Eur. J. Entomol. 123: 25-34, 2026 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2026.005

Effects of agricultural systems on ant diversity (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Central MoroccoOriginal article

Asmaa FERNANE ORCID...1, Yousra BENYAHIA ORCID...1, Joaquín-Luis REYES-LÓPEZ ORCID...2, Ahmed TAHERI ORCID...3
1 Laboratory of Plant Biotechnology, Ecology and Ecosystem Valorization, Faculty of Sciences of El Jadida, Chouaïb Doukkali University, P.O. Box 20, El Jadida 24000, Morocco; e-mails: fernane.asmaa@ucd.ac.ma, yousrabenyahia@gmail.com
2 Area of Ecology, University of Cordoba, Building C-4 "Celestino Mutis," Rabanales Campus, 14071 Córdoba, Spain; e-mail: cc0reloj@uco.es
3 Laboratory of Ecology, Systematics, and Conservation of Biodiversity (LESCB), URL-CNRST N°18, FS, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tetouan, Morocco; e-mail: taheri.ahmed@ucd.ac.ma

Ants are essential components of ecosystems, playing critical roles in nutrient cycling, pest control, and soil health. Agricultural practices significantly influence ant biodiversity, yet studies on this subject remain scarce in Morocco. This study examines the impact of three agricultural systems on ant diversity in Central Morocco: conventional (monoculture with intensive pesticide use), organic (no synthetic inputs and crop diversification), and traditional (low-input polyculture based on local practices), focusing on El Jadida and El Oualidia provinces. Using pitfall traps, a total of 1823 ants belonging to 4 subfamilies, 14 genera, and 21 species were sampled across the three systems. Organic agriculture exhibited the highest species richness (17 species; relative abundances dominated by Tetramorium caldarium and Paratrechina longicornis), and the highest Shannon diversity index, followed by traditional agriculture (11 species) and conventional agriculture (8 species). PERMANOVA and IndVal analyses revealed significant differences in species composition, with organic and traditional systems fostering distinct communities compared to conventional agriculture. Linear Discriminant Analysis highlighted clear separations among systems, reflecting the effects of habitat heterogeneity and management practices. The study underscores the ecological importance of organic and traditional practices in supporting ant biodiversity and calls for sustainable agricultural management to limit the negative impacts of biodiversity loss and homogenisation caused by conventional farming.

Keywords: Ants, agricultural ecosystems, organic farming, traditional agriculture, conventional farming, bioindicators

Received: December 17, 2024; Revised: January 7, 2026; Accepted: January 7, 2026; Published online: February 3, 2026  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
FERNANE, A., BENYAHIA, Y., REYES-LÓPEZ, J., & TAHERI, A. (2026). Effects of agricultural systems on ant diversity (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Central Morocco. EJE, 123, Article 25-34. https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2026.005
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Agosti D., Majer J.D., Alonso L.E. & Schultz T.R. 2000: Standard Methods for Measuring and Monitoring Biodiversity. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 304 pp.
    2. Albrecht M., Kleijn D., Williams N.M., Tschumi M., Blaauw B.R., Bommarco R. & Sutter L. 2020: The effectiveness of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control, pollination services, and crop yield: A quantitative synthesis. - Ecol. Lett. 23: 1488-1498. Go to original source...
    3. Andersen A.N. 2000: A global ecology of rainforest ants: A review of the world's ant communities in relation to environmental gradients. - Global Ecol. Biogeogr. 9: 113-122.
    4. Anderson M.J. 2001: A new method for non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance. - Austral Ecol. 26: 32-46. Go to original source...
    5. Armbrecht I., Perfecto I. & Silverman E. 2006: Limitation of nesting resources for ants in Colombian forests and coffee plantations. - Ecol. Entomol. 31: 403-410. Go to original source...
    6. Ater M. & Hmimsa Y. 2008: Agriculture traditionnelle et agrodiversité dans le bassin versant de l'Oued Laou. - Travaux Inst. Sci. Rabat (Sér. Génér.) 5: 107-115.
    7. Badji C.A., Guedes R.N.C., Corrêa A.S., Ferreira G.H. & Nascimento I.C. 2006: Deltamethrin-induced impact on ant assemblages in tropical maize fields under conventional and no-tillage cultivation. - Sociobiology 48: 701-715.
    8. Baudron F. 2011: Agricultural Intensification: Saving Space for Wildlife? PhD thesis, Wageningen University, 244 pp.
    9. Bertelsmeier C., Luque G.M., Hoffmann B.D. & Courchamp F. 2015: Worldwide ant invasions under climate change. - Biodiv. Conserv. 24: 117-128. Go to original source...
