Date of Award

5-2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

School

Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences

Committee Chair

Jacob Schaefer

Committee Chair School

Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences

Committee Member 2

Mac Alford

Committee Member 2 School

Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences

Committee Member 3

Carl Qualls

Committee Member 3 School

Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences

Committee Member 4

Robin Verble

Committee Member 5

Jess Zimmerman

Abstract

This dissertation presents a functional, trait-based investigation of ant ecology in the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF), focusing on hurricane disturbance, vertical resource use, and ant-hemipteran mutualisms. Across three chapters, it integrates thermal traits, nutrient preferences, habitat use, and trophobiotic interactions to explain functional differences between species and inform predictive ecological models.

Chapter I provides the first trait-based analysis of hurricane response in ants using thermal tolerance traits (CTmin, CTmax, CTbreadth) as predictors in models. Contrary to expectations, species with higher critical thermal minima (lower cold tolerance) were more likely to increase in abundance following Hurricane Maria, while upper thermal limits and thermal breadth were less predictive. These findings suggest that hurricane responses cannot be explained as simple reactions to temperature shifts, despite well-documented post-hurricane changes in understory microclimate.

Chapter II examines nutrient use and vertical habitat stratification of ants using a vertically stratified bait-choice protocol. Contrary to other tropical forests, protein use did not increase with height aboveground on tree trunks, and species occurring in both ground and trunk habitats did not differ in nutrient preferences. While ant communities differed between strata, this was not driven by arboreal specialists, suggesting that nutrient-habitat relationships may differ in systems with relatively few arboreal species, such as island forests.

Chapter III documents trophobiotic associations among ants, hemipterans, and plants, providing direct evidence of honeydew feeding across multiple species and plant hosts. Associations were documented on pioneer and gap-specialist plants, supporting previous inferences about post-hurricane increases in canopy ants and scale insects.

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2197-4579

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