Effects of Messor desertus ant nests in the middle of Hexi Corridor on the community structure of ground arthropods in autumn

doi:10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2023.00055

Journal of Desert Research ›› 2023, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (6): 121-130.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2023.00055

Effects of Messor desertus ant nests in the middle of Hexi Corridor on the community structure of ground arthropods in autumn

Yilin Feng¹^,²^,³(), Yongzhen Wang⁴, Yongyi Lin⁴, Jiliang Liu⁴, Jing Fang⁴, Rentao Liu¹^,²^,³, Wenzhi Zhao²^,³^,⁴()

^1.School of Ecology and Environment /, Ningxia University，Yinchuan 750021，China
^2.Breeding Base for State Key Laboratory of Land Degradation and Ecological Restoration in Northwestern China /, Ningxia University，Yinchuan 750021，China
^3.Key Laboratory of Restoration and Reconstruction of Degraded Ecosystems in Northwestern China of Ministry of Education, Ningxia University，Yinchuan 750021，China
^4.Linze Inland River Basin Research Station，Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources，Chinese Academy of Sciences，Lanzhou 730000，China

Received:2023-02-18 Revised:2023-05-10 Online:2023-11-20 Published:2023-11-30
Contact: Wenzhi Zhao

Abstract

Abstract:

Harvest ant nests are an important microhabitat in desert ecosystem that greatly affect the distribution and diversity of animals and plants by improving the vegetation and soil environment. In view of this， this paper selected gobi Messor desertus ant nests as the research object. We investigated the assemblage of five typical ground arthropod taxa， namely spiders， beetles， ants， mites and springtails in ant nest and adjacent bare ground microhabitats using pitfall traps in autumn. This study combined with the changes of vegetation and soil environmental factors to analysis the effects of M. desertus activities and their nests on the diversity of five ground arthropods. The key results were as follows. The activity density， groups richness and diversity index of ground arthropods were significantly higher in ant nests than in adjacent bare ground microhabitats in autumn， which were 2.9 times， 2.5 times and 4.5 times respectively； Arachnida， Acarina and Collembola community composition of ant nests and adjacent bare ground differed significantly. Ant nest microhabitats significantly increased the activity density and groups richness of Arachnida and Collembola， and the activity density of Arachnida was positively correlated with the activity density of Collembola； pRDA showed that soil electrical conductivity， soil clay， total nitrogen， total phosphorus and total potassium content were the main soil factors driving the distribution of ground arthropod communities between ant nest and adjacent bare ground microhabitats. In conclusion， M. desertus nests strongly affect the aggregation of ground arthropods such as Arachnida， Acarina and Collembola in autumn by enriching resources and improving the soil environment， while the activities of Coleoptera （such as Histeridae and Geotrupidae） and Formicidae are insensitive to the presence of ant nests.

Key words: gobi, Messor desertus, ant nests, bare ground, ground arthropods

CLC Number:

Q958.1

Yilin Feng, Yongzhen Wang, Yongyi Lin, Jiliang Liu, Jing Fang, Rentao Liu, Wenzhi Zhao. Effects of Messor desertus ant nests in the middle of Hexi Corridor on the community structure of ground arthropods in autumn[J]. Journal of Desert Research, 2023, 43(6): 121-130.

Figures/Tables 6

Fig.1 Monthly dynamic variation of activity density of two kinds of ants from January to December in 2020

Fig.2 The activity density， groups richness and diversity index of ground arthropods between ant nest and adjacent bare ground microhabitats

Fig.3 The activity density and groups richness of five ground arthropod communities between ant nest and adjacent bare ground microhabitats

Fig.4 Spearman's correlation coefficient of dominant groups at ant nest and adjacent bare ground microhabitats

Fig.5 The RDA two-dimensional ordination diagram of ground arthropods and five soil factors in ant nest and adjacent bare ground microhabitats

Table 1 Spearman's correlation coefficient between activity density / groups richness of ground arthropod communities and soil factors

节肢动物		土壤性质
节肢动物		电导率	黏粒	全氮	全磷	全钾
活动密度	蛛形纲（Arachnida）	-0.52^*	-0.70^*	0.34	-0.62^*	-0.67^*
	鞘翅目（Coleoptera）	-0.07	0.11	0.32	-0.20	-0.49⁺
	蚁科（Formicidae）	-0.18	-0.36	0.21	-0.48⁺	-0.40
	蜱螨目（Acarina）	-0.12	-0.39	0.59^*	-0.24	-0.30
	弹尾目（Collembola）	-0.40	-0.74^*	0.25	-0.53^*	-0.61^*
类群数	蛛形纲（Arachnida）	-0.52^*	-0.65^*	0.31	-0.69^*	-0.53^*
	鞘翅目（Coleoptera）	-0.15	0.07	0.30	-0.15	-0.46⁺
	蚁科（Formicidae）	-0.23	-0.34	0.26	-0.45⁺	-0.45
	蜱螨目（Acarina）	-0.11	-0.40	0.58^*	-0.24	-0.27
	弹尾目（Collembola）	-0.11	-0.30	-0.22	-0.13	-0.21

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Effects of Messor desertus ant nests in the middle of Hexi Corridor on the community structure of ground arthropods in autumn

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