Data from: The influence of illumination regimes on the structure of ant (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) community composition in urban habitats
Data files
Aug 01, 2024 version files 433.88 KB
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HerbaceousPlants.xlsx
117.41 KB
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README.md
5.32 KB
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WoodyPlants_Dendrobiont.xlsx
96.25 KB
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WoodyPlants_Non-Dendrobiont.xlsx
214.89 KB
Abstract
The reliance on visual cues can vary among ant species living in different habitats, and is mostly influenced by the level of ambient illumination and the morphological adaptations of ant species that can determine their period of daily activity. Thus, different illumination regimes might affect ant community composition in habitats with different ambient illumination intensities. Despite this, in the literature, information is scarce about the effects of ambient illumination on ant activity. In the present study, we investigated the effect of ambient illumination intensity on the activity of ant species and their community composition under herbaceous and woody plants in 24 localities from Kyiv and Kyiv region, Ukraine. Our results showed that the ambient illumination properties of the habitat type affect the presence of ant species and the activity of their workers. In open habitats, the maximum ambient illumination had a negative effect, whereas in closed, woody habitats the maximum ambient illumination and tree circumference generally had a positive effect on the number of non-dendrobiotic ant individuals found on individual plants. The dendrobiotic species were less affected by the maximum illumination intensity. Although, in closed habitats, the effect of the previous variables and their interaction had species-specific aspects. Based on the former, we can tell that more structured forest habitats can provide broader illumination intensity ranges, allowing more ant species to coexist. However, similar illumination intensity ranges can lead to overlaps in the activity of ant species under the same illumination conditions, especially in open habitats. The outcomes of these interactions are highly influenced by larger trees that besides lowering illumination intensities, can enhance ant worker activity and promote species coexistence.
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.w9ghx3frb
Description of the data and file structure
HerbaceousPlants.xlsx contains the data regarding the number of ant individuals and species found on different plants.
We also present the illumination values (min, max, mean) measured under certain plant species.
The different ant species are as follows: Foci - Formica cinerea, Lani - Lasius niger, Myrsp - Myrmica species, Forufi - Formica rufibarbis, Doqu - Dolichoderus quadripunctatus, Laem - Lasius emarginatus, Fofu - Formica fusca, Tmnsp - Temnothorax sp., Lepsp - Leptothorax sp., Focu - Formica cunicularia, Fopra - Formica pratensis
No_Species - the total number of ant species found on individual plants
No_Species_Binomial - 1: if only one species was found; 2: more than one species found
No_Individuals - the total number of ant individuals found on individual plants
Habitat type - six habitat types based on the European Nature Information System (Eunis) database: (a) E5.1 - anthropogenic herb stands; (b) E5.21 - xero-thermophile fringes; (c) FA.3 - species-rich hedgerows of native species; (d) G1.D - fruit and nut tree orchards (partly open habitats); (e) G5.2 - small broadleaved deciduous anthropogenic woodlands (partly open habitats); (f) I1.5 - bare tilled, fallow or recently abandoned arable lands
Study_site - study sites within Kyiv and its outskirts
Year - the year when the field surveys were performed: 2015-2017.
WoodyPlants_Non-Dendrobiont.xlsx contains the data regarding the ant individuals and species found on different woody plants. In this dataset, we considered only 16 non-dendrobiont ant species.
We also present the illumination values (min, max, mean) measured under certain plant species.
The circumference (meter) and the diameter (meter) of shrubs and trees are also given. We used circumference in our analyses, as it is a more accurate representation of the size (age) of the trees.
The different ant species are as follows: Cafa - Camponotus fallax, Cali - Camponotus ligniperdus, Cava - Camponotus vagus, Foci - Formica cinerea, Focu - Formica cunicularia, Fofu - Formica fusca, Fopo - Formica polyctena, Forufa - Formica rufa, Forufi - Formica rufibarbis, Lani - Lasius niger, Lapl - Lasius platythorax, Laum - Lasius umbratus, Lepsp - Leptothorax sp., Myrsp - Myrmica species, Tmnsp - Temnothorax sp., Lane - Lasius neglectus
No_Species - the total number of ant species found on individual plants
No_Species_Binomial - 1: if only one species was found; 2: more than one species found
No_Individuals - the total number of ant individuals found on individual plants
Habitat type - ten habitat types based on the European Nature Information System (Eunis) database: (a) E2.1 - permanent mesotrophic pastures (open territories with groups of shrubs and seedlings of trees); (b) G1.A53 - East-European linden forests; (c) G1.A162 - mixed lime-oak-hornbeam forests; (d) G1.C2 - exotic Quercus plantations; (e) G4.F - mixed forestry plantations; (f) G1.11 - riverine Salix woodland; (g) G5.1 - lines of trees; (h) G5.2 - small deciduous anthropogenic woodlands; (i) I2 - small cultivated areas of gardens and parks; (j) X11 - large parks
Study_site - study sites within Kyiv and its outskirts
Year - the year when the field surveys were performed: 2015-2018.
WoodyPlants_Dendrobiont.xlsx contains the data regarding the ant individuals and species found on different woody plants. In this dataset, we considered only the four dendrobiont ant species.
We also present the illumination values (min, max, mean) measured under certain plant species.
The circumference (meter) and the diameter (meter) of shrubs and trees are also given. We used circumference in our analyses, as it is a more accurate representation of the size (age) of the trees.
The different ant species are as follows: Doqu - Dolichoderus quadripunctatus, Labr - Lasius brunneus, Laem - Lasius emarginatus, Lafu - Lasius fuliginosus
Ant nests - the presence (1) or absence (0) of dendrobiont ant nests.
No_Species - the total number of ant species found on individual plants
No_Species_Binomial - 1: if only one species was found; 2: more than one species found
No_Individuals - the total number of ant individuals found on individual plants
Habitat type - nine habitat types based on the European Nature Information System (Eunis) database: (a) G1.A53 - East-European linden forests; (b) G1.A162 - mixed lime-oak-hornbeam forests; (c) G1.C2 - exotic Quercus plantations; (d) G4.F - mixed forestry plantations; (e) G1.11 - riverine Salix woodland; (f) G5.1 - lines of trees; (g) G5.2 - small deciduous anthropogenic woodlands; (h) I2 - small cultivated areas of gardens and parks; (i) X11 - large parks
Study_site - study sites within Kyiv and its outskirts
Year - the year when the field surveys were performed: 2015-2017.
For the distance-based redundancy (dbRDA) analyses we used the combined data set of “WoodyPlants_Non-Dendrobiont.xlsx” and “WoodyPlants_Dendrobiont.xlsx”. In these analyses, we investigated the relationships between environmental variables and ant assemblages found in the different habitat types.
Data was collected under field conditions in Kyiv and its outskirts.