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Agaldo, Jennifer Final Phd Thesis.Pdf The Role of Ants in Seed Dispersal and Regeneration in a Degraded West African montane Forest-grassland Landscape, Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve, Nigeria _____________________________________________________________________ A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in ECOLOGY In the University of Canterbury By Jennifer Arubemi Agaldo University of Canterbury Christchurch, New Zealand 2017 Table of Contents Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... i List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... vii Table of Figures........................................................................................................................ x Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. xiii Abstract ................................................................................................................................. xvii Chapter 1: Introduction and Literature Review................................................................... 1 1.0 Ants in terrestrial ecosystems .................................................................................... 1 1.1 Ant-plant interactions ................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Seed dispersal ............................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Ant-mediated seed dispersal ...................................................................................... 3 1.3.1 Myrmecochory ....................................................................................................... 3 1.3.2 Ants and non-myrmecochorous diaspores ............................................................. 4 1.4 Benefits of dispersal and seed cleaning by ants ......................................................... 4 1.5 The lack of studies on ant interactions with non-myrmecochorous diaspores in the Afrotropics ............................................................................................................................. 5 1.6 Afrotropical montane forests ..................................................................................... 6 1.7 Study location: Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve ............................................................... 7 1.7.1 Conservation importance, degradation and restoration of Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve, Nigeria ................................................................................................................. 8 1.7.2 Animal-mediated seed dispersal studies in NNFR .............................................. 10 1.8 Aim of study and research questions ....................................................................... 12 1.8.1 Thesis outline ....................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 2: Species and functional trait diversity of ground-dwelling ants in a West African montane forest .......................................................................................................... 15 2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 16 2.2 Ant diversity and function in terrestrial ecosystems ................................................ 17 2.2.1 Functional trait diversity in ants .......................................................................... 18 2.2.2 Ants and environmental monitoring .................................................................... 19 2.3 Regional and local patterns of ant species richnes and diversity ............................. 19 2.3.1 Elevational gradients and ant diversity- ants in montane forest habitats ............. 20 2.4 Nigerian Afromontane forest: Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve ...................................... 22 i 2.5 Aim .......................................................................................................................... 22 2.6 Methods .................................................................................................................... 23 2.6.1 Study area- Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve(NNFR) ................................................. 23 2.6.2 Sampling and sorting of ants ............................................................................... 24 2.6.3 Determination of slope at the study sites. ............................................................ 26 2.6.4 Measurement of ant functional traits ................................................................... 26 2.6.5 Data analysis ........................................................................................................ 28 2.6.5.1 Ant species richness, composition and relative abundance ......................... 28 2.6.5.2 Variation in ant species richness among habitats ........................................ 29 2.6.5.3 Seasonal variations in ant species composition ........................................... 29 2.6.5.4 Ant foraging guilds ...................................................................................... 29 2.6.5.5 Slope across sites ......................................................................................... 29 2.6.5.6 Ant functional traits ..................................................................................... 29 2.7 Results ...................................................................................................................... 30 2.7.1 Ant species composition abundance, and diversity ............................................. 30 2.7.2 Spatial variation in ant species richness in Ngel Nyaki forest ............................. 35 2.7.3 Temporal variation in ant species richness .......................................................... 36 2.7.4 Variation in slope across sites .............................................................................. 38 2.7.5 Foraging guilds of ant species ............................................................................. 38 2.7.6 Ant functional traits ............................................................................................. 40 2.7.7 Description of ant functional trait PCA ............................................................... 41 2.7.8 Functional trait similarities and dissimilarities among ant species ...................... 45 2.8 Discussion ................................................................................................................ 48 2.8.1 Ant species richness and diversity ....................................................................... 48 2.8.2 Effect of habitat on ant species richness and relative abundance. ....................... 49 2.8.3 Temporal variation in ant species richness .......................................................... 51 2.8.4 Dominant ant species in Ngel Nyaki forest reserve ............................................. 52 2.8.4.1 Pheidole sp. 1 ............................................................................................... 53 2.8.4.2 Myrmicaria opaciventris .............................................................................. 53 2.8.4.3 Pheidole megacephala ................................................................................. 54 2.8.5 Variations in ant feeding guilds ........................................................................... 54 2.8.6 Ant functional traits across habitats ..................................................................... 55 2.8.7 Ant functional traits and feeding guilds. .............................................................. 56 2.8.8 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 58 ii Chapter 3: Ant-diaspore Interactions in a West African Montane Forest: Mutualistic, Antagonistic or Both? ............................................................................................................ 60 3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 61 3.2 Antagonistic ant-diaspore interactions ..................................................................... 62 3.3 Beneficial interactions ............................................................................................. 62 3.4 Objectives ................................................................................................................ 64 3.5 Methods .................................................................................................................... 64 3.5.1 Study Design ........................................................................................................ 64 3.5.2 Reconnaissance surveys for ant-diaspore interactions ......................................... 65 3.5.3 Diaspore removal experiment .............................................................................. 66 3.5.4 Focal observations of ant-diaspore interactions ................................................... 68 3.5.5 Effect of microhabitat, diaspore type, and alternative food sources on diaspore removal by ants ................................................................................................................ 70 3.6 Data analysis ...........................................................................................................
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