Ants of Mexico: Distribution and species richness in environments with varying levels of human impact

• Published in: Biodiversity data journal 2023-10, Vol.11, p.e109794-e109794
• Main Authors: Rodríguez de León, Itzel Rubí, Venegas Barrera, Crystian S, Gaona García, Griselda, Azuara Domínguez, Ausencio, Rosas Mejía, Madai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Americas; Animalia; Anthropogenic factors; Biodiversity; Data Paper (Biosciences); ecology; economic importance; Ecosystems; Environmental economics; Formicidae; Geographical distribution; health; Human impact; Introduced species; Land settlement; Land use; Plant reproduction; Species richness
• ISSN: 1314-2828; 1314-2836; 1314-2828
• DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.11.e109794

Anthropogenic disturbance, primarily driven by land-use changes, has caused alterations in ecosystems and biodiversity, including the ant community. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the current landscape of ant species richness and distribution in environments with varying degrees of disturbance in Mexico. Additionally, we sought to identify ant species of ecological, economic and health significance within the country. The present study shows that Mexico has a total of 33,286 records of 1,104 ant species belonging to 10 subfamilies. These species were recorded in a wide variety of environments with different levels of human impact. It was observed that both highly-disturbed environments and undisturbed environments had the highest number of ant records. In undisturbed environments, greater species richness was recorded, with a total of 704 species. Furthermore, the most representative ant species for the country were identified in ecological, economic and human health contexts. Within these species, a group composed of four exotic species ( , , and ) deserves special attention, as they have achieved extensive dispersion throughout the country and have been associated with negative impacts in ecological, economic and human health realms.