Canopy Openness Enhances Diversity of Ant–Plant Interactions in the Brazilian Amazon Rain Forest

• Published in: Biotropica Vol. 46; no. 6; pp. 712 - 719
• Main Authors: Dáttilo, Wesley, Dyer, Lee
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Association for Tropical Biology 01.11.2014; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Wiley Periodicals Inc; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: abiotic factors; Amazonia; biodiversidade; biodiversity; canopy; diversidade de interações; ecological interactions; fatores abióticos; foraging; Formicidae; habitats; interaction diversity; interações ecológicas; interações planta-animal; light intensity; paisagens tropicais; plant-animal interactions; species diversity; Tropical Biology; tropical forests; tropical landscapes; understory; vegetative growth; Amazonia; South America, Amazon R

In closed‐canopy tropical forest understory, light availability is a significant determinant of habitat diversity because canopy structure is highly variable in most tropical forests. Consequently, variation in canopy cover affects the composition and distribution of plant species via creating varia...