Biodiversity Data Journal :
Research Article
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Corresponding author: Shahrokh Pashaei Rad (sp2191@gmail.com)
Academic editor: Francisco Hita Garcia
Received: 28 May 2020 | Accepted: 13 Jan 2021 | Published: 15 Jan 2021
© 2021 Mohammad Reza Mohseni, Shahrokh Pashaei Rad
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Mohseni MR, Pashaei Rad S (2021) The effect of edaphic factors on the distribution and abundance of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Iran. Biodiversity Data Journal 9: e54843. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.9.e54843
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The current study is aimed at investigating the effect of edaphic factors on the distribution and abundance of ants in different habitats of the central areas of Iran, while considering the vegetation. During 2018 to 2019, 20 stations from four habitats, including deserts, mountainous and submontane, plains and rural areas and urban areas, were selected. In general, a total of 311 sample units were collected from all the stations, out of which, 32 species belonging to 13 genera, nine tribes and three subfamilies were identified. The biological distribution and abundance of species were argued by computing the physical and chemical parameters of the soil, such as salinity, pH, total nitrogen, organic carbon, calcium and vegetation. The present study has demonstrated that the calcium content significantly affects the species richness of ants, although the impact of this element on various genera is different. We found that increasing in the abundance and richness of plant species has a positive impact on the abundance and richness of ants. Our results also show that some genera are meaningfully adaptable to a variety of habitats. In Kahak station, which is an urban habitat, with enormous diversity, 14 species were found, while in Sadrabad Historic Karvansara, a desert habitat, only Cataglyphis lividus (André, 1881) was collected. Cataglyphis bellicosus (Karavaiev, 1924), as the most abundant species, collected from 12 stations, was the most dominant species.
biodiversity, Hymenoptera, ecology, edaphic factors, vegetation, Iran
Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), being high in the abundance of species in nature, play a determining role in ecosystems and their biodiversity. Since ants can feed on plants and plant products, such as sap or are predators, ant biodiversity is often of considerable importance (
Ants act as ecosystem engineers and can change the physical and chemical factors of the soil (
The habitat heterogeneity hypothesis is regarded as one of the current hypotheses to explain variations in species diversity at the local scale, by stating that structurally complex habitats offer better support for more species as they arrange for more niches and means of exploiting the available resources (
Edaphic factors and vegetation changes are predicted to influence the distribution and abundance of ants in many ways. They could affect communities both directly, by means of changes in behaviour and physiology and indirectly, such as variations the host plants go through in their biochemistry (e.g.
The limits of higher and lower salinity tolerance restrict an ant’s performance (reviewed by
It has been proven that the attributes of both the edaphic factors and vegetation cover affect distribution and abundance of ants. Some studies (
The ecological significance of ants and their diversity (
Research on ant assemblages in different habitats of Iran is necessary not only to complete the ants' fauna of this area, but also to understand population dynamics of this group of insects. A few studies addressing abundance and diversity of ants in Iran are available (e.g.
Since Iranian scholars have mainly presented their taxonomical and ecological reports at specific national scientific congresses or published them in local journals, it is hard for foreign biologists to have access to this literature. Other problems are caused by old records which require revision. This research can be a helpful reference for myrmecologists and ecologists fascinated by Asian ants and comprehending the influence of edaphic factors on ant communities.
In this study, we explored the variation in species richness, abundance and species composition of ants across different habitats including desert, mountain and submontane areas, plains and human settlements in central Iran. We also investigated edaphic factors by considering vegetation that potentially influence ant communities. This study's other primary purpose was to complete the knowledge of ants and the ant fauna of Iran.
