DOI: 10.5061/dryad.w9ghx3frb
title: Data from: The influence of illumination regimes on the structure of ant (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) community composition in urban habitats

description: The reliance on visual cues can vary among ant species living in different
 habitats, and is mostly influenced by the level of ambient illumination
 and the morphological adaptations of ant species that can determine their
 period of daily activity. Thus, different illumination regimes might
 affect ant community composition in habitats with different ambient
 illumination intensities. Despite this, in the literature, information is
 scarce about the effects of ambient illumination on ant activity. In the
 present study, we investigated the effect of ambient illumination
 intensity on the activity of ant species and their community composition
 under herbaceous and woody plants in 24 localities from Kyiv and Kyiv
 region, Ukraine. Our results showed that the ambient illumination
 properties of the habitat type affect the presence of ant species and the
 activity of their workers. In open habitats, the maximum ambient
 illumination had a negative effect, whereas in closed, woody habitats the
 maximum ambient illumination and tree circumference generally had a
 positive effect on the number of non-dendrobiotic ant individuals found on
 individual plants. The dendrobiotic species were less affected by the
 maximum illumination intensity. Although, in closed habitats, the effect
 of the previous variables and their interaction had species-specific
 aspects. Based on the former, we can tell that more structured forest
 habitats can provide broader illumination intensity ranges, allowing more
 ant species to coexist. However, similar illumination intensity ranges can
 lead to overlaps in the activity of ant species under the same
 illumination conditions, especially in open habitats. The outcomes of
 these interactions are highly influenced by larger trees that besides
 lowering illumination intensities, can enhance ant worker activity and
 promote species coexistence.
description: Data was collected under field conditions in Kyiv and its
 outskirts. 
description: # Data from: The influence of illumination regimes on the structure of ant
 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) community composition in urban habitats
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.w9ghx3frb](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.w9ghx3frb) ## Description of the data and file structure **HerbaceousPlants.xlsx** contains the data regarding the number of ant individuals and species found on different plants. We also present the illumination values (min, max, mean) measured under certain plant species. The different ant species are as follows: Foci - Formica cinerea, Lani - Lasius niger, Myrsp - Myrmica species, Forufi - Formica rufibarbis, Doqu - Dolichoderus quadripunctatus, Laem - Lasius emarginatus, Fofu - Formica fusca, Tmnsp - Temnothorax sp., Lepsp - Leptothorax sp., Focu - Formica cunicularia, Fopra - Formica pratensis No_Species - the total number of ant species found on individual plants No_Species_Binomial - 1: if only one species was found; 2: more than one species found No_Individuals - the total number of ant individuals found on individual plants Habitat type - six habitat types based on the European Nature Information System (Eunis) database: (a) E5.1 - anthropogenic herb stands; (b) E5.21 - xero-thermophile fringes; (c) FA.3 - species-rich hedgerows of native species; (d) G1.D - fruit and nut tree orchards (partly open habitats); (e) G5.2 - small broadleaved deciduous anthropogenic woodlands (partly open habitats); (f) I1.5 - bare tilled, fallow or recently abandoned arable lands Study_site - study sites within Kyiv and its outskirts Year - the year when the field surveys were performed: 2015-2017. **WoodyPlants_Non-Dendrobiont.xlsx** contains the data regarding the ant individuals and species found on different woody plants. In this dataset, we considered only 16 non-dendrobiont ant species. We also present the illumination values (min, max, mean) measured under certain plant species. The circumference (meter) and the diameter (meter) of shrubs and trees are also given. We used circumference in our analyses, as it is a more accurate representation of the size (age) of the trees. The different ant species are as follows: Cafa - Camponotus fallax, Cali - Camponotus ligniperdus, Cava - Camponotus vagus, Foci - Formica cinerea, Focu - Formica cunicularia, Fofu - Formica fusca, Fopo - Formica polyctena, Forufa - Formica rufa, Forufi - Formica rufibarbis, Lani - Lasius niger, Lapl - Lasius platythorax, Laum - Lasius umbratus, Lepsp - Leptothorax sp., Myrsp - Myrmica species, Tmnsp - Temnothorax sp., Lane - Lasius neglectus No_Species - the total number of ant species found on individual plants No_Species_Binomial - 1: if only one species was found; 2: more than one species found No_Individuals - the total number of ant individuals found on individual plants Habitat type - ten habitat types based on the European Nature Information System (Eunis) database: (a) E2.1 - permanent mesotrophic pastures (open territories with groups of shrubs and seedlings of trees); (b) G1.A53 - East-European linden forests; (c) G1.A162 - mixed lime-oak-hornbeam forests; (d) G1.C2 - exotic Quercus plantations; (e) G4.F - mixed forestry plantations; (f) G1.11 - riverine Salix woodland; (g) G5.1 - lines of trees; (h) G5.2 - small deciduous anthropogenic woodlands; (i) I2 - small cultivated areas of gardens and parks; (j) X11 - large parks Study_site - study sites within Kyiv and its outskirts Year - the year when the field surveys were performed: 2015-2018. **WoodyPlants_Dendrobiont.xlsx** contains the data regarding the ant individuals and species found on different woody plants. In this dataset, we considered only the four dendrobiont ant species. We also present the illumination values (min, max, mean) measured under certain plant species. The circumference (meter) and the diameter (meter) of shrubs and trees are also given. We used circumference in our analyses, as it is a more accurate representation of the size (age) of the trees. The different ant species are as follows: Doqu - Dolichoderus quadripunctatus, Labr - Lasius brunneus, Laem - Lasius emarginatus, Lafu - Lasius fuliginosus Ant nests - the presence (1) or absence (0) of dendrobiont ant nests. No_Species - the total number of ant species found on individual plants No_Species_Binomial - 1: if only one species was found; 2: more than one species found No_Individuals - the total number of ant individuals found on individual plants Habitat type - nine habitat types based on the European Nature Information System (Eunis) database: (a) G1.A53 - East-European linden forests; (b) G1.A162 - mixed lime-oak-hornbeam forests; (c) G1.C2 - exotic Quercus plantations; (d) G4.F - mixed forestry plantations; (e) G1.11 - riverine Salix woodland; (f) G5.1 - lines of trees; (g) G5.2 - small deciduous anthropogenic woodlands; (h) I2 - small cultivated areas of gardens and parks; (i) X11 - large parks Study_site - study sites within Kyiv and its outskirts Year - the year when the field surveys were performed: 2015-2017. For the distance-based redundancy (dbRDA) analyses we used the combined data set of "WoodyPlants_Non-Dendrobiont.xlsx" and "WoodyPlants_Dendrobiont.xlsx". In these analyses, we investigated the relationships between environmental variables and ant assemblages found in the different habitat types.