School of Science, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia.
Institute for Tropical Biology & Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
PeerJ. 2023 Oct 18;11:e16157. doi: 10.7717/peerj.16157. eCollection 2023.
Anthropogenic disturbances and seasonal changes significantly impact diversity and community composition of ants, but their effects are often intertwined. We investigated these drivers on Lang Tengah Island, a location with a pronounced monsoon season and three resorts that close during this period. We surveyed four sites, two disturbed and two undisturbed, before and after the monsoon season, using pitfall traps to sample epigaeic ant communities. Undisturbed habitats had higher species diversity, but both habitats (undisturbed and disturbed sites) have a high proportion of ants with characteristics of being encroached by generalist and invasive/tramp ant species. Post-monsoon sampling yielded an increase in species richness and diversity. Seasonal changes, such as monsoonal rains, can temporarily alter ant interactions and resource distribution, potentially maintaining diversity. Future studies should validate these findings for ant communities under similar pressures, using ant composition and functional roles for conservation and management purposes.
人为干扰和季节性变化显著影响蚂蚁的多样性和群落组成，但它们的影响往往交织在一起。我们在朗塔格岛（Lang Tengah Island）研究了这些驱动因素，该岛具有明显的季风季节，并且有三个度假村在季风季节关闭。我们在季风季节前后，使用陷阱法在四个地点（两个干扰点和两个未干扰点）调查了地表蚂蚁群落。未干扰的栖息地具有更高的物种多样性，但两个栖息地（未干扰和干扰点）都有很大比例的蚂蚁具有被普通种和入侵/流浪蚁种侵占的特征。季风季后的采样增加了物种丰富度和多样性。季节性变化，如季风降雨，可能会暂时改变蚂蚁的相互作用和资源分布，从而维持多样性。未来的研究应该根据类似的压力，使用蚂蚁的组成和功能作用，来验证这些对于面临相似压力的蚂蚁群落的发现，以用于保护和管理目的。
