Authors:	Houadria, Mickal Yann Isani
Title:	Trophic and temporal specialization in tropical ants and its relation to species coexistence and ecosystem functioning
Online publication date:	13-May-2016
Year of first publication:	2016
Language:	english
Abstract:	Niche differentiation is thought to be one of the main mechanisms how species avoid competitive exclusion. However, to assess differentiation in several niches, a multifactorial approach enabling several niche dimensions to be measured simultaneously is necessary. In this way, the relative effects of several factors can be quantitatively compared in a single ecological context. Tropical ecosystems represent an especially interesting study system where invertebrates in general show high species density and diversity, and consequently high interspecific competition. This is particularly the case in ants where a few dominant species usually displace others from food resources. In view of these factors, we used a new sampling method to simultaneously assess dietary and temporal specialisation of all common ants in a community. We assessed niche position as well as niche breadth (degree of specialisation), for food and for differences between night and day in the paleotropics and neotropics in forests with differing status. Determinants of ecosystem stability have been under intense scrutiny during the last decades. Among these, temporal asynchrony is now recognised as one important factor enhancing stability and has been thoroughly studied on large scales such as seasons or years. However, in order to evaluate the merits of functional asynchrony, it seems fundamental to investigate its role across heteroclite temporal scales in order to properly assess its explanatory power on the diversity-stability relationship.
DDC:	590 Tiere (Zoologie) 590 Zoological sciences
Institution:	Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Department:	FB 10 Biologie
Place:	Mainz
ROR:	https://ror.org/023b0x485
DOI:	http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-2498
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hebis:77-diss-1000004875
Version:	Original work
Publication type:	Dissertation
License:	In Copyright
Information on rights of use:	https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Extent:	100 S.
Appears in collections:	JGU-Publikationen