Scavenging in two mountain ecosystems: Distinctive contribution of ants in grassland and non-ant invertebrates in forest.

Fernandes, Tiago Vinícius ORCID: 0000-0002-7462-6036, Parr, Catherine L ORCID: 0000-0003-1627-763X, Campos, Ricardo Ildefonso ORCID: 0000-0003-4093-3588, Neves, Frederico de Siqueira ORCID: 0000-0002-2691-3743 and Solar, Ricardo (2024) Scavenging in two mountain ecosystems: Distinctive contribution of ants in grassland and non-ant invertebrates in forest. Ecology, 105 (8). e4365-. ISSN 1939-9170, 1939-9170

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Abstract

Scavenging is a key process for the cycling of nutrients in ecosystems, yet it is still neglected in the ecological literature. Apart from the importance of specific groups of animals in scavenging, there have been few ecological studies that compare them. Furthermore, the ecological studies on scavenging have mainly focused on vertebrates despite the crucial importance of invertebrates in this process. Here, we performed a large-scale ant suppression and vertebrate exclusion experiment to quantify the relative contribution of ants, non-ant invertebrates and vertebrates in scavenging nitrogen-rich (insect carcasses) and carbon-rich (seeds) baits in two contrasting mountainous habitats in Brazil (grasslands and forests). Overall, bait removal was 23.2% higher in forests than in grasslands. Ants were the primary scavengers in grasslands, responsible for more than 57% of dead insect larvae and seed removal, while, in forests, non-ant invertebrates dominated, removing nearly 65% of all baits. Vertebrates had a minor role in scavenging dead insect larvae and seeds in both habitats, with <4% of removals. Furthermore, our results show that animal-based baits were more consumed in forests than seeds, and both resources were equally consumed in grasslands. Therefore, we demonstrate the superiority of invertebrates in this process, with a particular emphasis on the irreplaceable role of ants, especially in this grassland ecosystem. As such, we further advance our knowledge of a key ecosystem process, showing the relative importance of three major groups in scavenging and the differences in ecosystems functioning between two contrasting tropical habitats.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Animals, Invertebrates, Ants, Feeding Behavior, Ecosystem, Brazil, Forests, Grassland, Insecta
Divisions:	Faculty of Science and Engineering Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Environmental Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	13 Nov 2024 12:28
Last Modified:	08 Dec 2024 10:01
DOI:	10.1002/ecy.4365
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3187971