Ant Diversity Declines with Increasing Elevation along the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania
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Ant Diversity Declines with Increasing Elevation along the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania. / Kunene, Caroline; Foord, Stefan H.; Scharff, Nikolaj; Pape, Thomas; Malumbres-Olarte, Jagoba; Munyai, Thinandavha C.
In: Diversity, Vol. 14, No. 4, 260, 2022.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Ant Diversity Declines with Increasing Elevation along the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania
AU - Kunene, Caroline
AU - Foord, Stefan H.
AU - Scharff, Nikolaj
AU - Pape, Thomas
AU - Malumbres-Olarte, Jagoba
AU - Munyai, Thinandavha C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Biodiversity patterns along elevational gradients are generally characterised by monotonic decreases or mid-elevational peaks in species richness, while elevational zones may be characterised by distinct assemblages, or higher zones may be subsets of lowland assemblages. Elevational gradients in diversity have been less studied in the Afrotropical region. This study documents ant diversity patterns in three forest types associated with the tropical mountains of Udzungwa; we hypothesise that: (1) ant diversity and activity will show a monotonic decrease from mid-elevation with increasing elevation and (2) that forests associated with different elevations will have a distinct ant assemblage. Pitfall traps were deployed at three targeted elevations (650–800, 800–1400, and 1400–1500 m a.s.l.). Ant species richness declined with increasing elevation from 650 m a.s.l. and formed three elevational assemblages with lower elevation forests having almost twice as many species as sub-montane forests and three times as many as that of the montane forests. In contrast, overall ant activity peaked at 800–1400 m a.s.l. The ant assemblages associated with the lower elevation forest were very distinct, while assemblages associated with the sub-montane and montane forests shared species. Our study reveals valuable and relevant information for biodiversity monitoring and conservation planning as the species associated with each forest type may be used as indicator species for assessing biodiversity responses to climate change and anthropogenic activities on these mountains.
AB - Biodiversity patterns along elevational gradients are generally characterised by monotonic decreases or mid-elevational peaks in species richness, while elevational zones may be characterised by distinct assemblages, or higher zones may be subsets of lowland assemblages. Elevational gradients in diversity have been less studied in the Afrotropical region. This study documents ant diversity patterns in three forest types associated with the tropical mountains of Udzungwa; we hypothesise that: (1) ant diversity and activity will show a monotonic decrease from mid-elevation with increasing elevation and (2) that forests associated with different elevations will have a distinct ant assemblage. Pitfall traps were deployed at three targeted elevations (650–800, 800–1400, and 1400–1500 m a.s.l.). Ant species richness declined with increasing elevation from 650 m a.s.l. and formed three elevational assemblages with lower elevation forests having almost twice as many species as sub-montane forests and three times as many as that of the montane forests. In contrast, overall ant activity peaked at 800–1400 m a.s.l. The ant assemblages associated with the lower elevation forest were very distinct, while assemblages associated with the sub-montane and montane forests shared species. Our study reveals valuable and relevant information for biodiversity monitoring and conservation planning as the species associated with each forest type may be used as indicator species for assessing biodiversity responses to climate change and anthropogenic activities on these mountains.
KW - ant assemblages
KW - ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)
KW - biodiversity
KW - Eastern Arc Mountains
KW - elevational gradients
U2 - 10.3390/d14040260
DO - 10.3390/d14040260
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85128403226
VL - 14
JO - Diversity
JF - Diversity
SN - 1424-2818
IS - 4
M1 - 260
ER -
ID: 308899745