Land use intensification has extensive effects on the functional and phylogenetic diversity of neotropical ant communities

The effects of land-use change on biodiversity can be idiosyncratic, varying not only across taxa and land-use type, but also between different levels and dimensions of diversity. Using a species-level phylogeny and morphological traits to build a functional dendrogram, we compared the phylogenetic and functional diversity and the trait composition of ant communities in five habitats (Forest, Savanna, Tree plantations, Pastures, and Soy fields), representing a gradient of land-use intensity in Brazil´s Cerrado. Results shown that ant communities in the most intensive land-use type (soy fields) presented the most distinct morphological trait composition. Furthermore, communities in the soy fields presented significantly lower levels of functional and phylogenetic alpha diversity as compared to the forest and savanna communities. There was evidence of functional and phylogenetic clustering in the soy field communities and of functional clustering in the pasture communities, whereas those in the remaining land uses presented a random functional and phylogenetic structure. In addition, we found evidence of biotic homogenization in the soy field communities, as the dissimilarity in the functional and phylogenetic composition between soy field sites was significantly smaller than the dissimilarity between forest or savanna sites. These results suggest that intensification of land use in the Cerrado affects multiple dimensions of ant diversity. The species found in the soy fields represented a nested subset of those found in most of the remaining land uses, and this has potential implications for the delivery of ant services to soybean farmers.