Myrmecological News 14 5-12 Vienna, January 2011 A positive relationship between ant biodiversity (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and rate of scavenger-mediated nutrient redistribution along a disturbance gradient in a south- east Asian rain forest Tom M. FAYLE, Lieneke BAKKER, Cheryl CHEAH, Tan Mui CHING, Alexandra DAVEY, Francesca DEM, Adam EARL, Yong HUAIMEI, Steve HYLAND, Björn JOHANSSON, Emma LIGTERMOET, Robin LIM, Ling Kai LIN, Phouthakone LUANGYOTHA, Bruno Herlander MARTINS, Ana Filipa PALMEIRIM, Sithisack PANINHUAN, Sebastian Kepfer ROJAS, Legi SAM, Phuong Thi Thanh SAM, Dwi SUSANTO, Agus WAHYUDI, Judy WALSH, Stefanie WEIGL, Paul G. CRAZE, Robert JEHLE, Dan METCALFE & Rosie TREVELYAN Abstract Human modification of pristine habitats almost always leads to the local extinction of a subset of the species present. This means that the ecosystem processes carried out by the remaining species may change. It is well documented that particular species of ants carry out important ecosystem processes. However, while much work has been carried out to investigate the link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in other taxa, this has received relatively little atten- tion for ant communities. In particular, no attempt has been made to link levels of ant diversity with the rates of nutrient redistribution carried out by scavenging species. Here we investigate the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on the rate of scavenger-mediated nutrient redistribution, using bait-removal rate as a surrogate measure. We found that although ant species richness, diversity, biomass and rates of bait removal did not change systematically across the disturbance gra- dient, the rate of bait removal was related to ant species richness. Sites with more ant species experienced a faster rate of bait removal. This is the first documented positive relationship between ant species richness and the rate of an ecosystem process. If these results are applicable at larger spatial scales for a wider range of nutrient sources, loss of ant species could lead to important changes in the way that ecosystems function. Key words: Ecosystem function, ecosystem process, scavenging, baiting, Malaysia, Danum Valley, rainforest, disturbance, Formicidae, nutrient redistribution. Myrmecol. News 14: 5-12 (online 20 May 2010) ISSN 1994-4136 (print), ISSN 1997-3500 (online) Received 20 November 2009; revision received 11 February 2010; accepted 26 February 2010 Dr. Tom M. Fayle (contact author), Insect Ecology Group, University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK. E-mail: tmf26@cam.ac.uk Lieneke Bakker, Boterstraat 2, 6701 CW, Wageningen, The Netherlands. E-mail: lieneke.bakker@wur.nl Cheryl Cheah & Tan Mui Ching, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. E-mail: cherylcheah_85@hotmail.com; muiching_tan@yahoo.com Alexandra Davey, Starlings, Slapton, Kingsbridge, Devon TQ7 2PT, UK. E-mail: alickydavey@gmail.com Francesca Dem & Legi Sam, New Guinea Binatang Research Centre, PO Box 604, Madang, Papua New Guinea. E-mail: fdem@binatang.org.pg; lsam@binatang.org.pg Adam Earl, Brooklyn, Dernfield, Plumpton Green, East Sussex BN7 3ED, UK. E-mail: earlyadam@hotmail.co.uk Yong Huaimei, 26, Lrg Raja Udang 3, Tmn Kingfisher, 88450 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. E-mail: huaimei_06@yahoo.com Steve Hyland, 19 The Court, Cypress Downs, Templeogue, Dublin 6W, Ireland. E-mail: steveoh@dublin.com Björn Johansson, Linkoping University, 58331 Linkoping, Sweden. E-mail: bjojo698@student.liu.se Emma Ligtermoet, 5 Gribble Road, Bull Creek, Perth 6149, Western Australia. E-mail: em_ligtermoet@westnet.com.au Robin Lim, Danum Valley Field Centre, 91112 Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia. E-mail: robinlim_85@hotmail.com Ling Kai Lin, Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sabah, Malaysia. E-mail: estherling123@yahoo.com Phouthakone Luangyotha & Sithisack Paninhuan Wildlife Conservation Society, Laos Program, PO Box 6712, Unit 15 House No. 173 Ban Sisavad Tai, Chanthabuly District, Vientiane, Lao PDR. E-mail: pluangyotha@wcs.org; spaninhuane@wcs.org Bruno Herlander Martins, Rua Nicolau Tolentino, no. 26, 1 Dto, 2855-210, Corroios, Portugal. E-mail: bruno_herlander@hotmail.com Ana Filipa Palmeirim, Rua do Mar do Norte, 15 Dto, 1990-145 Sta Maria dos Olivais, Lisboa, Portugal. E-mail: anafilipapalmeirim@gmail.com Sebastian Kepfer Rojas, Amalievej 1, 1875, Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark. E-mail: sebastiankr@hotmail.com