@article{8577b88764634cce9e1b57d9a0ab9dd0,
title = "Can variation in seed removal patterns of Neotropical pioneer tree species be explained by local ant community composition?",
abstract = "Many plants depend on animals for seed dispersal, and ants commonly fill this role. We examined whether heterogeneity in ant community composition among sites, between above- and belowground foraging guilds, or between seasons predicts observed variation in seed removal rates for 12 nonmyrmecochorous Neotropical pioneer tree species on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. We also investigated whether ants associated with removing seeds differed in specific morphological characters from the larger ant community. We observed ant–seed interactions at caches to determine which ants removed seeds of 12 tree species. We also sampled ant community composition by placing 315 pitfall traps and 160 subterranean traps across the five sites where seed removal rates were quantified. Aboveground ant community composition varied by site but not season. Among-site variation in ant composition did not predict seed removal patterns at these same sites. Belowground ant communities differed from aboveground ant communities but were not structured by either site or seed cache type. Finally, ants that removed seeds did not differ morphologically from the broader ant community. Overall, our results suggest ant communities vary over relatively small spatial scales but exhibit a high degree of functional redundancy in terms of seed removal services provided for Neotropical pioneer tree species. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.",
keywords = "Barro Colorado Island, Formicidae, Panama, myrmecochory, pioneer plants, plant communities, secondary dispersal",
author = "Ruzi, {Selina A.} and Zalamea, {Paul Camilo} and Roche, {Daniel P.} and Rafael Achury and Dalling, {James W.} and Suarez, {Andrew V.}",
note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (Project Number ILLU 875‐952), National Science Foundation (Grants: 120205 to JWD, 1069157 to AVS, and 1701501 to AVS and SAR), and a Dissertation Travel Grant from the University of Illinois. We thank the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute for permission to conduct the research and for logistical support. We thank Abigail C. Robison for help in the field and Adam S. Davis for advice on statistical analyses. We thank Jack Longino for his expertise in identifying . Finally, we thank Eric Fuchs and three anonymous reviewers for their comments. Pheidole Funding Information: This work was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (Project Number ILLU 875-952), National Science Foundation (Grants: 120205 to JWD, 1069157 to AVS, and 1701501 to AVS and SAR), and a Dissertation Travel Grant from the University of Illinois. We thank the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute for permission to conduct the research and for logistical support. We thank Abigail C. Robison for help in the field and Adam S. Davis for advice on statistical analyses. We thank Jack Longino for his expertise in identifying Pheidole. Finally, we thank Eric Fuchs and three anonymous reviewers for their comments. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors. Biotropica published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation",
year = "2021",
month = mar,
doi = "10.1111/btp.12904",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "53",
pages = "619--631",
journal = "Biotropica",
issn = "0006-3606",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",
number = "2",
}