Microclimatic changes and the indirect loss of ant diversity in a tropical agroecosystem

被引:133
作者
Perfecto, I [1 ]
Vandermeer, J [1 ]
机构
[1] UNIV MICHIGAN,DEPT BIOL,ANN ARBOR,MI 48109
关键词
Solenopsis geminata; coffee; biodiversity; Costa Rica;
D O I
10.1007/BF00333736
中图分类号
Q14 [生态学(生物生态学)];
学科分类号
071012 ; 0713 ;
摘要
Recent changes in the coffee agroecosystem of Costa Pica were used to study the mechanism of biodiversity loss in transforming agroecosystems, focusing on the ground-foraging ant community. Coffee farms are being transformed from vegetationally diverse shaded agroforestry systems to unshaded coffee monocultures. We tested the hypothesis that the high-light environment and lack of leaf litter cover in the unshaded system are the determinants of the differences in ground-foraging ant diversity. Four treatments were established within the light gaps of a shaded plantation: shade, leaf litter, shade plus leaf litter, and a control (no shade or leaf litter added). Ants were sampled using tuna fish baits and light and temperature were measured. Shade and leaf litter had a significant effect on the ant fauna but probably for indirect reasons having to do with species interactions. In both shade treatments, Solenopsis geminata, the tropical fire ant, decreased significantly while the other species increased. The possibility that the physical factor changes the nature of competitive interactions between the most abundant species is discussed.
引用
收藏
页码:577 / 582
页数:6
相关论文
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