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Community-level interactions and functional ecology of major workers in the hyperdiverse ground-foraging Pheidole (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Amazonian Ecuador

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Abstract

Ants of the genus Pheidole are abundant and hyperdiverse, particularly in Neotropical rainforests. Very little is known, however, about the degree of ecological and behavioral differentiation of coexisting species comprising Pheidole communities. Additionally, the ecological role of the major worker subcaste, thought to be significant to the diversification of Pheidole, is poorly understood. We investigated the ecology and behavior of a ground-foraging Pheidole community of at least 56 species in Amazonian Ecuador. Pheidole species differed strongly in tolerance to flooding, nest site usage, foraging range, major worker foraging, and control of baits, but not in daily activity or ability to discover baits. A molecular phylogeny based on mitochondrial DNA was characterized by poorly resolved basal relationships and long terminal branches, suggesting an ancient diversification of many Pheidole lineages. Comparison of well-supported sister species suggests that both phylogenetic history and ecologically induced differentiation contribute to interspecific variation in Amazonian Pheidole. Ground-nesting species had larger major workers than twig-nesting species, whereas dominant species with stronger recruitment had a higher proportional abundance of major workers at baits. Variation among species suggests the presence of behavioral groups within the Amazonian Pheidole community that appear to segregate according to nest site usage and/or tolerance to flooding disturbance. Our results suggest an important role for major worker differentiation in the diversification of Pheidole.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the directors and staff of TBS for assistance and support in the field. We thank Clifton Meek, Megan Johnson, Brian Henry, Noah Reid, Scott Appleby, Elise Koncsek, Frank Azorsa Salazar and Wendy Mertl for assistance in the field, and Winston McDonald for laboratory assistance. We thank Dr. Kari Ryder Wilkie for specimen donations. We are very grateful to Stefan Cover for confirming Pheidole identifications and to Dr. Gary Alpert for instruction on digital imaging. We thank Dr. Marcio Pie and Jeff Tetrault for advice and assistance with sequencing methods, and Dr. Corrie Moreau for help with PCR primers. This work was funded by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship awarded to ALM, and NSF Grant IOB 0725013 to J.T. Voucher samples were collected and transported under permit 017-IC-FA-PNY-MA issued to A.L.M. by the Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment and this work complied with all current laws of Ecuador and the United States of America.

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  1. Biology Department, Boston University, 5 Cummington St., Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    A. L. Mertl, M. D. Sorenson & J. F. A. Traniello

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  1. A. L. Mertl
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  3. J. F. A. Traniello
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Mertl, A.L., Sorenson, M.D. & Traniello, J.F.A. Community-level interactions and functional ecology of major workers in the hyperdiverse ground-foraging Pheidole (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Amazonian Ecuador. Insect. Soc. 57, 441–452 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-010-0102-5

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