3.3 Principal component analysis of functional trait space
Principal component analysis showed that the functional trait space
covered by ant species communities was not significantly affected by
habitat type (p = 0.974, see Table S7 for PERMANOVA results). The trait
spaces covered by the ant communities of cereal crops (purple dashed
polygon, see Fig. 4) and new grasslands (dark green dashed polygon)
showed the same distribution and were both determined by the speciesLasius niger , Serviformica rufibarbis and Myrmica
rugulosa . The species Lasius fuliginosus determined the only
extension of the trait space occupied in old grasslands (light green
dashed polygon), and the position of this species along the first PCA
axis positively correlated in particular with a high affinity for nest
microhabitat in wood and bark (NMW, see projected arrow in Fig. 4),
social parasitism for colony foundation (SP) and large colony size (CS).