    10. Bestelmeyer B.T. & Wiens J.A. 2001: Ant biodiversity in semiarid landscape mosaics: The consequences of grazing vs. natural heterogeneity. - Ecol. Appl. 11: 1123-1140. Go to original source...
    11. Bianchi F.J., Booij C.J. & Tscharntke T. 2006: Sustainable pest regulation in agricultural landscapes: A review on landscape composition, biodiversity, and natural pest control. - Proc. R. Soc. (B) 273: 1715-1727. Go to original source...
    12. Bisseleua D.H.B., Missoup A.D. & Vidal S. 2009: Biodiversity conservation, ecosystem functioning, and economic incentives under cocoa agroforestry intensification. - Conserv. Biol. 23: 1176-1184. Go to original source...
    13. Bos M.M., Steffan-Dewenter I. & Tscharntke T. 2007: The contribution of cacao agroforests to the conservation of lower canopy ant and beetle diversity in Indonesia. - Biodiv. Conserv. 16: 2429-2444. Go to original source...
    14. Cagniant H. 2006: Liste actualisée des fourmis du Maroc (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). - Myrmecol. Nachr. 8: 193-200.
    15. Cagniant H. 2009: Le genre Cataglyphis Foerster, 1850 au Maroc (Hyménoptères: Formicidae). - Orsis 24: 41-71.
    16. Curry A.K., Nelsen J.A., Stevens D.R. & Mathis K.A. 2023: The effects of land use change on ant communities in New England. - Insect Conserv. Divers. 17: 189-195. Go to original source...
    17. De La Mora A. & Philpott S.M. 2010: Wood-nesting ants and their parasites in forests and coffee agroecosystems. - Environ. Entomol. 39: 1473-1481. Go to original source...
    18. De Souza-Campana D.R., Silva R.R., Fernandes O.A., Futikami B.S., Bueno O.C., dos Santos L.A.O. & de Castro Morini M.S. 2022: Diversity of ground-dwelling ants in sugarcane plantations under different management systems. - J. Trop. Ecol. 38: 165-170. Go to original source...
    19. Dias T., Dukes A. & Antunes P.M. 2015: Accounting for soil biotic effects on soil health and crop productivity in the design of crop rotations. - J. Sci. Food Agric. 95: 447-454. Go to original source...
    20. Didham R.K., Tylianakis J.M., Hutchison M.A., Ewers R.M. & Gemmell N.J. 2005: Are invasive species the drivers or passengers of ecological change in degraded ecosystems? - Trends Ecol. Evol. 20: 470-474. Go to original source...
    21. Drummond F. & Choate B. 2011: Ants as biological control agents in agricultural cropping systems. - Terrestr. Arthr. Rev. 4: 157-180. Go to original source...
    22. Dudley N. & Alexander S. 2017: Agriculture and biodiversity: a review. - Biodiversity 18: 45-49. Go to original source...
    23. Dufrêne M. & Legendre P. 1997: Species assemblages and indicator species: The need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. - Ecol. Monogr. 67: 345-366. Go to original source...
    24. Duru M., Benoit M., Donnars C., Ryschawy J. & Dumont B. 2017: Quelle place pour l'élevage, les prairies et les produits animaux dans les transitions agricoles et alimentaires. - Fourrages 232: 281-296.
    25. Eisawi K.A., Subedi I.P., Shaheen T. & He H. 2022: Impact of land-use changes on ant communities and the retention of ecosystem services in Rashad District, Southern Kordofan, Sudan. - South Afr. J. Sci. 118: 11994, 9 pp. Go to original source...
    26. El Bilali H., El Ghmari H. & Harbouze R. 2021: Transition to organic agriculture in Morocco. - AGROFOR Int. J. 6: 38-50. Go to original source...
    27. Estrada M.A., Pereira J.R., de Almeida Â.A., Vargas A.B. & Almeida F.S. 2023: Ant functional groups and their effects on other insects in organic and conventional cropping areas. - EntomoBrasilis 16: 1018, 9 pp. Go to original source...
    28. Folgarait P.J. 1998: Ant biodiversity and its relationship to ecosystem functioning: A review. - Biodiv. Conserv. 7: 1221-1244. Go to original source...
    29. Gabriel D., Roschewitz I., Tscharntke T. & Thies C. 2006: Beta diversity at different spatial scales: Plant communities in organic and conventional agriculture. - Ecol. Appl. 16: 2011-2021. Go to original source...
    30. Gibb H. & Parr C.L. 2010: How does habitat complexity affect ant foraging success? A test using functional measures on three continents. - Oecologia 164: 1061-1073. Go to original source...
    31. Gomiero T., Pimentel D. & Paoletti M.G. 2011: Environmental impact of different agricultural management practices: Conventional vs. organic agriculture. - Critic. Rev. Plant Sci. 30: 95-124. Go to original source...
