Diversity and morphological variation in Formicidae in three strata of the Monteverde Cloud Forest

This study examines the arboreal presence of ants. Comparisons of diversity at three forest strata, canopy, mid-level, and forest floor were analyzed. Measurements were also made of leg length to body length and compared across the strata. The hypothesis is that arboreal ants will have a higher leg to body ratio. Finally a representation of each ant species, except three under-represented species was dropped from the canopy to test for the ability to “glide”. Conclusive results showed that ant diversity is greatest at the mid-stratum (H’ = 1.82). The remaining two strata, canopy and floor, showed similar diversity values (H’ = 1.04 and .86 respectively). Significance was found between mid-level and forest floor, and mid-level and canopy (p \u3c 0.05). Canopy level and mid level ants showed no difference in body length, leg length, or the ratio between the two (p \u3e 0.05). Both, however, showed larger values than the forest floor ants in all three cases (p \u3c 0.05). None of the ants glided or showed any signs of being able to. Further study is required to solidify these results but it seems evident that both greater diversity and a necessity for longer legs are consistent in arboreal ants. Este estudio examina la presencia arbórea de hormigas. Se analizaron las comparaciones de la diversidad en tres estratos del bosque, el dosel, el nivel medio y el suelo del bosque. Se realizaron mediciones de la longitud de las piernas con la longitud del cuerpo y fueron comparados a través de los estratos.https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/tropical_ecology/1001/thumbnail.jp