Scavenging in two mountain ecosystems: Distinctive contribution of ants in grassland and non‐ant invertebrates in forest

• Published in: Ecology (Durham) Vol. 105; no. 8; pp. e4365 - n/a
• Main Authors: Fernandes, Tiago Vinícius, Parr, Catherine L., Campos, Ricardo Ildefonso, Neves, Frederico de Siqueira, Solar, Ricardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-08-2024; Ecological Society of America
• Subjects: Animals; Ants; Ants - physiology; Baits; bottom‐up; Brazil; Cerrado; Ecological function; Ecological studies; Ecosystem; Ecosystems; environmental stoichiometry; Feeding Behavior - physiology; Forests; Grassland; Grasslands; Habitats; Insecta - physiology; Insects; Invertebrates; Invertebrates - physiology; Larvae; Mata Atlantica; Mountain ecosystems; Nutrient cycles; nutrient cycling; Nutrients; protein; resource removal; Scavenging; Seeds; Vertebrates; Brazil; bottom‐up; resource removal; protein; Mata Atlantica; Cerrado; nutrient cycling; environmental stoichiometry
• ISSN: 0012-9658; 1939-9170; 1939-9170
• DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4365

Scavenging is a key process for the cycling of nutrients in ecosystems, yet it is still neglected in the ecological literature. Apart from the importance of specific groups of animals in scavenging, there have been few ecological studies that compare them. Furthermore, the ecological studies on scavenging have mainly focused on vertebrates despite the crucial importance of invertebrates in this process. Here, we performed a large‐scale ant suppression and vertebrate exclusion experiment to quantify the relative contribution of ants, non‐ant invertebrates and vertebrates in scavenging nitrogen‐rich (insect carcasses) and carbon‐rich (seeds) baits in two contrasting mountainous habitats in Brazil (grasslands and forests). Overall, bait removal was 23.2% higher in forests than in grasslands. Ants were the primary scavengers in grasslands, responsible for more than 57% of dead insect larvae and seed removal, while, in forests, non‐ant invertebrates dominated, removing nearly 65% of all baits. Vertebrates had a minor role in scavenging dead insect larvae and seeds in both habitats, with <4% of removals. Furthermore, our results show that animal‐based baits were more consumed in forests than seeds, and both resources were equally consumed in grasslands. Therefore, we demonstrate the superiority of invertebrates in this process, with a particular emphasis on the irreplaceable role of ants, especially in this grassland ecosystem. As such, we further advance our knowledge of a key ecosystem process, showing the relative importance of three major groups in scavenging and the differences in ecosystems functioning between two contrasting tropical habitats.