These results are essential to promoting better ecological management procedures and preservation. Regarding growing environmental problems due to habitat loss, environmental monitoring techniques were developed through biological indicators (
This study concentrated on the central areas of Iran, nearly 2800 km2, with various environmental conditions made available by a range of vegetation formations and climatic belts. This area has a latitudinal range that spreads into the plains, mountainous and rural areas, salt pans, foothills, urban habitats and deserts. A longitudinal range creates changes in woodland composition because of a falling gradient in rainfall from the Caspian Sea in the north to the interior and an altitudinal range between extensive mountain chains of the Zagros and Alborz in the west and north, respectively.
Different areas in central Iran with altitudes and latitudes of 0.80 ± 50.90 and 0.36 ± 34.60 (Fig.
The location of sites in the centre of Iran (sites are named, based on Suppl. material
a = Salt Lake, b = Historic caravanserai of Sadrabad, c = Salty-lands of Qom Rood, d = Tagharood industrial area, e = Cheshmeh Palang Village, f = Darbandshoor Mount, g = Shah Ismaeil shrine, h = Chalk mine, i = Kebar Dam, j = Ghahan Village, k = Cheshme Ali Village, l = Ghadir Forest Park, m = Varzaneh Village, n = Qanavat City, o = Dastjerd City, p = Qom City, q = Kahak City, r = Salafchegan City, s = Kamkar Castle, t = Jafariyeh City
We worked on five sampling sites with different ecological conditions for each habitat. All of the five locations were selected, based on their unique conditions to find a maximum variety of ant species. All sites-related factors are shown in Table
Habitat characteristics of the study sites.
Note: The temperature ranged between 30°C and 55°C (as the highest range) in dry months and 28°C (as the lowest range) to 35°C in rainy months amongst sites.
Sites | Latitude (N) and Longitude (E) |
Temperature Ranges (With mean annual temperature/ MAT) |
Elevation | Humidity Ranges | Climate |
Vegetation (% estimation of vegetation cover) |
Salt Lake (a) |
|
32-50°C MAT 42°C ± 2 |
804 m | 7-12% | Dry and desert |
poor (10%) |
Historic caravanserai of Sadrabad (b) |
|
33-55°C MAT 40°C ± 2 |
805 m | 6-9% | Dry and desert | Quite poor (5%) |
Salty-lands of Qom Rood (c) |
|
29-46°C MAT 37°C ± 2 |
1705 m | 15-17% | Hot and dry | Fairly poor (15%-20%) |
Tagharood industrial area (d) |
|
35-39°C MAT 36°C ± 1 |
980 m | 11-16% | Dry and semi-desert |
Fairly poor (15%) |
Cheshmeh Palang Village (e) |
|
33-37°C MAT 35°C ± 0.5 |
1008 m | 8-10% | Dry and desert | Low-variety, Mostly sporadic grassland (25%) |
Darbandshoor Mount (f) |
|
30-42°C MAT 35°C ± 2 |
1259 m | 12-14% | Dry and desert | Low-variety, Mostly grassland (20%) |
Shah Ismail shrine (g) |
|
32-36°C MAT 35°C ± 1 |
1662 m | 15-16% | Hot and dry | Low-variety, Mostly grassland (20%) |
Chalk mine (h) |
|
34-38°C MAT 35°C ± 1 |
1589 m | 8-11% | Hot and dry | high-variety (30%) |
Kebar Dam (i) |
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37-43°C MAT 39°C ± 1 |
1017 m | 15-20% | Semi-hot and semi-mild | Semi dense, Mostly grassland (30%-35%) |
Ghahan Village (j) |
|
33-36°C MAT 35°C ± 0.5 |
1530 m | 14-25% | Semi-hot and semi-mild | semi-variety and semi-dense (35%) |
Cheshme Ali Village (k) |
|
34-37°C MAT 35°C ± 1 |
1216 m | 13-15% | Hot and semi-dry | Highly-dense with semi-variety (45%) |
Ghadir Forest Park (l) |
|
32-35°C MAT 34°C ± 0.5 |
938 m | 14-19% | Hot and semi-dry | Highly-dense with semi-variety (40%) |
Varzaneh Village (m) |
|
32-38°C MAT 35°C ± 1 |
1606 m | 15-18% | Semi-hot and semi-mild | Highly-dense with rich and high-variety (60%) |
Qanavat City (n) |
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34-35°C MAT 35°C ± 0.5 |
880 m | 13-17% | Semi-hot and semi-dry | Highly-dense with Low-variety (45%) |
