5. Conclusion
Our study reveals high spatial variation in ant communities in both
horizontal and vertical dimensions over small spatial scales. We
detected a distance-decay pattern in ant assemblage composition across
vertical forest strata, but no effects of horizontal distance on
assemblage turnover across trees. We also found higher horizontal
turnover in ant assemblages than vertical turnover at short spatial
scales. These patterns are associated with variation in air temperature
and relative humidity. Connectivity may also play a role in driving the
high turnover of ant assemblages horizontally. Our findings highlight
the necessity of considering species turnover in multiple spatial
dimensions, and furthermore reveal the importance of microhabitat
complexity in maintaining high biodiversity in tropical forest. Such
insights will be vital for future preservation of the biodiversity of
highly diverse tropical forests under anthropogenic global change
impacts.