Environmental drivers of taxonomic and functional diversity of ant communities in a tropical mountain

We investigated the patterns of taxonomic (TD) and functional (FD) alpha and beta-diversities of ants in a mountainous landscape along three dimensions, namely one temporal (seasonal) and two spatial dimensions: between habitats - grassland and forest habitats (horizontal), and among elevation bands (vertical). In addition, we tested the effects of environmental variables (mean elevation and temperature, and normalised difference vegetation index - NDVI) on taxonomic and functional alpha- and beta-diversities. beta diversities among the two spatial dimensions are the main components of TD. Conversely, FD is almost entirely composed by the alpha-diversity component, with a very low contribution of beta-diversity. Regarding environmental drivers, the decrease in temperature caused by increased elevations and seasonal variations had a negative effect on taxonomic alpha-diversity. There were no effects of environmental variables on ant functional alpha-diversity. Despite the high turnover of ant species occurring along spatial dimensions, the communities were functionally redundant. The changes in species richness and composition patterns in this mountain were strongly influenced by variables correlated with elevation and habitat structure. Species composition changed across all dimensions, but the core traits and functions remained unchanged. Differences observed in the composition of ant communities over relatively short geographic distances highlight the importance to conserve the entire mountain, ensuring the maintenance of the ant diversity and associated ecosystem functions.