Dastjerd City (o) |
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29-40°C MAT 34°C ± 2 |
844 m | 14-27% | Hot and dry | Highly-dense with Low-variety (35%) |
Qom City (p) |
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30-37°C MAT 35°C ± 2 |
956 m | 14-19% | Hot and semi-dry | Fairly poor but with high variety (40%) |
Kahak City (q) |
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32-36°C MAT 34°C ± 1 |
1780 m | 16-30% | Semi-hot and semi-mild | Fairly poor but with high variety (45%) |
Salafchegan City (r) |
|
36-37°C MAT 36°C ± 0.5 |
1375 m | 16-25% | Hot and dry | Fairly poor but with low variety (30%) |
Kamkar Castle (s) |
|
36-38°C MAT 36°C ± 0.5 |
928 m | 14-20% | Hot and semi-dry | Fairly poor but with high variety (40%) |
Jafariyeh City (t) |
|
28-34°C MAT 32°C ± 1 |
986 m | 11-12% | Hot and dry | Poor but with high variety (20%) |
Sampling was carried out in 20 sites (Table
The samples of each site were taken twice in each season through pitfalls, hand collecting and sweep netting (in some cases). To investigate and study ant abundance, sampling was conducted once in the morning (8 am to 12 noon) and the second in the afternoon (5 p.m. to 8 p.m.).
Sampling was carried out by traps made of transparent cups that contained sugar syrup and propylene glycol (Sierra antifreeze). Pitfall traps (9 oz Solo® plastic cups, 7 cm in diameter) were randomly located at a distance of 25 m from each other in a regular grid plot of 25 m x 25 m. It was carried out to guarantee the samples' independence and lessen individuals' probability from another plot falling into the trap of the target plot. Pitfall traps were set out for 48-hour periods. The numbers of pitfall traps used varied from year to year. Five pitfall traps per site in 2018 and four pitfall traps per site in 2019 were designed and implemented. In this study, two trapping patterns were used: (i) Typical simple pitfall and (ii) X-shaped guidance barrier pitfall using four 50 cm long wooden barriers (height: 8 cm angle: 90).
Sweep netting was also utilised to collect ants on herbs and shrubs. Heavy-duty muslin nets were also used to standardise one complete sweep as a figure-eight movement of the net through vegetation. As with the pitfall traps, the sampling intensity by sweep netting varied from year to year. Three times of sweep netting at each site in 2018 and two times of sweep netting at each site in 2019 were designed. Sweep netting was used at the beginning and end of the day.
In this method, transects stretching in sites with reasonable vegetation cover were demarcated and divided into ten (6 m × 5 m) sections. Ant density was collected in three or two (variable according to the vegetation cover of the sites) randomly selected 3 m2 quadrats per section by sweep netting for 2 minutes.
There were limitations in the sampling process because of exceptional climatic conditions in central parts of Iran, such as extremely hot days during dry months (June, July, August and September) and heavy rains in the wettest month (October). The recorded temperature ranges of sites from the sampling times are shown in Table
The samples were collected in tubes containing 80% ethanol, transferred to the biosystematics laboratory of Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran and then identified to subfamily, genus and species with the NSZ-405 stereomicroscope and identification keys of
The plant specimens with all their parts of sites were collected in an attempt to identify and report the flora present in the sampling sites. Dr. Mehrabian, Department of Botany at Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, identified the plant specimens collected at each sampling site (Table
Types of vegetation available in the sampling areas (species are written in subfamily order). Frequencies of observed plant specimens in the sites are shown with (*).
