Ant community response to disturbance: A global synthesis

Abstract

In Focus: Andersen, A. N. (2019). Responses of ant communities to disturbance: Five principles for understanding the disturbance dynamics of a globally dominant faunal group. Journal of Animal Ecology 88, 350–362. Disturbance is a key driver of ecosystem dynamics. Whereas plant community responses to disturbance are relatively well understood, the same does not hold for animals. With rapid changes affecting our world's ecosystems, predicting the response of important ecological groups to ongoing disturbance should be a focus. In particular, ants are ecosystem engineers that create habitats for other organisms and have a crucial role to play in nutrient cycling. Nevertheless, our understanding of ant community response to disturbance is, at best, fragmented. Moreover, how ant communities respond to disturbance on a global scale appears highly idiosyncratic. The perspective article by Andersen (Journal of Animal Ecology 88, 350–362.) proposes five general principles that can help elucidate ant community response to disturbance. Specifically, this synthesis deepens our understanding of how contemporary disturbances, ecological processes and the evolutionary and biogeographic history of lineages interact to influence ant community structure.