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Ant impacts on global patterns of bird elevational diversity.
Umesh Srinivasan1, Kartik Shanker1,2, Trevor D Price3
1Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
Ecology Letters
|August 22, 2024
Summary
Competition with ants, specifically Oecophylla, influences bird diversity patterns. Ants reduce invertebrate prey, causing bird species richness to peak at higher elevations where ants are present.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Zoology
- Biodiversity Science
Background:
- Global patterns of species diversity are shaped by interspecific interactions.
- Ants, such as the genus Oecophylla, are effective invertebrate predators impacting food webs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of Oecophylla ants on the elevational diversity patterns of birds.
- To determine if interspecific competition between ants and birds affects species richness.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of bird species elevational distributions across global mountain ranges.
- Integration of data on bird diets and Oecophylla ant distribution.
- Comparison of bird species richness patterns in areas with and without Oecophylla.
Main Results:
- Bird species richness, particularly for invertivorous birds, peaks at higher elevations (average 960m) in mountain ranges where Oecophylla is present.
- In ranges lacking Oecophylla, bird species richness generally declines monotonically with increasing elevation.
- The presence of Oecophylla correlates with a shift in the peak diversity of invertivorous birds.
Conclusions:
- Competition with Oecophylla ants can alter bird diversity patterns by reducing invertebrate prey availability.
- Distantly related taxa can compete, influencing range limits and emergent large-scale diversity patterns.
- Ant predation on invertebrates can indirectly affect bird density and species richness, creating mid-elevation diversity peaks.
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