Analysis
We compared the observed mean differences between W. auropunctata and L. iniquum ants competing at baits in the presence and absence of phorid flies. We quantified the effect size and measured its precision using the DABEST-package in the Python language (Ho et al. 2018). We calculate the 95% confidence interval of the mean difference by performing 5000 bootstrap sample of the mean difference. The mean difference is calculated for each bootstrap sample and displayed as an estimation plot of the confidence interval.
To investigate the effects of the spatial distribution of arboreal ants on phorids, we examined the arrival time of phorids to trees dominated by L. iniquum. We used a simple t-test to determine differences in phorid arrival time between sites that included L. iniquum trees within clusters dominated by W. auropunctata and sites with trees dominated by L. iniquum with W. auropunctata trees interspersed (fig 4.2).