Ants of Queretaro City, Mexico

What is it about?

We study the diversity of ant communities in four remnants of tropical dry forest with different degrees of disturbance which are on the edge of the urban area in Querétaro city, Mexico. In general, we found low rates of turnover, even in sites with high values of alpha diversity, evidencing the impoverishment of the ant community surrounding Querétaro city and the susceptibility of the community to extinction. Moreover, it was found that the soil proprieties and vegetation structure influenced patterns of ant diversity along the urban-disturbance gradient.

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Why is it important?

Despite the anthropogenic disturbance of the tropical dry forests surrounding the city of Querétaro, these forest remnants serve as a refuge for rare species and prove ecosystem functions.