is a fundamental goal in biology. Ants are diverse terrestrial organisms, known to exhibit ecologically-driven morphological variation. While relationships between individual traits and ecologies have been identified, multidimensional interactions among traits and their cumulative predictive power remain unknown. Because selective pressures may generate convergent syndromes spanning multiple traits, we applied multivariate analyses across a wide sampling of taxa to assess ecomorphological variation in an integrative context.</p> <p>2. How well does morphology predict ecology? Moreover, are there quantitatively-supported ant ecomorphs? We investigated the links between trait morphology and ecology by assembling a morphometric dataset spanning over 160 species within 110 genera. Because ants occupy a wide range of ecologies, we compiled natural history data on nesting microhabitat, foraging stratum, and functional role into 35 defined niche combinations. This tripartite ecological classification and our morphological dataset were optimized under dimension reduction techniques including Principal Component Analysis, Principal Coordinate Analysis, Linear Discriminant Analysis, and Random Forest supervised machine learning.</p> <p>3. Our results describe ant ecomorphospace as comprising regions of shared, generalized morphology as well as unique phenotypic space associated with specialized ecologies. Dimension reduction and model-based approaches predict ecology with 77-85% accuracy and Random Forest analysis consistently outperforms LDA. While accounting for shared ancestry, we found eye, antennal scape, and leg morphology to be most informative in differentiating among ecologies. We also note some heterogeneity between trait significance in each ecological aspect (nesting niche, foraging niche, functional role). To increase the utility of ecomorphological classification we simplified our 35 observed niche combinations into 10 ecomorph syndromes, which were also predicted by morphology. The predictive power of these machine learning methods underscores the strong role that ecology has in convergently shaping overall body plan morphology across ant lineages. We include a pipeline for predictive ecomorphological modeling using morphometric data, which may be expanded with additional specimen-based and natural history data.</p>
Data from: Biotic-drivers of seedling establishment in Neotropical savannas: selective granivory and seedling herbivory by leaf-cutter ants as an ecological filter
Herbivory has been shown to have prominent top-down effects on vegetation in Paleotropical savannas, where consumers of early stages of life history act as demographic bottlenecks. Such impact has been largely ignored in Neotropical savannas, however, despite insect consumption being linked to reduced recruitment of woody species. We hypothesize that Atta leaf-cutter ants – the prevalent herbivores in the Neotropics – alter the establishment of woody plant seedlings in the Brazilian Cerrado by reducing seed availability and seedling survival. We also hypothesize that the demographic effects will be species-specific. To test these hypotheses, we experimentally (i) compared seed removal in areas with and without Atta foraging and (ii) compared the survivorship of seedlings exposed to or protected from Atta foraging. Both experiments were performed with the same common Cerrado species which allowed us to evaluate the potential net effects of consumers at the population and community levels. Overall seed removal rates in sites with Atta foraging were greater than those where ants were absent (59.2% and 39.2% of seeds removed, respectively). There were differences in removal for 10 of the 12 tested species, with per species removal 1.1- to 3.8-fold greater in areas with Atta foraging. On transplanted plants, 45% of seedlings exposed to Atta were attacked, resulting in a survival 7.6% lower than that of protected seedlings. Seedling survival was 11.8–31.5% lower in five species, with the largest differences in survival between treatments during the dry season. Taken together, these results support the hypothesis that consumers can lead to demographic bottlenecks in Neotropical savanna plant species, with effects varying among life-history stages and between species. Synthesis. Granivory by ants has been linked to reduced seedling recruitment of woody species in the Brazilian Cerrado. Our results show that leaf-cutter ants may largely limit early seedling establishment of woody species by reducing seed availability and seedling survival with differential species-specific effects. Atta ants may therefore be acting as an ecological filter, which coupled with potential selectivity in foraging on reproductive life-history stages, may ultimately influence the relative abundance of different species and hence the structure and composition of Cerrado vegetation.
Data from: Ants as ecological indicators of rainforest restoration: community convergence and the development of an Ant Forest Indicator Index in the Australian wet tropics
Ecosystem restoration can help reverse biodiversity loss, but whether faunal communities of forests undergoing restoration converge with those of primary forest over time remains contentious. There is a need to develop faunal indicators of restoration success that more comprehensively reflect changes in biodiversity and ecosystem function. Ants are an ecologically dominant faunal group and are widely advocated as ecological indicators. We examine ant species and functional group responses on a chronosequence of rainforest restoration in northern Australia, and develop a novel method for selecting and using indicator species. Four sampling techniques were used to survey ants at 48 sites, from grassland, through various ages (1–24 years) of restoration plantings, to mature forest. From principal components analysis of seven vegetation metrics, we derived a Forest Development Index (FDI) of vegetation change along the chronosequence. A novel Ant Forest Indicator Index (AFII), based on the occurrences of ten key indicator species associated with either grassland or mature forest, was used to assess ant community change with forest restoration. Grasslands and mature forests supported compositionally distinct ant communities at both species and functional levels. The AFII was strongly correlated with forest development (FDI). At forest restoration sites older than 5–10 years that had a relatively closed canopy, ant communities converged on those of mature rainforest, indicating a promising restoration trajectory for fauna as well as plants. Our findings reinforce the utility of ants as ecological indicators and emphasize the importance of restoration methods that achieve rapid closed-canopy conditions. The novel AFII assessed restoration status from diverse and patchily distributed species, closely tracking ant community succession using comprehensive species-level data. It has wide applicability for assessing forest restoration in a way that is relatively independent of sampling methodology and intensity, and without a need for new comparative data from reference sites.
