Assessment of the Impact of Urbanization on Ground-Dwelling Ant Communities in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State, South West Nigeria

Urbanization is among the most pervasive drivers of biodiversity loss, restructuring insect communities by replacing natural habitats with impervious surfaces, fragmented green spaces, and chemically managed gardens. Ibadan Metropolis represents one of the fastest-urbanizing cities in West Africa, offering an important context to study the effect of urban land use gradients on ant communities. This study assesses changes in ground-dwelling ant community structure along an urbanization gradient from the city core to peri-urban agricultural zones in Ibadan. Pitfall traps will be deployed at 30 sites classified by land use intensity (high, medium, and low urban) across three sampling sessions. Ants will be identified to species level and community metrics calculated including species richness, evenness, and functional diversity indices. Impervious surface percentage, distance from nearest green patch, and human population density will serve as urbanization predictors in linear models. The study will identify ant species characteristic of high urbanization and assess whether urban green spaces serve as refugia for forest-associated species. Findings will inform urban biodiversity policies for the Oyo State Urban Development Board and add to the growing body of tropical urban ecology literature. Keywords: ant community ecology, urbanization gradient, Ibadan, ground-dwelling ants, biodiversity