Diego Anjos

Universidade Regional do Cariri · Departamento de Ciências Biológicas

Ant–diaspore interactions are directly related to fruit consumption, seed predation and dispersal, being determinant for the plant fitness. However, although abundant and diversified, these ecological interactions have been neglected in network studies. Understanding the structure of these networks is the first step in preserving these ecological f...

Diaspore (e.g. seeds, fruits) dispersal is pivotal for plant communities and often involves several steps and different dispersing agents. Most studies focusing on diaspore dispersal by animals have highlighted the role of vertebrates, neglecting the role of ants in the diaspore dispersal of non‐myrmecochorous plants. Diaspore dispersal by ants is...

1. Harvester ants are major seed predators in arid environments. However, given that many harvester ants are partly omnivorous and therefore potentially attracted to the elaiosomes of myrmecochorous seeds, it is unclear if these ants act as predators or dispersers when removing myrmecochorous seeds. 2. We describe the outcomes of interactions betwe...

Environmental impacts of conventional agriculture have generated interest in sustainable agriculture. Biological pest control is a fundamental tool, and ants are key players providing ecological services, as well as some disservices. We have used a meta-analytical approach to investigate the contribution of ants to biological control, considering t...

Biotic communities in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes can be shaped by both the land use of local patches and the structure of surrounding landscapes. However, studies usually focus on one or the other factor, limiting our ability to propose management guidelines for the conservation of biodiversity in human‐modified landscapes. We used a sit...

Historically, ferns have been described as underutilized by insects. However, studies have shown a diversity of insects interacting with ferns, although the evolutionary and ecological drivers of these interactions are still to be untangled. To fill these gaps, we compiled more than 100 yr of global data on insect–fern interactions from the literat...

Main Animals not only forage for abundant and nearby resources, but their diets can also be influenced by abiotic and geographic factors. This often results in non‐random interactions among species. We investigate how seed density, distance from nest, abiotic (e.g., climate stability, temperature, precipitation) and geographic factors (e.g., latitu...

Climate change is ten times faster now than in the last global warming event, 56 million years ago, with temperature and extreme weather dramatically increasing due to human activity. This rapid changes in climate affect all levels of biodiversity. However, despite their high global biodiversity, only 3 percent of global climate change literature i...

Interactions between plants and herbivores are central in most ecosystems, but their strength is highly variable. The amount of variability within a system is thought to influence most aspects of plant-herbivore biology, from ecological stability to plant defense evolution. Our understanding of what influences variability, however, is limited by sp...

Graphical abstract Highlights d Ecological metadata were compiled for 7,694 sites across the Brazilian Amazon d Accessibility and proximity to research facilities influenced research probability d Knowledge gaps are greater in uplands than in wetlands and aquatic habitats d Undersampled areas overlap predicted hotspots of climate change and defores...

The well-studied interactions between ants and plants range from antagonistic relationships to mutualisms, but ant pollination studies are still overlooked. Here, we studied ant interactions with Microstachys serrulata shrubs in a tropical savanna, in Uberlândia, Brazil, highlighting the central role of ants in plant pollination. Additionally, we d...

Tropical tree-climbing lianas form paths that benefit foraging of dominant ants which might protect the host tree against herbivores. In contrast, lianas are often associated with negative effects on growth and reproduction of host trees due to light obstruction, structural stress and other negative effects. It is unclear if dominant ants could mit...

Many neotropical ants form mutualistic associations with myrmecophytes, receiving shelter and/or food in exchange for protection. However, our knowledge about their natural history is still unclear. Here, we investigate the natural history of ant Pseudomyrmex concolor that nests inside the foliar rachis of Tachigali myrmecophila (Fabaceae). We desc...

Ants, an ecologically successful and numerically dominant group of animals, play key ecological roles as soil engineers, predators, nutrient recyclers, and regulators of plant growth and reproduction in most terrestrial ecosystems. Further, ants are widely used as bioindicators of the ecological impact of land use. We gathered information of ant sp...

Facilitation is an ecological interaction in which the presence of one species (e.g., ecosystem engineers) alters the environment in a way that enhances growth, survival or reproduction of a neighboring species. Wood-boring insects are considered facilitators for cavities-nesting ants, which experience intense intra and interspecific competition fo...

Studies comparing different land covers clearly show that land-use change commonly affects animal communities and the ecological functions they play in ecosystems. However, we lack a good understanding of the effects that more subtle changes, those occurring within a land cover type, can have on ecological functions of animals, and if these are als...

The conversion of natural areas into agricultural systems and silviculture is the greatest threat to biodiversity in tropical ecosystems such as the Brazilian savanna (Cerrado). This landscape transformation could lead to the loss of native species, including ants that cannot tolerate the new environment dominated by exotic plant species, such as E...

The concept of ecosystem engineering, although more often used to describe the effects of a single organism on its environment, can also be applied to plant-animal interactions in order to better understand their non-trophic effects on ecosystems. Here, we provide justification for and examples of how the ecosystem engineering concept has been and...

Ants are one of the most abundant insect groups in citrus orchards. They help in controlling pests, but they can also facilitate the outbreak of other pests, such as those that produce honeydew. Moreover, ants can also affect natural enemies of pests. Here, we review how ants affect pest abundance, considering whether the pest produces honeydew and...

