DOI: 10.5061/dryad.1vhhmgr1q
title: Data from: Ant communities respond to a large-scale disturbance along an elevational gradient in Puerto Rico, U.S.A.

description: Large scale disturbances are known to significantly alter aspects of both
 species diversity and ecosystem function. In the Caribbean, hurricane
 events are a significant form of disturbance, the effects of which have
 been shown to alter food web function, especially in the terrestrial
 environment. Although hurricanes have been studied from a variety of their
 effects on ecosystems, there is little research on how these storms affect
 species along elevational gradients. Within terrestrial habitats, ants
 form the basis of many food webs, being both numerically dominant and
 functioning in a variety of roles within the food web. On September 20th,
 2017 Hurricane Maria, a category 4 storm, crossed over the island of
 Puerto Rico, causing significant damage to both human and natural systems.
 We collected data on ant abundance and composition from 150 samples of
 leaf litter along a 700 m elevational gradient during June the year of and
 after the storm event. Ant abundance increased by 400% after the storm
 with many common ant species seeming to benefit, especially at lower
 elevations. There were subtle changes in ant richness, with declines
 generally after the storm, but yet again this response was dependent on
 elevation. This is one of the first studies to consider how terrestrial
 insect communities are affected by large hurricane events across
 elevations, and our results are in contrast to past work showing declines
 in ant abundance after such storms.
description: Samples were conducted in the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF),
 a 11,330 ha site located on the eastern side of the main island of Puerto
 Rico, U.S.A. Average annual rainfall is 3,460 mm (McDowell &
 Estrada-Pinto, 1988) and monthly temperatures range from 21 to 25°C (Brown
 <em>et al</em>., 1983). In both 2017 and 2018 sampling took
 place between June 14 and July 24, which are within the wet season for the
 island. The elevation transect we used occurred in a mixed forest, typical
 of Tabonuco forest (Uriarte <em>et al</em>. 2019), composed of
 both large hardwoods (e.g., <em>Dacryodes excelsa</em>) and
 gap specialists like <em>Prestoea montana</em> and
 <em>Cecropia peltata</em>, across fifteen different
 elevations. Sample sites were from 300 m to 1000 m elevation at 50 m
 elevation increments (n = 15). At each elevation, 10 plots (total 10 m x
 10 m) were laid out in a 2 x 5 grid, with no space between adjacent plots.
 Within each plot, we sampled litter using a 0.5 m<sup>2</sup>
 PVC frame in either the northwest corner in the upper five plots or
 northeast corner in the lower five plots. As the goal of the sampling was
 to collect litter invertebrates, the frame was placed to avoid any large
 obstructions (e.g., boulders). Thus, we produced 150 samples (15
 elevations with 10 plots at each). Individual plots were processed using
 Winkler sacs, which are a passive means to extract invertebrates by using
 their own behavior (Sabu & Shiju, 2010; Besuchet <em>et
 al</em>., 1987). Bulk samples of leaf litter from each plot were
 first vigorously agitated for 1 minute over a 1.25 cm mesh screen to
 separate invertebrates from large debris. This sifted material was then
 placed into Winkler sacs that were then hung in place for 48 hrs. At the
 bottom of the Winkler sac collection bag, we placed a container of 95%
 ethanol to catch and preserve all invertebrates. Following sorting of
 invertebrates from debris, ants were then separated into 0.25-dram shell
 vials for each plot within each elevation. This original sampling design
 ended in late July 2017, but on September 20<sup>th</sup>,
 2017 Hurricane Maria passed over the island and did considerable damage to
 the forest (e.g., removal of the of canopy with stem breakage and
 uprooting of stems, Uriarte <em>et al</em>. 2019). We decided
 to resample the plots at the same time during the next year (June 2018) to
 maintain continuity in seasonality. All methods were the same except
 samples on plots were collected in the opposite corner to minimize any
 differences due to our removal of litter in 2017. Given the severity of
 the storm, no sites in the LEF escaped without damage, and thus we did not
 have access to any control sites to compare to pre-storm samples. The LEF
 has also seen significant human disturbance in the form of agriculture
 (i.e., coffee) and logging, however these practices took place before the
 purchase of the property in the 1930s (Thompson et al. 2002) and no
 records of these disturbance exist above ~400 m; it is not clear that any
 of these disturbances took place along the studied transect.
description: # Data from: Ant communities respond to a large-scale disturbance along an
 elevational gradient in Puerto Rico, U.S.A.
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1vhhmgr1q](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1vhhmgr1q) Data are ant abundance values for 26 species collected in the Luquillo mountains in Puerto Rico in 2017 and 2018. Ants were collected in 10 plots per elevation (spanning every 50 m from 300 to 1000 m) by collecting all litter in each plot in a 0.5 m plot and sorting using a Winkler sac hung for 48 hours. After this time all ants were sorted and identified to species using appropriate keys. ## Description of the data and file structure Data are arranged in columns as species names and the year of collection (2017 or 2018) across 15 elevations (from 300 to 1000 m with samples every 50 m). Fully species names are located below the data. *Anochetus mayri* *Bethylidae sp.* *Brachymyrmex sp* *Cyphomyrmex minutus* *Eurhopalothrix gravis* *Hypoponera opacior* *Linepithema iniquum* *Monomorium pharaonis* *Myrmelachista sp.* *Nylanderia sp* *Nylanderia microps* *Odontomachus ruginodis* *Pheidole flavens* *Pheidole moerens* *Rogeria foreli* *Solenopsis sp.* *Strumigenys eggersi* *Strumigenys gundlachi* *Strumigenys margaritae* *Strumigenys rogeri* *Tapinoma litorale* *Temnothorax isabellae* *Wasmannia auropunctata* *Zatania cisipa*