Potential Distribution of Six North American Higher-Attine Fungus-Farming Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Species.

Autor:	Senula SF; Department of Biology, University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX, USA., Scavetta JT; Department of Computer Science, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA., Banta JA; Department of Biology, University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX, USA., Mueller UG; Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA., Seal JN; Department of Biology, University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX, USA., Kellner K; Department of Biology, University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX, USA.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Journal of insect science (Online) [J Insect Sci] 2019 Nov 01; Vol. 19 (6).
DOI:	10.1093/jisesa/iez118
Abstrakt:	Ants are among the most successful insects in Earth's evolutionary history. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding range-limiting factors that may influence their distribution. The goal of this study was to describe the environmental factors (climate and soil types) that likely impact the ranges of five out of the eight most abundant Trachymyrmex species and the most abundant Mycetomoellerius species in the United States. Important environmental factors may allow us to better understand each species' evolutionary history. We generated habitat suitability maps using MaxEnt for each species and identified associated most important environmental variables. We quantified niche overlap between species and evaluated possible congruence in species distribution. In all but one model, climate variables were more important than soil variables. The distribution of M. turrifex (Wheeler, W.M., 1903) was predicted by temperature, specifically annual mean temperature (BIO1), T. arizonensis (Wheeler, W.M., 1907), T. carinatus, and T. smithi Buren, 1944 were predicted by precipitation seasonality (BIO15), T. septentrionalis (McCook, 1881) were predicted by precipitation of coldest quarter (BIO19), and T. desertorum (Wheeler, W.M., 1911) was predicted by annual flood frequency. Out of 15 possible pair-wise comparisons between each species' distributions, only one was statistically indistinguishable (T. desertorum vs T. septentrionalis). All other species distribution comparisons show significant differences between species. These models support the hypothesis that climate is a limiting factor in each species distribution and that these species have adapted to temperatures and water availability differently. (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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