Diaspore Removal by Ants Does Not Reflect the Same Patterns of Ant Assemblages in Mining and Rehabilitation Areas

Soil disturbance impacts on ant‐diaspore multilayer networks in a tropical savanna

“…The Cerrado, the Brazilian neotropical savanna, has been impacted by anthropogenic disturbances, especially those associated with vegetation suppression and soil degradation (e.g., mining, quarrying, and hydroelectric activities) (Fernandes et al, 2014; Santos et al, 2021). Although plants, ants and their interactions in this environment are resilient to endogenous disturbances like fire (Costa et al, 2018; Le Stradic et al, 2018; Neves et al, 2016), they are quite susceptible to exogenous anthropogenic impacts like vegetation suppression (Arruda et al, 2020; Queiroz et al, 2021). To date, very few studies have explored the effects of soil disturbance on ant‐diaspore interactions (but see Queiroz et al, 2021), and even fewer have disentangled the effects of disturbance on distinct types and/or qualities of interactions (but see Arruda et al, 2020).…”

“…Although plants, ants and their interactions in this environment are resilient to endogenous disturbances like fire (Costa et al, 2018; Le Stradic et al, 2018; Neves et al, 2016), they are quite susceptible to exogenous anthropogenic impacts like vegetation suppression (Arruda et al, 2020; Queiroz et al, 2021). To date, very few studies have explored the effects of soil disturbance on ant‐diaspore interactions (but see Queiroz et al, 2021), and even fewer have disentangled the effects of disturbance on distinct types and/or qualities of interactions (but see Arruda et al, 2020). Recent evidence from montane grasslands suggests a negative effect of topsoil removal on the interactions of ground‐foraging invertebrates with diaspores and dispersal effectiveness (Arruda et al, 2020).…”

“…Additionally, we expected that disturbance would negatively impact network robustness, that is, changes in its structure due to ant species loss. Finally, we predicted that the effectiveness of secondary dispersal would be impacted by disturbance, as evidence suggests changes in the taxonomic and functional diversity of ants due to vegetation and soil removal (Queiroz et al, 2021; Rabello et al, 2021).…”

“…We considered species that presented high DDE values (high quantitative and qualitative values) as highly effective dispersers, species that presented low DDE values (low quantitative and qualitative values) as ineffective dispersers, and species that had intermediate DDE values (low quantitative and high qualitative values or high quantitative and low qualitative values) as relatively effective dispersers(Schupp et al, 2017). Thus, we used the DDE values and information on species functional groups(Queiroz et al, 2021;Rabello et al, 2021) to determine disperser effectiveness All statistical analyses were performed using the R software (R Core Team, 2020). Networks were drawn in the PAJEK 4.09 program(Batagelj & Mrvar, 1998)…”

Semeadura direta para restauração florestal e seus efeitos sobre comunidades de formigas e interações ecológicas

“…Com a reestruturação da comunidade animal, processos ecológicos tendem a ressurgir e se intensificar. A remoção de sementes é um processo ecológico importante para avaliar a recuperação de ecossistemas funcionais e pode afetar a composição de espécies vegetais que se estabelecem nos locais perturbados e em restauração (Queiroz et al 2021;Ssekuubwa et al 2018). Entre os insetos, os principais agentes de remoção são as formigas e estas podendo atuar como predadores ou dispersores (Vander Wall et al 2005).…”