Monday, October 04, 2010

Species Diversity and Distribution Patterns of the Ants of Amazonian Ecuador

So, if you've ever wondered what it is I have been doing for the past 10 years, a big chunk of it was just published in PLoS ONE.  You can read the whole article here.

Species Diversity and Distribution Patterns of the Ants of Amazonian Ecuador
Kari T. Ryder Wilkie, Amy L. Mertl, James F. A. Traniello
Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America


Abstract
Ants are among the most diverse, abundant and ecologically significant organisms on earth. Although their species richness appears to be greatest in the New World tropics, global patterns of ant diversity and distribution are not well understood. We comprehensively surveyed ant diversity in a lowland primary rainforest in Western Amazonia, Ecuador using canopy fogging, pitfall traps, baits, hand collecting, mini-Winkler devices and subterranean probes to sample ants. A total of 489 ant species comprising 64 genera in nine subfamilies were identified from samples collected in only 0.16 square kilometers. The most species-rich genera were Camponotus,Pheidole, Pseudomyrmex, Pachycondyla, Brachymyrmex, and Crematogaster. Camponotus andPseudomyrmex were most diverse in the canopy, while Pheidole was most diverse on the ground. The three most abundant ground-dwelling ant genera were Pheidole, Solenopsis and Pyramica.Crematogaster carinata was the most abundant ant species in the canopy; Wasmannia auropunctata was most abundant on the ground, and the army ant Labidus coecus was the most abundant subterranean species. Ant species composition among strata was significantly different: 80% of species were found in only one stratum, 17% in two strata, and 3% in all three strata. Elevation and the number of logs and twigs available as nest sites were significant predictors of ground-dwelling ant species richness. Canopy species richness was not correlated with any ecological variable measured. Subterranean species richness was negatively correlated with depth in the soil. When ant species were categorized using a functional group matrix based on diet, nest-site preference and foraging ecology, the greatest diversity was found in Omnivorous Canopy Nesters. Our study indicates ant species richness is exceptionally high at Tiputini. We project 647–736 ant species in this global hotspot of biodiversity. Considering the relatively small area surveyed, this region of western Amazonia appears to support the most diverse ant fauna yet recorded.

Citation: Ryder Wilkie KT, Mertl AL, Traniello JFA (2010) Species Diversity and Distribution Patterns of the Ants of Amazonian Ecuador. PLoS ONE 5(10): e13146. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013146

Thursday, June 03, 2010

CNN report on Yasuni

CNN aired a report on Yasuni Biosphere Reserve in Ecuador, where I did my doctoral research.  It includes an interview with my favorite director of Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Kelly Swing.  You can also take a look at some context for the story that was put up on YouTube – find it with the keywords “Yasuni forever.”

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Tiputini Termites



Along with all those billions of ants I collected from Tiputini Biodiversity Station, I also collected some termites.  Why?  To see if there was a correlation between ant diversity and termite diversity.  Ants and termites have a variety of significant relationships with each other from predatory to mutualistic, and I wanted to see if one could influence the other.  What do you think?

Below is a list of the termite species collected during ant collections from Tiputini.  Termite identifications were made by Reginaldo Constantino.



Genus
species
Anoplotermes
sp. 1
Anoplotermes
sp. 2
Anoplotermes
sp. 3
Anoplotermes
sp. 4
Armitermes
minutus
Atlantitermes
sp.
Coptotermes
cf. testaceus
Cornicapritermes
sp.
Cornitermes
sp. A
Crepititermes
verruculosus
Cylindrotermes
cf. nordenskioeldi
Cylindrotermes
flangiatus
Cylindrotermes
parvignathus
Cylindrotermes
sp. (workers)
Heterotermes
tenuis
Nasutitermes
callimorphus
Nasutitermes
ephratae
Nasutitermes
guayanae
Nasutitermes
intermedius
Nasutitermes
llinquipatensis
Nasutitermes
longirostratus
Nasutitermes
sp. 2
Nasutitermes
surinamensis
Neocapritermes
pumilis
Neocapritermes
sp. (worker)
Rotunditermes
bragantinus
Ruptitermes
sp.
Triangularitermes
triangulariceps
Velocitermes
sp.