Quantitative inventories of ants from India: Gaps, prospects and recommendations

Abstract

India is regarded as one of the highly diverse but data-deficient regions in terms of ant diversity. Despite a number of studies, patterns in diversity of ants in India are still unclear. Through a review of recent Indian studies based on samples of ground dwelling ants, we highlight reasons that may underestimate diversity and hinder comparisons. This study shows that recent developments in sampling ant assemblages and analysis of the data have not sufficiently rooted in India. In addition, several geographic areas are still under-explored and need further attention. Therefore, it is important that future inventories adapt methods that facilitate comparison of data. In this regard, we provide results that reiterate some of the important developments in designing effective inventories for ants. The appraisal of data through such methods is expected to improve the knowledge about Indian ant fauna and its distribution.