Army ant males lose seasonality at a site on the equator

Army ants are keystone predators in the tropics and subtropics. During reproduction, males fly between colonies to mate with unmated, wingless queens. The males of most species are attracted to lights, and thus their presence and the timing of reproduction can be monitored using light traps. Previous studies examined the seasonality of army ant male reproduction and its relationship to climate factors at individual sites, but less is known about variation among sites. We examined army ant male flight seasonality at three sites: (1) La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica, a site with weak temperature seasonality and moderate rainfall and day length seasonality, (2) Yasuni National Park, Ecuador, a site with no temperature or day length seasonality and very weak rainfall seasonality, and (3) the state of Parana in southern Brazil, a site with very strong temperature, rainfall, and day length seasonality. Army ants showed strong seasonality at the La Selva and Parana sites, and very weak to no seasonality at the Yasuni site. At La Selva and Parana, flight times varied among species, but were very predictable from year to year, which suggests day length or temperature as predictable cues rather than rainfall. Lack of seasonal cues near the equator may be a challenge for army ant species that need to synchronize colony reproduction, and thus may have conservation implications for minimum population sizes needed to ensure stable populations.Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.