    32. Griffiths H.M., Ashton L.A., Walker A.E., Hasan F., Evans T.A., Eggleton P. & Parr C.L. 2018: Ants are the major agents of resource removal from tropical rainforests. - J. Anim. Ecol. 87: 293-300. Go to original source...
    33. Hammer Ø., Harper D.A.T. & Ryan P.D. 2001: PAST: Paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. - Palaeontol. Electron. 4: 4, 9 pp.
    34. Hamza A., Farooq M.O., Razaq M. & Shah F.M. 2023: Organic farming of maize crop enhances species evenness and diversity of hexapod predators. - Bull. Entomol. Res. 113: 565-573. Go to original source...
    35. Harbouze R., Pellissier J.P., Rolland J.P. & Khechimi W. 2019: Rapport de synthèse sur l'agriculture au Maroc. CIHEAM-IAMM, Montpellier, 104 pp.
    36. Helms IV, J.A., Smith J., Clark S., Knupp K. & Haddad N.M. 2021: Ant communities and ecosystem services in organic versus conventional agriculture in the US corn belt. - Environ. Entomol. 50: 1276-1285. Go to original source...
    37. Henckel L., Börger L., Meiss H., Gaba S. & Bretagnolle V. 2015: Organic fields sustain weed metacommunity dynamics in farmland landscapes. - Proc. R. Soc. (B) 282: 20150002, 9 pp. Go to original source...
    38. Hevia V., Ortega J., Azcárate F.M., López C.A. & González J.A. 2018: Exploring the effect of soil management intensity on taxonomic and functional diversity of ants in Mediterranean olive groves. - Agric. Forest Entomol. 21: 109-118. Go to original source...
    39. Holway D.A., Lach L., Suarez A.V., Tsutsui N.D. & Case T.J. 2002: The causes and consequences of ant invasions. - Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 33: 181-233. Go to original source...
    40. Houssni M., Kassout J., Ouahrani A.E., Mahroussi M.E., Boselli V.A., Kadaoui K., Sahli A., Kadiri M. & Ater M. 2022: The conservation challenge of traditional agroecosystems in Morocco: The case study of six oases agroecosystems. In Filho W.L. & Manolas E. (eds): Climate Change in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Region. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp. 201-224. Go to original source...
    41. Kurmi A., Kaushik S., Pandey S.K., Nagre S., Shweta S. & Thomas M. 2022: Traditional knowledge-based agricultural practices in Tribal dominated District Anuppur, Madhya Pradesh. - Plant Sci. Today 9: 52-62. Go to original source...
    42. Lobry De Bruyn L.A. 1999: Ants as bioindicators of soil function in rural environments. - Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 74: 425-441. Go to original source...
    43. Magurran A.E. 2013: Measuring Biological Diversity. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 272 pp.
    44. Martínez-Núñez C., Rey P.J., Salido T., Manzaneda A.J., Camacho F.M. & Isla J. 2021: Ant community potential for pest control in olive groves: Management and landscape effects. - Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 305: 107185, 9 pp. Go to original source...
    45. Matson P.A., Parton W.J., Power A.G. & Swift M.J. 1997: Agricultural intensification and ecosystem properties. - Science 277: 504-509. Go to original source...
    46. Meyer S. 2013: Impoverishment of the Arable Flora of Central Germany During the Past 50 Years: A Multiple-Scale Analysis. Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, 175 pp.
    47. Mrabet R., Moussadek R., Fadlaoui A. & Van Ranst E. 2012: Conservation agriculture in dry areas of Morocco. - Field Crops Res. 132: 84-94. Go to original source...
    48. Muhammad F.N., Rizali A. & Rahardjo B.T. 2022: Diversity and species composition of ants at coffee agroforestry systems in East Java, Indonesia: Effect of habitat condition and landscape composition. - Biodiversitas / J. Biol. Divers. 23: 3318-3326. Go to original source...
    49. Mylliemngap W. 2021: Agrobiodiversity and natural resource management in traditional agricultural systems of Northeast India. - Agrobiodiv. Agroecol. 1: 1, 23 pp. Go to original source...
    50. Padmavathy A. & Poyyamoli G. 2013: Biodiversity comparison between paired organic and conventional fields in Puducherry, India. - Pak. J. Biol. Sci. 16: 1675-1686. Go to original source...
    51. Parr C.L., Eggleton P., Davies A.B., Evans T.A. & Holdsworth S. 2016: Suppression of savanna ants alters invertebrate composition and influences key ecosystem processes. - Ecology 97: 1611-1617. Go to original source...
    52. Perfecto I. & Snelling R. 1995: Biodiversity and the transformation of a tropical agroecosystem: ants in coffee plantations. - Ecol. Appl. 5: 1084-1097. Go to original source...
