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).