Effect of overstory tree species diversity and composition on ground foraging ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in timber plantations in Ghana

Abstract

Plantation forests are becoming an increasingly important component of the world’s forested ecosystem. However, relatively little is known about how forest plantation management, overstory tree species composition and diversity impact biodiversity of nontree components of the forest. We assessed changes in ant functional group composition as related to changes in overstory tree diversity (monocultures vs. polycultures), species composition (native African species vs. exotic teak), and time (one and two years after planting). A pitfall trapping scheme was implemented during the summer months of 2006 and 2007. A total of 7473 specimens were collected representing six subfamilies, 22 genera, and 65 species. We found no significant differences in traditional diversity measures or functional group composition between treatments one year after planting. Two  years after planting, we found that species richness of ground foraging ants had significantly increased (F = 4.60, d.f. = 4, 15, p = 0.01). Several observed trends may have indicated that these ant communities were in transition and will likely become more distinct over time as the different plantation types recover from disturbance and diverge from each other in overstory structure. EDITED BY Sheila Ward