Supporting data for the thesis "Biological invasions and ecosystem functioning: A multifaceted approach to the understanding of ant impacts from local to global scale"

The datasets contained in this page are related to the PhD thesis in Ecology and Biodiversity of Felipe P. da Rocha. This thesis was developed into three main areas of focus interconnected with each other and separated into three folders related to Chapters 2 to 5. First, I investigated the origin, native range, and introduction history of an ecologically threatening invasive ant, Anoplolepis gracilipes (Chapter II). After that, I executed two natural experiments in a mosaic of invaded and uninvaded landscapes. Here, I aimed to understand the consequences of biotic changes on ecosystem functioning by quantifying and comparing the contributions of three invasive ant species among themselves and with the native ant assemblage. First, I investigated the direct and indirect contributions of the invasive ants to carrion decomposition by measuring rates of overall mass loss and maggot mass gain (Chapter III). Next, I examined the effects of the invasive ants A. gracilipes and S. invicta on the diet of an invasive generalist predator, the frog Eleutherodactylus planirostris, and, consequently, on the native ant assemblage (Chapter IV). Finally, broadening the scope to examine ants’ importance as prey for amphibians, I summarised and quantified the worldwide role of ants in amphibian diets (Chapter V).