| Research | ||
NEW - an updated and translated Key to the Ant Genera of Borneo in English and Malay [PDF], based on the keys of Yoshiaki Hashimoto (website). Plus a Glossary of Morphological Terms [PDF]. Note that these are both only draft versions. If you have any feedback please contact me at t.fayle@imperial.ac.uk.
Ant-termite predatory interactions
I am interested in quantifying the degree and specificity of ant predation
on termites. Despite being two of the most abundant and ecologically important
animal groups in tropical rain forests, work to date has tended to focus
on a single pair of species and consequently there is little understanding
of the overall nature of this interaction. In collaboration with the Natural
History Museum, London, I am using molecular methods to determine the
overall frequency of termite predation and the level of ant predatory
specificity in a rain forest in Gabon.
Ant-plant symbioses
During my PhD I studied the interaction between bird’s nest ferns
(Asplenium spp.) (Fayle et al. 2008 [PDF];
Fayle et al. 2009 [PDF])
and their ant inhabitants. Although ant inhabitants do protect ferns from
herbivores these ferns do not cultivate a relationship with any particular
species of ant (Fayle et al. In press). Instead, over 70 different ant
species nest in the ferns. This tremendous diversity is in part maintained
by a phylogenetic hierarchy of competitive interactions between ant species.
At the other end of the spectrum of specialisation, I have studied the
interaction between two specialist ant species and the rattan plant they
both inhabit (Edwards et al. 2010 [PDF]).
Effects of habitat change on ant communities and the functions
they perform
Clear-felling relating to agricultural expansion, logging and fragmentation
of forest are major drivers of biodiversity loss (Turner et al. 2008
[PDF],
Turner et al. 2011 [PDF],
Foster et al. In press). I have quantified the way in which habitat
modification impacts on ant communities (Fayle et al. 2010 [PDF],
Woodcock et al. In press) and the subsequent change in ecosystem function
(Fayle et al. 2011 [PDF]).
I am also involved in a new experimental forest fragmentation project
(Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems
– SAFE) that seeks to understand the relationship between local
landscape habitat complexity and biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
Development
of techniques for detecting species interactions from presence/absence
data
Null models of species co-occurrence are an increasingly popular way of
assessing interactions between species. Despite this, little is known
about the rates of Type 1 and Type 2 errors for such metrics. I have used
a simulation-based approach to assess the way error rates vary with matrix
size and variance in species abundance for a commonly-used metric, the
c-score (Fayle & Manica 2010 [PDF],
Fayle and Manica 2011 [PDF]).
Assessment of biodiversity survey techniques
I have conducted work determining the optimal methods
for assessing animal diversity, for tropical canopy ants (Yusah et al.
In press [Online-early])
and temperate moths (Fayle et al. 2007 [PDF]).
My PhD supervisors were William Foster and Paul Eggleton. My MPhil supervisors were Rhys Green and William Foster.
For these projects I am funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, the Natural History Museum, the Hanne and Torkel Weis-Fogh Fund and the Eranda Foundation.