Nom. | Habitats | Types of vegetation | Plant species |
1 |
Desert |
Poor vegetation cover, generally rough and harsh plants which include Cacti and Succulents, Wildflowers and Shrubs. The plants of this habitat are incredibly compatible with drought, scorching days and freezing nights. |
Alhagi camelorum (28), Alhagi maurorum (8), Prosopis farcta (13), Artemisia sieberi (14), Scariola orientalis (12), Launaea acanthodes (12), Arthrocnemum macrostachyum (8), Halocnemum strobilaceum (18), Halopeplis perfoliate (9), Atriplex prostrata (16), Chenopodium album (10), Bassia indica (13), Haloxylon salicornicum (21), Anabasis setifera (4), Salsola stocksii (9), Seidlitzia Rosmarinus (17), Suaeda vermiculata (12), Aeluropus lagopoides (6), Cressa cretica (14), Chrozophora sabulosa (14), Chrozophora tinctorial (10) |
2 | Mountain | Semi-high variety of vegetation cover, species include shrubs, perennial grasses, forbs, cushion plants, lichens and, in some cases, trees. Mountain plants are adapted to the harsh conditions of the mountainous environment, which include low temperatures, dryness, ultraviolet radiation, wind, drought, poor nutritional soil and a short growing season. | Alhagi camelorum (25), Alhagi maurorum (22), Alhagi persarum (16), Astragalus verus (12), Prosopis farcta (9), Artemisia aucheri (11), Artemisia sieberi (12), Echinops ritro (18), Launaea acanthodes (11), Scariola orientalis (8), Arthrocnemum macrostachyum (3), Halopeplis perfoliate (6), Bassia indica (6), Atriplex prostrata (9), Chenopodium album (12), Salsola stocksii (6), Salsola sp. (2), Cressa cretica (6), Chrozophora tinctorial (3), Sporobolus spicatus (15), Zygophyllum simplex (19), Peganum harmala (3), Rheum ribes (11), Acanthophyllum microcephalum (3), Teucrium polium (7), Melica persica (8), Sameraria nummularia (8), Echinophora platyloba (7), Cupressus atlantica (17), Cupressus duclouxiana (11), Cupressus torulosa (7) |
3 | Plain and Rural | Highly-dense with rich and high-variety of vegetation cover. Due to the favourable environmental conditions, almost all kinds of plant species are apparent. | Alhagi persarum (9), Astragalus verus (18), Lycium edgeworthii (12), Carex divisa (17), Scirpoides holoschoenus (27), Juncus inflexus (13), Aeluropus lagopoides (6), Aeluropus littoralis (22), Melica persica (38), Stipa hohenackeriana (17), Halanthium purpureum (24), salsola imbricate (31), Artemisia sieberi (22), Andrachne fruticulosa (8), Pistacia atlantica (9), Acer monspessulanum (14), Prunus scoparia (26), Onosma microcarpum (18), Ajuga chamaecistus (15), Teucrium orientalis (19), Teucrium polium (16), Acanthophyllum microcephalum (8), Stachys acerosa (15), Andrachne fruticulosa (9), Sameraria nummularia (8), Rubia albicaulis (13), Actinostrobus arenarius (17), Callitris columellaris (12), Cupressus chengiana (21), Cupressus torulosa (14), Juglans regia (14) |
4 | Urban | Fairly poor, but with high variety of vegetation cover. Due to the favourable environmental conditions, many kinds of plant species are apparent. | Alhagi camelorum (22), Alhagi maurorum (18), Prosopis farcta (16), Launaea acanthodes (11), Scariola orientalis (14), Bassia indica (25), Atriplex prostrata (9), Chenopodium album (10), Salsola stocksii (21), Chrozophora tinctorial (17), Frankenia pulverulenta (18), Artemisia sieberi (9), Lactuca orientalis (22), Actinostrobus arenarius (21), Callitris preissii (16), Callitris rhomboidei (19), Cupressus duclouxiana (27) |
For collecting smaller specimens, the quadrat sampling (plots of a standard size) method was utilised. Significant aspects of plant community measured by quadrat sampling are included into frequency, density and cover (
At each site and year, soil A-horizon depth (mm), soil compaction (Lang Penetrometer Units) and soil shear stress (kg/cm2) were sampled to identify the texture and provide an approximation of certain soil elements at the sites. Soil samples were collected from areas adjacent to the colonies and the closest spots to the ant collection points. Next, the samples were transferred to plastic bags in the field and were taken to the laboratory for chemical analysis.
