Reduced Diversity and Complexity in the Leaf-Litter Ant Assemblage of Colombian Coffee Plantations

Abstract:  Coffee agroecosystems have recently undergone a dramatic intensification in Colombia, a megadiverse country, especially in terms of the nature of shade cover. We tested for changes in the composition, ecological associations, and diversity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) along a gradient of intensification of coffee production in the Colombian Andes. We surveyed 16 farms in two regions, classified into four management types: (1) forest (no agriculture), (2) organic polygeneric shaded coffee, (3) monogeneric shaded coffee, and (4) sun coffee (unshaded). Forty sampling units (20 1-m² plots on the ground and 20 coffee bushes) were established at each farm between 2001 and 2002. We sampled with a mini-winkler litter extraction technique and through visual searching. Organic polygeneric shaded-coffee plantations contained significantly higher ant species richness, and their ant assemblages resembled the forest patches more than any other management type. The number of statistically significant associations among ant species dropped with production intensification, as did the number of ant species involved in such associations. The network of ant associations in shaded systems transformed into an extremely simplified network in sun coffee, with a few dominant ants extending almost entirely throughout the crop. Intensification of coffee agriculture not only caused loss of litter ant species (especially forest species) but also a reduction in the complexity of the ant assemblage in the leaf litter of this agroecosystem.