Are Bird Nests the Habitat for Ants? Implication from Ant Inventory (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) across Various Bird Nests

Abstract

This study aimed to do the inventory on ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) that specifically inhabit the bird nests within the Universitas Andalas campus complex, Limau Manis, Padang. It had been conducted from January to August 2018, where the bird nests were purposively collected then followed with ant collection from each nest. Forty nests were sampled and identified as nests of Estrildidae, Pycnonotidae, Sylviidae and from the unknown taxa; 5 nests showed active breeding indications when collected. A total of 2,741 ant individuals belong to 13 species, 12 genera, 8 tribes, and 4 subfamilies extracted from 31 (of which 4 were active nests), out of 40, observed nests. The ant species inventory included the members of subfamilies Formicinae (5), Myrmicinae (5), Dolichoderinae (2) and Pseudomyrmicinae (1). We statistically detected correlation between nest biomass and number of ant individual and species infested in the bird nests, which explained the more species recorded from Estrildid nests that were averagely bulkier than other nests. This result offers strong indication that bird nests may serve as form of habitat, or at least a niche, for ants.