Various tests on the chemical and physical parameters of soil, such as texture (% of silt, sand and clay), salinity, electrical conductivity (EC), pH and organic carbon, total nitrogen content, magnesium, calcium, absorbable phosphorus, sodium, absorbable potassium and sodium absorption ratio were conducted at all the sampling sites (Suppl. material
By using an EC meter to measure salinity, a pH meter to measure alkalinity and a flame photometer to measure sodium and potassium, physical and chemical parameters of the soil at sampling sites were investigated and a spectrophotometer was utilised to determine the amount of phosphorus. A titration was also used to check the amount of calcium and magnesium. A titration with the colour variation of the Ortho-Phenanthroline ferrous technique was applied for the measurement of organic carbon. We used a hydrometer for the detection and analysis of the soil texture.
The collection, testing and analysis of physical and chemical soil parameters were conducted to evaluate the potential effect and correlation of measured physical and chemical factors on the population, diversity and abundance of the ant species in their habitats.
Ant species richness or diversity over locations was calculated using diversity indices including species richness (S), Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H´) and Pielou’s evenness (J´) (
Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (nMDS) constructed on the Jaccard resemblance measure was used to delineate the pattern of species composition across habitats (
A Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) in Canoco5 (
During the spring, summer and autumn in 2018 and 2019, a total of 311 sample units were collected from the 20 sites and contained 32 species that belonged to 13 genera, nine tribes and three subfamilies of Myrmicinae, Formicinae and Dolichoderinae.
The species of Cataglyphis bellicosus (Formicinae) was collected from 12 sites (37 sample units) in the central regions of Iran; therefore, it was indicated as the dominant species of these areas. Tapinoma simrothi (Krausse, 1911) was collected, as the only species of Dolichoderinae, from eight sites. Messor galla (Mayr, 1904), M. rufotestaceus (Foerster, 1850), M. sp. (Forel, 1890), Monomorium pharaonis (Linnaeus, 1758), Tetramorium moravicum (Kratochvíl, 1941), Crematogaster oasium (Santschi, 1911) (Myrmicinae) and Cataglyphis altisquamis (André, 1881), C. frigidus (André, 1881), Lepisiota bipartita (Smith, F., 1861), Plagiolepis abyssinica (Forel, 1894), Cardiocondyla stambuloffi (Forel, 1892), Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille, 1802) and Camponotus flavomarginatus (Mayr, 1862) (Formicinae) had the lowest abundance, each collected at only one site (Suppl. material
The order of average species richness, abundance, Shannon–Wiener and evenness measures ranged from the lowest to highest values in desert, mountainous and submontane, plains and rural and urban habitats (Fig.
The nMDS ordination plots of locations (habitats), generated by presence/absence and square root data of abundance, are illustrated in Fig.
nMDS plot of species composition, based on Jaccard distance measure derived from presence/absence of ant’s species in four habitats. DH = desert, MSH = mountainous and submontane, PRH = plain and rural, UH =urban.