The expansion of livestock farming is one of the main causes of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Intensive land use for beef production can cause changes, affecting native fauna composition and species richness. Ants are important organism of soil biota in tropical forests, mainly for their ecological attributes and their remarkable abundance...

Understanding the impacts of edge effects on ecological interactions plays an integral role in planning ecosystem recovery from human perturbations, as well as conservation of habitats. Edge effects related to forest fragmentation cause changes in species diversity that can disrupt ecological networks. Here, we evaluated how the diversity of, and i...

The ant-plant mutualism mediated by extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) is based on the provision of extrafloral nectar (a sugar-rich liquid) in exchange for ant defense against herbivores. The extrafloral nectar production can vary depending on the intensity or types of leaf damage caused by different mouthparts of insect herbivores (i.e., sucking or che...

Anthropogenic disturbances decrease the resources available to ants and simplify the ant fauna. This could affect ant–plant interactions, especially if key-species disappear. In terms of conservation, disturbances can select for ants resilient to disturbances, and such species can be considered indicators of succession processes. Here, we investiga...

Biological responses to a disturbance can vary among taxa, which challenges the use of bioindicators for representing biodiversity responses more broadly. Linking ecological traits to disturbance response helps clarify what different bioindicator groups are actually indicating, providing a mechanistic basis for predicting the responses of other tax...

1. Harvester ants perform important ecological functions, such as seed predation and redistribution of nutrients in the soil, through a complex of ecological interactions. Most studies are static descriptions of network structure, while their temporal organisations and the factors that modulate it have been neglected. 2. This study describes the te...

Fire is one of the main natural disturbances in Tropical Savannas, changing the diversity of species, altering the structure of species interactions, and driving the evolution of adaptations. Here, we investigated the effects of fire disturbance on interactions between ants and plants with extrafloral nectaries in Cerrado (Brazilian Savanna). We ca...

Ecological importance of ant species. Calculated based on the sum of the level of dependencies from the perspective of the interacting plant assemblage (i.e., species strength). See the text for more information on how estimates of species strength were calculated. (DOCX)

Field observations and species traits. Dataset from 2015/2016. (XLSX)

Ant species observed in interaction with fallen diaspores in Brazilian Savanna. Data pooled from monthly samples of ant–diaspore interactions recorded along transects at two sites. Ant behavior: FC = fruit consuption through aril or pulp removal on the spot, no displacement; R = remove diaspores > 5 cm. Mandible size ± standard deviation. Standard...

Morphological traits explain species roles in the networks. General linear models (GLMs) examining whether the mandible or diaspore size was related to species strength (ant or diaspore/plant species, respectively), considering fruit consumption and diaspore removal network, separately. (DOCX)

Plant diaspores exploited by ants in Brazilian Savanna. Data pooled from monthly samples of ant–diaspore interactions recorded along transects at two sites. Key to habitat types: CS = cerrado sensu stricto; PS = palm swamp. Diaspore types were broadly classified as fleshy (with pulp or aril) or dry (no presence of fleshy portion) according to diasp...

Ecological importance of plant species. Calculated based on the sum of the level of dependencies from the perspective of the interacting animal assemblage (i.e., species strength). See the text for more information on how estimates of species strength were calculated. (DOCX)

In this study, we conducted a series of experiments in a population of Vachellia constricta (Fabaceae) in the arid Tehuacan-Cuicatláan valley, Mexico, in order to evaluate if the food source quality and ant dominance hierarchy influence the outcomes of ant-plant interactions. Using an experiment with artificial nectaries, we observed that ants fora...

The tools involved in the study of ecological networks are relatively new and very useful to improve the knowledge about communities, biodiversity, and their conservation. In many tropical habitats, ants form the major part of the arthropod fauna found on vegetation and, therefore, it is extremely common to observe ants establishing ecological inte...

Primary seed dispersal of many rain-forest seeds occurs through defecation by mammals. Dung beetles are attracted to the defecations and through their dung-processing behaviour these insects change the initial pattern of seed deposition. Final seed deposition patterns, i.e. where and how seeds are deposited after dung beetle activity has taken plac...

Fire is one of the most relevant ecological disturbances in nature. Little is known about the effects of fire on biodiversity in ecosystems like rupestrian grasslands, which share characteristics with savanna and forest biomes. Brazilian rupestrian grasslands are part of an endangered ecosystem that has been modified by anthropogenic fire events th...

Plants bearing extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) vary the secretion of nectar between day and night, which creates turnover in the composition of interacting ant species. Daily variation in the composition of ant species foraging on vegetation is commonly observed, but its mechanisms are poorly understood. We evaluated the daily variation in nectar avai...

In tropical ecosystems, the influence of fire can have dramatic effects on the arthropod community and some taxa may take a long period to recover after such disturbance. Here we investigated the effects of an accidental fire on the reestablishment of litter arthropods and compared it with a control/unburned area. Seasonal data were also included i...

The rupestrian complex is a montane transitional vegetation type between the Brazilian Savanna ('Cerrado') and the Atlantic Forest, frequently threatened by human activities. In this study, we evaluated the recovery to fire disturbance of ant fauna in an environment evolved under fire regime. We confirmed that the ant diversity recovers quickly aft...

Nest-site is an important resource for cavity-nesting ants, what limits colony establishment and structures ant community composition through competition. In ecosystems frequently disturbed by firecontinuous establishment of new colonies is crucial to the process of natural succession. Based on this perspective, we tested the hypothesis that fire r...