Phylogenetic community structure of ants in secondary tropical forests in Brazil [Elektronische Ressource] / Rossa Ng'endo Nyoike. Betreuer: Roland Brandl

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• Publié par: philipps-universitat_marburg
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 23
• Langue: Deutsch

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Phylogenetic community structure of ants in
secondary tropical forests in Brazil.




Dissertation
zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Naturwissenschaf ten
(Dr. rer. nat.)


dem Fachbereich Biologie
der Phlilipps-Universität Marburg
vorgelegt von

Rossa Ng’endo Nyoike
aus Embu, Kenya

Marburg/Lahn 2011




































Vom Fachbereich Biologie der Philipps-Universität M arburg als Dissertation an-
genommen am 14. 07. 2011.

Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Roland Brandl
Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Lothar A. Beck
Tag der Disputation: 14. 07. 2011.

















For my daughter Eleanor Wangeci Nyoike













Erklärung


Ich versichere, daß ich meine Dissertation „Phylogenetic community structure of
ants in secondary tropical forests in B rsaezlibls.tӊndig und ohne unerlaubte Hilfe
angefertigt habe und mich keiner als der von mir ausdrücklich bezeichneten Quellen
und Hilfen bedient habe. Diese Dissertation wurde i n der jetzigen oder einer
ähnlichen Form noch bei keiner anderen Hochschule e ingereicht und hat noch keinen
sonstigen Prüfungszwecken gedient.


Rossa Ng’endo Nyoike

Marburg.
















To be willing is to be able.
(Source: French)



TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION .................................................... .2. ..............
1.1 TROPICAL FORESTS BIODIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZA TION .................................... 2
1.2 BIODIVERSITY OF A HYPERDIVERSE ANT GENUS IN SECONDAR Y TROPICAL FORESTS ............ 5
1.3 PHYLOGENETIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF ANT COMMUN ITIES IN SECONDARY
TROPICAL FORESTS ........................................................................................ 6
1.4 THE STUDY AREA ......................................................................... 8. .........
1.5 MAIN O BJECTIVES ............................................................... 1.1. .............
1.6 RESULTS ANDD ISCUSSION ......................................... 1.2. ...................................
1.7 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................... .15
1.8 REFERENCES ............................................................................ 1.6. ....
2 DNA BARCODES FOR SPECIES IDENTIFICATION IN PTEHRED IHYVERSE ANT
GENUS PHEIDOLE (FORMICIDAE: MYRMICINAE)............................................ 25
2.1 ABSTRACT ................................................................................... 2.6 .
2.2 I NTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 2.7. ........
2.3 M ATERIALS AND M ETHODS ....................................... 2.7. .....................................
2.4 RESULTS ...................................................................................... 30
2.5 DISCUSSION ............................................................................... 3.7. ..
2.6 REFERENCES .................................................. .......................... 4.1.....
3 PHYLOGENETIC COMPOSITION AND COMMUNITY STRUCOTFU RANET
GENUS PHEIDOLE ALONG FOREST SUCCESSION GRADIENT ........................... 47
3.1 ABSTRACT ................................................................................... 4.8.
3.2 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 4.9. ........
3.3 MATERIALS AND METHODS ........................................ 5.1. ....................................
3.4 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................................... 55
3.5 DISCUSSION ............................................................................... 6.0. ..
3.6 REFERENCES ............................................................................ 6.3. ....
4 DETERMINANTS OF PHYLOGENETIC COMMUNITY STRUCTOUFR EAN T
GENERA ALONG SUCCESSION GRADIENT IN SECONDARY TRCOALP IFORESTS . 71
4.1 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ 7.2.
4.2 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 7.3. ........
4.3 MATERIALS AND M ETHODS ....................................... 7.5. .....................................
4.4 RESULTS ...................................................................................... 77
4.5 DISCUSSION ............................................................................... 8.3. ..
4.6 REFERENCES ............................................................................................. ........................... 8.6.....
5 SUMMARY ................................................................................ .92
6 ZUSAMMENFASSUNG ......................................................... .9.4. ...........
7 APPENDICES ............................................................................... .9.7.

Introduction





Chapter 1





Introduction

1 General Introduction



1.1 Tropical forests biodiversity and community orgaatinoinz

Tropical forests are one of the most diverse habittas on Earth (Whitmore, 1998),
hosting at least two-thirds of the Earth’s terresiatlr biodiversity (Gardner et al.,
2009). However, the future of tropical forest speesc ihas been more uncertain since
only few areas of the tropics have escaped some form of human impact (Kareiva et al.,
2007). The combined influence of persistently highra tes of deforestation and forest
degradation, over harvesting, invasive species angd lobal environmental change
threatens to make tropical forests the epicentre ocfurrent and future mass species
extinctions (Bradshaw et al., 2009), if currentes roaft deforestation continue (Pimm
et al., 1995; Dirzo & Raven, 2003 ) .
Deforestation of tropical forests is rarely totarl poermanent. Small patches of
original habitat remain and succession leads to seocndary forests. Succession
involves a gradual replacement of species that deirf fin traits (which allow for quick
colonization or competitive ability) and that dri ffien the degree they tolerate,
facilitate or inhibit certain environmental condointsi and other species (Rossi et al.,
2009). Therefore, it is an important process in deretmining how, and how fast,
ecological communities return back to their originla state, especially in terms of
biodiversity composition in recovering ecosystems s uch as secondary forests.
Ecological communities refer to assemblages of spec ies that occur together in time
and space, and whose composition and aspect is determined by the properties of the
environment and by the relations of the organisms to each other (modified from
Begon et al., 2006), while an assemblage refers tao taxonomic subset of a community
(Fauth et al., 199 6).
With the continued increase in secondary forests throughout the tropics,
conservation has a key role to play in safeguardin gthe future of tropical forests Introduction
biodiversity (Gardner et al., 2010; Bihn et al.,08 2,0 2010). However, a major
challenge to conservation is due to the large numbr eof undescribed species in the
tropics, especially the invertebrates (Gentry, ;1 H9o9d2kinson & Casson, 2008), with
conservation prioritization having largely focuseodn vertebrates. Therefore, species
identification of such large numbers of undescribed taxa forms the first step towards
achieving conservation agenda.
Human-induced environmental change in forest ecosys tems has also been
linked to significant changes in the species compiotsion of communities, with
implications for the persistence of ecological comumnities and ecological processes of
even the most remote and pristine areas of tropica lforest (Lewis et al., 2009).
Community composition is influenced by a range of e cological factors (dispersal
ability and habitat selection of a species, intecrisfpic interactions), evolutionary
processes and historical events (Morin, 1999). Sien cdifferences in ecological
characteristics of species lead to differences inh etir functionality and their role in
ecosystem processes (Darwin & Wallace, 1858; Loreau et al., 2001), there have been
questions on which factors structure local communiites; and how regional species
pools contribute to local communities continue toe bamong the central topics in
ecology (Diamond, 1975). Starting from the earlyu dsiets of Hutchinson (1959) and
MacArthur (1958; MacArthur, 1972), research efforts in community ecology have
attempted to reveal the mechanisms that allow theo ecxistence of species in local
habitats and ecosystems (Brow