DH1 = Salt Lake, DH2 = Historic caravanserai of Sadrabad, DH3 = Salty-lands of Qom Rood, DH4 = Tagharood industrial area, DH5 = Cheshmeh Palang Village, MSH1 = Darbandshoor Mount, MSH2 = Shah Ismaeil shrine, MSH3 = Chalk mine, MSH4 = Kebar Dam, MSH5 = Ghahan Village, PRH1 = Cheshme Ali Village, PRH2 = Ghadir Forest Park, PRH3 = Varzaneh Village, PRH4 = Qanavat City, PRH5 = Dastjerd City, UH1 = Qom City, UH2 = Kahak City, UH3 = Salafchegan City, UH4 = Kamkar Castle, UH5 = Jafariyeh City.
nMDS of ant’s assemblage structure based on Bray–Curtis index of similarity derived from the square root transformed means of abundance data in four habitats. DH = desert, MSH = mountainous and submontane, PRH = plain and rural, UH = urban.
DH1 = Salt Lake, DH2 = Historic caravanserai of Sadrabad, DH3 = Salty-lands of Qom Rood, DH4 = Tagharood industrial area, DH5 = Cheshmeh Palang Village, MSH1 = Darbandshoor Mount, MSH2 = Shah Ismaeil shrine, MSH3 = Chalk mine, MSH4 = Kebar Dam, MSH5 = Ghahan Village, PRH1 = Cheshme Ali Village, PRH2 = Ghadir Forest Park, PRH3 = Varzaneh Village, PRH4 = Qanavat City, PRH5 = Dastjerd City, UH1 = Qom City, UH2 = Kahak City, UH3 = Salafchegan City, UH4 = Kamkar Castle, UH5 = Jafariyeh City.
The result of the PERMANOVA test showed no significant difference in assemblage structure of ants amongst habitats (Pseudo-F = 1.25, df = 3, P (perm) = 0.23).
The results of the SIMPER analysis indicated that dissimilarity between paired habitats ranged from 63.15% to 77.74% (Suppl. material
Physical and chemical parameters of soil in sites
The highest salinity, total nitrogen, organic carbon and calcium were found in the soil at the Salt Lake site (central part) and the least amounts at the Darbandshoor site. The highest and lowest pH occurred at Darbandshoor and the Salt Lake site (central area), respectively. The variation in physical and chemical parameters of soil as the measured environmental variables is presented in Suppl. material
Enter subsection text
The result of CCA demonstrated that only the parameter of soil as the environmental variable (i.e. Ca) was significantly correlated with variation in the spatial distribution pattern of ant assemblages. Using environmental variables as independent variables, axes 1 (λ1 = 0.41) and 2 (λ2 = 0.27) explained 68.5% of the variance in ant assemblages. Based on the manual forward procedure, the calcium content in the soil was significantly (pseudo-F = 1.7, P = 0.01) associated with variation in the spatial distribution pattern of ant assemblages (Fig.
In total, 1398 plant specimens were recorded and 134 specimens were gathered, out of which 85 specimens were colonised by the ant colonies. Ant colonies were located at the base, stem tissues and internal duct of branches of these plants. The plant species' height varied from 0.1 m to 3.5 m. All plant species are shown in Table
Plain, rural and mountain habitats with 31 different plant species and desert and urban habitats with 21 and 17 different plant species had the highest and lowest species richness, respectively. Plain and rural habitats with 512 plant specimens, mountain habitat with 313 specimens, urban with 295 specimens and desert habitat with 268 plant specimens had the highest and lowest abundance of plant specimens, respectively.
According to our predictions, the impacts of ecological factors are found in each sampling area.
The results of the present study from four different habitats of the central areas of Iran with entirely different environmental conditions show that, except for calcium, the increasing or decreasing of the other chemical elements of the soils such as salinity, pH, total nitrogen and organic carbon of the soil, does not significantly affect the abundance and richness of ant species.
