Evaluating Efficiency of Different Sampling Methods for Arboreal Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in A West African Forest-Savanna Mosaic

Abstract

Ants constitute an important part of arboreal arthropod biomass in rainforests. Nevertheless, there are only a few methods which permit a rapid assessment of these insects in the canopy layer. This study aims at evaluating the efficiency of a new variant type of pitfall trap i.e. “the funnel trap”, to sample arboreal ants in a secondary and gallery forest in Lamto reserve (Côte d’Ivoire). This method was compared to standard arboreal pitfall trap and beating. In total, the 3 methods yielded 7072 ant workers belonging to 43 species, 14 genera and 5 subfamilies. Tree beating recorded the highest ant’s numerical abundance (3670 workers), with 27 species, 12 genera and 3 subfamilies followed by the “funnel trap” that yielded 2800 ant workers, with 23 species belonging to 12 genera and 5 subfamilies. Finally, arboreal pitfall traps caught the lowest individual with 602 ant workers from 20 species belonging to 9 genera and 3 subfamilies. The composition of species which are caught by arboreal pitfall trap and “funnel trap” was similar at 53 percent. Tree beating showed a distinct species composition compared to arboreal pitfall trap and “funnel trap”. The “funnel trap” could be a fast and efficient way to quickly assess ant-biodiversity in forest canopies and agroecosystems as it looks like a non-destructive sampling method.

Diversity and assembly composition of arboreal ants in a west African humid forest‐savannah mosaic

“…Baited traps are funnel traps made off a plastic bottle of mineral water (50 or 33 cL) and a 15 m nylon wire. For more details, see Yode et al (2020). Two bait types (milk and tuna) were used for ant sampling with these funnel traps.…”

“…For more details, see Yode et al (2020). Two bait types (milk and tuna) were used for ant sampling with these funnel traps.…”