Kim, T. N., S. Bartel, B. D. Wills, D. A. Landis, and C. Gratton. 2018. Disturbance differentially affects alpha and beta diversity of ants in tallgrass prairies. Ecosphere 9:e02399.

Biodiversity conservation requires understanding how disturbance influences biodiversity patterns at multiple spatial scales. Because the total diversity of species within a given region (α diversity) is influenced by both local diversity (α diversity) and dissimilarity in community composition (β diversity), understanding disturbance effects on both components of diversity is essential, especially if disturbance impacts α and β diversities differently. In this three-year study, we examined how a disturbance (annual harvesting of grasslands) and environmental gradients in the proportion of sand locally, habitat size, and landscape diversity influenced the abundance and α and β diversities of ants within tallgrass prairie habitat in Wisconsin. We used a null-model approach to examine how harvest and environmental factors influence β diversity. Following three years of treatments, we found that ant abundance was greater in harvested sites compared to control sites and ant abundance was positively correlated with soil sandiness. We also found that α diversity was lower in harvested sites compared to control sites and none of the measured environmental gradients influenced α diversity. The effects of harvest on α-diversity patterns may have been mediated through the competitive interactions of the two dominant ant species (Formica montana and Lasius neoniger). In contrast, β diversity (after adjusting for random effects and changes to α diversity) was higher in harvest sites compared to control sites, and variability in community composition was largely driven by the occurrence of rare species. The proportion of sand in the local habitat and habitat size positively influenced β diversity suggesting that community dissimilarity was due in part to environmental filtering and the size of species pools. Because biomass harvest had contrasting effects on ant α and β diversities, trade-offs in maintaining α vs. β diversity might need to be considered in land management and conservation efforts.

DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2399

Associated Treatment Areas:

Regional or Synthesis

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