It seems that in the current study, the presence and interference of very different environmental factors in various habitats, such as very different vegetation coverage and climates, differ entirely from those by
Based on the results of Canonical Correspondence Analysis in the present study, indicating the significant effect of calcium on the presence of ant species, we hypothesise that, while there is a significant effect of calcium on the presence of ant species, the impact of this element on various genera is different. This element had a significant positive effect on the presence of Plagiolepis abyssinica and Crematogaster oasium species and a significant negative effect on the presence of Monomorium indicum and Cataglyphis frigidus species. Studies conducted by
Reporting on species belonging to Cataglyphis (Förster, 1850) from the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, the Maharès desert areas in Tunisia and the central deserts of Iran with a warm and dry climate, by
Based on the findings of the current study, another dominant species in the central parts of Iran is Lepisiota dolabellae, which was collected at 12 different sites with different climates and vegetation covers. The above species was also reported from the northern regions of Iran, with a very humid climate and very dense vegetation, by
The present study results indicate that the increase in the abundance of plant specimens in natural habitats has a direct positive effect on the abundance and species richness of ants. It is proved by the presence of the highest abundance of specimens and the highest diversity of ant species in the Plain and rural habitat with 512 plant specimens and the lowest number of specimens and richness of ant species in the desert habitat with 268 plant specimens. Studies by
However, given the results, we believe that more determining factors, such as the edaphic factors, food resources and environmental conditions for nesting in urban habitats reduce the positive effect of plant species' abundance and richness on the abundance and richness of ants. As the urban habitat has the highest gradient of calcium (Suppl. material
Amongst other findings of the present study is the exceptional symbiotic relationships between ants and plants, which was briefly discussed in the Materials and Methods section. The substantial and dense presence of ants in the vicinity of some plant species and their internal tissues shows the possible particular relationships between ants and plants. Due to the existence of common herbivorous, flea beetle larvae in many sampling areas in the vicinity of these plants, we strongly assume that ant species protect plants against these insects and instead use the internal tissues of plants for nesting and plant nectar for feeding. In some cases, ants of a colony were seen feeding on plant nectar, which could also confirm the symbiosis of ant species with some plants when they use the nectar and protecting trees against pests. Studies conducted by
Generally speaking, and by taking into consideration similar studies, it can be argued that ants can adapt significantly to different environments with unique conditions. However, some species, such as species of the Cataglyphis and Lepisiota genus, are unique to specific biological conditions.
Although the authors have tried to evaluate and represent the effects of ecological factors on the distribution and abundance of ants, countless aspects of this issue are still unknown and need further investigations in the future.
In this paper, results have demonstrated that the biodiversity and species distribution of ants in different habitats with different unique conditions are affected by edaphic factors.
According to the present study, calcium was one of the most influential factors in species distribution. In more detail, this element has a positive effect on the presence of some species. However, it has a contrasting effect on the presence of some others.
This study showed that the increase in the abundance and richness of plant species has a positive effect on ants' abundance and richness. However, the gradients of soil elements' changes have a much more significant effect on ants' abundance and richness than vegetation change.
We found that, although a few species have a lesser presence in these regions, generally the ant species have adapted to the particular environmental conditions, such as existing conditions of the areas under this study, as well as Cataglyphis bellicosus having been collected from most sites of all four habitats.
Lastly, due to a lack of sufficient knowledge of ants in Iran, it is essential to highlight that the study's region has a high potential for further studies.
We thank Professor Dr. Brian Taylor from the Royal Entomological Society of London, United Kingdom, for his guidance and validating the identified species. The authors are grateful to the Iran Meteorological Organization Management Committee for permission to access the data. We are also thankful to Dr. Mohammad Reza Shokri for his great help in data analysis and Dr. Ahmadreza Mehrabian for his leadership in identifying plant species.
This research did not receive any grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
This research did not receive any grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
The authors declare that they have followed the ethical standards of the Biosystematics Laboratory of the Shahid Beheshti University. The authors are fully responsible for the laboratory of the Shahid Beheshti University. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article. This research did not receive any grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
The authors designed the study, performed the fieldwork, analysed the specimens, accomplished the statistical analyses and wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This research did not receive any grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
The abundance of species in different habitats.
Values are estimated with maximum accuracy.