Abstract
The relationship between levels of dominance and species richness is highly contentious, especially in ant communities. The dominance-impoverishment rule states that high levels of dominance only occur in species-poor communities, but there appear to be many cases of high levels of dominance in highly diverse communities. The extent to which dominant species limit local richness through competitive exclusion remains unclear, but such exclusion appears more apparent for non-native rather than native dominant species. Here we perform the first global analysis of the relationship between behavioral dominance and species richness. We used data from 1,293 local assemblages of ground-dwelling ants distributed across five continents to document the generality of the dominance-impoverishment rule, and to identify the biotic and abiotic conditions under which it does and does not apply. We found that the behavioral dominance–diversity relationship varies greatly, and depends on whether dominant species are native or non-native, whether dominance is considered as occurrence or relative abundance, and on variation in mean annual temperature. There were declines in diversity with increasing dominance in invaded communities, but diversity increased with increasing dominance in native communities. These patterns occur along the global temperature gradient. However, positive and negative relationships are strongest in the hottest sites. We also found that climate regulates the degree of behavioral dominance, but differently from how it shapes species richness. Our findings imply that, despite strong competitive interactions among ants, competitive exclusion is not a major driver of local richness in native ant communities. Although the dominance-impoverishment rule applies to invaded communities, we propose an alternative dominance-diversification rule for native communities.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4614-4625 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Global Change Biology |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| Early online date | 30 May 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2018 |
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Dominance–diversity relationships in ant communities differ with invasion. / Arnan, Xavier; Andersen, Alan N.; Gibb, Heloise; Parr, Catherine L.; Sanders, Nathan J.; Dunn, Robert R.; Angulo, Elena; Baccaro, Fabricio B.; Bishop, Tom R.; Boulay, Raphaël; Castracani, Cristina; Cerdá, Xim; Toro, Israel Del; Delsinne, Thibaut; Donoso, David A.; Elten, Emilie K.; Fayle, Tom M.; Fitzpatrick, Matthew C.; Gómez, Crisanto; Grasso, Donato A.; Grossman, Blair F.; Guénard, Benoit; Gunawardene, Nihara; Heterick, Brian; Hoffmann, Benjamin D.; Janda, Milan; Jenkins, Clinton N.; Klimes, Petr; Lach, Lori; Laeger, Thomas; Leponce, Maurice; Lucky, Andrea; Majer, Jonathan; Menke, Sean; Mezger, Dirk; Mori, Alessandra; Moses, Jimmy; Munyai, Thinandavha Caswell; Paknia, Omid; Pfeiffer, Martin; Philpott, Stacy M.; Souza, Jorge L.P.; Tista, Melanie; Vasconcelos, Heraldo L.; Retana, Javier.
In: Global Change Biology, Vol. 24, No. 10, 10.2018, p. 4614-4625.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Dominance–diversity relationships in ant communities differ with invasion
AU - Arnan, Xavier
AU - Andersen, Alan N.
AU - Gibb, Heloise
AU - Parr, Catherine L.
AU - Sanders, Nathan J.
AU - Dunn, Robert R.
AU - Angulo, Elena
AU - Baccaro, Fabricio B.
AU - Bishop, Tom R.
AU - Boulay, Raphaël
AU - Castracani, Cristina
AU - Cerdá, Xim
AU - Toro, Israel Del
AU - Delsinne, Thibaut
AU - Donoso, David A.
AU - Elten, Emilie K.
AU - Fayle, Tom M.
AU - Fitzpatrick, Matthew C.
AU - Gómez, Crisanto
AU - Grasso, Donato A.
AU - Grossman, Blair F.
AU - Guénard, Benoit
AU - Gunawardene, Nihara
AU - Heterick, Brian
AU - Hoffmann, Benjamin D.
AU - Janda, Milan
AU - Jenkins, Clinton N.
AU - Klimes, Petr
AU - Lach, Lori
AU - Laeger, Thomas
AU - Leponce, Maurice
AU - Lucky, Andrea
AU - Majer, Jonathan
AU - Menke, Sean
AU - Mezger, Dirk
AU - Mori, Alessandra
AU - Moses, Jimmy
AU - Munyai, Thinandavha Caswell
AU - Paknia, Omid
AU - Pfeiffer, Martin
AU - Philpott, Stacy M.
AU - Souza, Jorge L.P.
AU - Tista, Melanie
AU - Vasconcelos, Heraldo L.
AU - Retana, Javier
PY - 2018/10
Y1 - 2018/10
N2 - The relationship between levels of dominance and species richness is highly contentious, especially in ant communities. The dominance-impoverishment rule states that high levels of dominance only occur in species-poor communities, but there appear to be many cases of high levels of dominance in highly diverse communities. The extent to which dominant species limit local richness through competitive exclusion remains unclear, but such exclusion appears more apparent for non-native rather than native dominant species. Here we perform the first global analysis of the relationship between behavioral dominance and species richness. We used data from 1,293 local assemblages of ground-dwelling ants distributed across five continents to document the generality of the dominance-impoverishment rule, and to identify the biotic and abiotic conditions under which it does and does not apply. We found that the behavioral dominance–diversity relationship varies greatly, and depends on whether dominant species are native or non-native, whether dominance is considered as occurrence or relative abundance, and on variation in mean annual temperature. There were declines in diversity with increasing dominance in invaded communities, but diversity increased with increasing dominance in native communities. These patterns occur along the global temperature gradient. However, positive and negative relationships are strongest in the hottest sites. We also found that climate regulates the degree of behavioral dominance, but differently from how it shapes species richness. Our findings imply that, despite strong competitive interactions among ants, competitive exclusion is not a major driver of local richness in native ant communities. Although the dominance-impoverishment rule applies to invaded communities, we propose an alternative dominance-diversification rule for native communities.
AB - The relationship between levels of dominance and species richness is highly contentious, especially in ant communities. The dominance-impoverishment rule states that high levels of dominance only occur in species-poor communities, but there appear to be many cases of high levels of dominance in highly diverse communities. The extent to which dominant species limit local richness through competitive exclusion remains unclear, but such exclusion appears more apparent for non-native rather than native dominant species. Here we perform the first global analysis of the relationship between behavioral dominance and species richness. We used data from 1,293 local assemblages of ground-dwelling ants distributed across five continents to document the generality of the dominance-impoverishment rule, and to identify the biotic and abiotic conditions under which it does and does not apply. We found that the behavioral dominance–diversity relationship varies greatly, and depends on whether dominant species are native or non-native, whether dominance is considered as occurrence or relative abundance, and on variation in mean annual temperature. There were declines in diversity with increasing dominance in invaded communities, but diversity increased with increasing dominance in native communities. These patterns occur along the global temperature gradient. However, positive and negative relationships are strongest in the hottest sites. We also found that climate regulates the degree of behavioral dominance, but differently from how it shapes species richness. Our findings imply that, despite strong competitive interactions among ants, competitive exclusion is not a major driver of local richness in native ant communities. Although the dominance-impoverishment rule applies to invaded communities, we propose an alternative dominance-diversification rule for native communities.
KW - ants
KW - behavioral dominance
KW - coexistence
KW - dominance-impoverishment rule
KW - global scale
KW - invasive species
KW - precipitation
KW - species richness
KW - temperature
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85053867776&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/gcb.14331
DO - 10.1111/gcb.14331
M3 - Article
VL - 24
SP - 4614
EP - 4625
JO - Global Change Biology
JF - Global Change Biology
SN - 1354-1013
IS - 10
ER -