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Rainfall Influences Ant Sampling in Dry Forests
Author(s) -
Delsinne Thibaut,
Leponce Maurice,
Theunis Laurence,
Braet Yves,
Roisin Yves
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
biotropica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.813
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1744-7429
pISSN - 0006-3606
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2008.00414.x
Subject(s) - arid , litter , tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests , plant litter , environmental science , ecology , tropics , rainforest , sampling (signal processing) , tropical climate , dry forest , biodiversity , dry season , foraging , biology , ecosystem , filter (signal processing) , computer science , computer vision
The standardized ‘Ants of the Leaf Litter’ protocol aims to facilitate the use of ground‐foraging and litter‐dwelling ants in biodiversity assessment and monitoring programs. It was initially developed to characterize assemblages from tropical rain forests and is based on two main techniques: Winkler extractions and pitfall traps. Here, we tested to what extent this protocol was adapted to tropical dry forests and affected by the rainfall regime. Our 10 study sites were located along an aridity gradient (average annual rainfall: 350–1300mm) in the Gran Chaco. The number of species collected per sampling effort increased with aridity for pitfalls but followed an opposite trend for Winkler samples. This trend could be explained by the low daytime foraging activity in the leaf litter during drought periods. In arid and semiarid regions the good performance of pitfalls was probably related to their 24‐h operation and to the attractiveness of the water they contained. Our results stress that the Winkler method used in the Ants of the Leaf Litter protocol may not be cost‐effective during periods of drought and may lead to severe underestimations of litter ant diversity in tropical dry forests.