    53. Perfecto I. & Vandermeer J. 2008: Biodiversity conservation in tropical agroecosystems: a new conservation paradigm. - Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1134: 173-200. Go to original source...
    54. Perfecto I., Vandermeer J. & Philpott S.M. 2014: Complex ecological interactions in the coffee agroecosystem. - Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 45: 137-158. Go to original source...
    55. Philpott S.M., Arendt W.J., Armbrecht I., Bichier P., Diestch T., Gordon C.E., Greenberg R.S., Perfecto I., Reynoso-Santos R., Soto-Pinto L., Tejeda-Cruz C., Williams-Linera G., Valenzuela J.E. & Zolotoff J.M. 2008: Biodiversity loss in Latin American coffee landscapes: Review of the evidence on ants, birds, and trees. - Conserv. Biol. 22: 1093-1105. Go to original source...
    56. Philpott S.M., Perfecto I., Armbrecht I., Parr C.L. & Andersen A.N. 2009: Ant diversity and function in disturbed and changing habitats. - Ant Ecol. 1: 137-156. Go to original source...
    57. Prusak A., Rowe G. & Strojny J. 2014: Is GMO "sustainable"? A review of the environmental risks of GM plants in comparison with conventional and organic crops. - Modern Manag. Rev. 19: 187-200. Go to original source...
    58. Pushnya M.V., Balakhnina I.V., Kremneva O.Yu., Nesterova (Sobina) A.Yu., Snesareva E.G. 2023: Crop rotation as a way to increase the biodiversity of agroecosystems and regulate the number of phytophages. - South Russia Ecol. Dev. 18: 113-126 [in Russian, English abstract]. Go to original source...
    59. R Core Team 2024: R: A language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, URL: http://www.R-project.org
    60. Sankovitz M., Rivera M.J., Manjarress T. & Mathis K.A. 2024: The role of ant-mediated biological interactions in agroecosystems. - Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 117: 79-91. Go to original source...
    61. Sedrati M.H., Saoud B., Ouayach A., Badraoui M. & Petit M. 2011: Le plan Maroc vert. - C. R. Acad. Agric. Fr. 97: 25-38.
    62. Suarez A.V., Holway D.A. & Case T.J. 2001: Patterns of spread in biological invasions dominated by long-distance jump dispersal: insights from Argentine ants. - Proc. Natn. Acad. Sci. 98: 1095-1100. Go to original source...
    63. Sumberg J. & Giller K.E. 2022: What is 'conventional' agriculture? - Global Food Secur. 32: 100617, 9 pp. Go to original source...
    64. Taheri A. & Reyes-López J. 2018: Exotic ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Morocco: checklist, comments and new faunistic data. - Trans. Am. Entomol. Soc. 144: 99-107. Go to original source...
    65. Tilman D., Fargione J., Wolff B., D'Antonio C., Dobson A., Howarth R., Schindler D., Schlesinger W.H., Simberloff D. & Swackhamer D. 2001: Forecasting agriculturally driven global environmental change. - Science 292: 281-284. Go to original source...
    66. Tscharntke T., Klein A.M., Kruess A., Steffan-Dewenter I. & Thies C. 2005: Landscape perspectives on agricultural intensification and biodiversity - Ecosystem service management. - Ecol. Lett. 8: 857-874. Go to original source...
    67. Tscharntke T., Clough Y., Bhagwat S.A., Buchori D., Faust H., Hertel D., Hölscher D., Juhrbandt J., Kessler M., Perfecto I. et al. 2011: Multifunctional shade-tree management in tropical agroforestry landscapes - a review. - J. Appl. Ecol. 48: 619-629. Go to original source...
    68. Underwood E.C. & Fisher B.L. 2006: The role of ants in conservation monitoring: If, when, and how. - Biol. Conserv. 132: 166-182. Go to original source...
    69. Vandermeer J. & Perfecto I. 2007: The agricultural matrix and a future paradigm for conservation. - Conserv. Biol. 21: 274-277. Go to original source...
    70. Widhiono I., Pandhani R.D., Darsono D., Riwidiharso E., Santoso S. & Prayoga L. 2017: Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) diversity as bioindicator of agroecosystem health in Northern slope of Mount Slamet, Central Java, Indonesia. - Biodiversitas / J. Biol. Divers. 18: 1475-1480. Go to original source...
    71. Zar J.H. 1999: Biostatistical Analysis. 4th ed. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 474 pp.
    72. Zina V., Fonseca A., Duarte G., Conde S., Fernandes M.R., Ferreira M.T. & Franco J.C. 2022: Ant diversity is enhanced by ecological infrastructures in agroecosystems: A case study in irrigated Mediterranean farmland. - Agronomy 12: 2690, 22 pp. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content