Fig. 3 in Vision-Linked Traits Associated With Antenna Size and Foraging Ecology Across Ants
Fig. 3. Mapped lateral eye positions according to ecology. Species indicated by circles, squares represent mean values for ecological binnings. (A) Eye position, both dorsoventral and anteroposterior, mapped on a theoretical ant head. Colors are indicative of foraging niche. (B) Eye position measurements with colors indicating trophic level. Illustrated head proportions based on ratio of mean head length and depth in lateral view across taxa sampled; head length is approximately 40% greater than head depth in profile view on average.
Fig. 1 in Vision-Linked Traits Associated With Antenna Size and Foraging Ecology Across Ants
Fig. 1. Variation among vision-based traits across sampled taxa. Pruned phylogenetic tree from Blanchard and Moreau (2017) with log adjusted ommatidia density mapped along branches.The raw units for ommatidia density are ommatidia per 1mm2. Ecological niche occupation indicated with icons and bar graph colors, includes foraging niche and trophic level. (Right) Eye area normalized by frontal head area across sampled species. Corresponding PGLS results in Fig. 2, Table 2.
Fig. 5 in Vision-Linked Traits Associated With Antenna Size and Foraging Ecology Across Ants
Fig. 5. Visual acuity and trophic level. (Left) Variation between eye area and ommatidia number across sampled ant species.Trophic level information displays omnivorous (n = 31) and predatory (n = 28) ant species. Unknowns are also included (n = 11).Trendline shows linear regression of ommatidia number and eye area (R2 = 0.7908, P = <2.2 x 10–16). Both measurements are scaled by frontal head area. (Right) Simplified, hypothetical representation of visual acuity based on ommatidia number.
Fig. 4 in Vision-Linked Traits Associated With Antenna Size and Foraging Ecology Across Ants
Fig. 4. Phylogenetic Generalized Least Squares regression of scape length and eye traits. Results of linear regressions of visual traits against scape length; (A) ommatidia density R2 = 0.1754, P = 0.0004615; (B) eye height R2 = 0.4735, P = 5.40 x 10–10; (C) dorsoventral eye position R = 0.1365, P = 0.001975; (D) anteroposterior eye position R2 = 0.1286, P = 0.002643. Scape and eye height are scaled by head area. All specimens were included in analyses (n = 64); PGLS relationships from Blanchard and Moreau 2017. ** denotes P ≤ 0.01; *** P ≤ 0.001.
FIGURE 48 in The Higher Classification of the Ant Subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a Review of Ponerine Ecology and Behavior
FIGURE 48. Worker caste of Ponera. Upper specimen: Ponera alpha: lateral and dorsal view of body and full-face view of head (CASENT0172423, April Nobile and www.antweb.org). Lower specimen: Ponera tenuis: lateral view of body and fullface view of head (ANIC32-001503 and CASENT0172429, April Nobile and www.antweb.org); world distribution of Ponera.
FIGURE 49 in The Higher Classification of the Ant Subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a Review of Ponerine Ecology and Behavior
FIGURE 49. Worker caste of Pseudoponera stigma: lateral and dorsal view of body and full-face view of head (CASENT0178180, April Nobile and www.antweb.org); world distribution of Pseudoponera.
FIGURE 46 in The Higher Classification of the Ant Subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a Review of Ponerine Ecology and Behavior
FIGURE 46. Worker caste of Iroponera odax: lateral and dorsal view of body and full-face view of head (holotype, MCZC); world distribution of Iroponera.
FIGURE 42 in The Higher Classification of the Ant Subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a Review of Ponerine Ecology and Behavior
FIGURE 42. Worker caste of Cryptopone rotundiceps: lateral and dorsal view of body and full-face view of head (CASENT0172100, April Nobile and www.antweb.org); world distribution of Cryptopone.
FIGURE 41 in The Higher Classification of the Ant Subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a Review of Ponerine Ecology and Behavior
FIGURE 41. Worker caste of Austroponera castanea: lateral and dorsal view of body and full-face view of head (CASENT0172341, April Nobile and www.antweb.org); world distribution of Austroponera.
FIGURE 40 in The Higher Classification of the Ant Subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a Review of Ponerine Ecology and Behavior
FIGURE 40. Worker caste of Psalidomyrmex procerus: lateral and dorsal view of body and full-face view of head (CASENT0003082, April Nobile and www.antweb.org); world distribution of Psalidomyrmex.
FIGURE 38 in The Higher Classification of the Ant Subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a Review of Ponerine Ecology and Behavior
FIGURE 38. Worker caste of Loboponera basalis: lateral and dorsal view of body and full-face view of head (Ivory Coast, G.Alpert, MCZC); world distribution of Loboponera.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.