By maintaining a forest-like structure, shaded cocoa plantations contribute to the conservation of ants that usually live in the soil, leaf litter or canopy of tropical forests.Here we synthesize the available information on the diversity and community structure of ants in shaded cocoa plantations in the Atlantic forest region of Brazil, compare ant assemblages in cocoa agroforests with forests and other forms of agriculture, and discuss how these shaded plantations contribute to the conservation of the ants in the Atlantic Forest region. We also discuss ants of economical importance and of special interest, including Camponotus, Dolichoderus, Gnamptogenys, Pachycondyla, Pseudomyrmex and other litter dwelling genera. We discuss the situation of the tramp ant Wasmannia auropunctata in the Bahian cocoa-producing region where it is considered as native, and that of the two cryptobiotic genera Thaumatomyrmex and Typhlomyrmex, as well as that of proven and possible endangered army ant and Ponerini species. A total of 192 ant species from four strata were found in extensive sampling of a cocoa plantation with a relatively simple shade canopy (comprised primarily of Erythrina). Species richness in the cocoa plantations corresponded roughly to that of low diversity native forests, and species composition of cocoa plantations was most similar to native habitats (forest and mangroves) while ant composition in other agricultural habitats was most similar to that of urban areas. Although occurrences of Wasmannia auropunctata were similar in cocoa plantations and forests, abundance of Thaumatomyrmex and Typhlomyrmex, generally thought to be rare ants, was relatively high in cocoa plantations. These results, from cocoa plantations with relatively simple shade, demonstrate the importance of cocoa for ant conservation in the Atlantic forest region of Brazil. It is likely that cocoa plantations with a greater number of vegetation strata and higher tree species richness (such as traditional cabruca plantations) provide even more important habitat for ants generally and for ant species of conservation concern.

ABSTRACT. Litter ants richness (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in remnants of a semi-deciduous forest in the Atlantic rain forest, Alto do Rio Grande region, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The community of Formicidae (Insecta, Hymenoptera) in semideciduous seasonal forest of the Atlantic rain forest biome was studied in remnants ranging from 2.99 to 45.45 ha, in the region of the Alto do Rio Grande, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The ants collected in 15 samples of litter of one square meter each, using Winkler extractors method, in each forest fragment. Each sample were taken at intervals of 50 meters. A total of 142 species of ants, were distributed into 40 genera, 23 tribes and 10 subfamilies. The communities showed a high richness and diversity indices values. The size of the fragments did not influence the ant richness. KEYWORDS.

-Nosocomial infections bring a high risk to the health of hospital patients and employees. Ants are common organisms in Brazilian hospitals, where they can act as dispersers of opportunistic microorganisms in places they forage. The occurrence of multi-resistant bacteria carried by ants was analyzed in two public hospitals (HA and HB) in southeastern Bahia, Brazil. In these two hospitals 132 workers belonging to three ant species were collected. The bacteria associated to these ants were identifi ed and their susceptibility to antibiotics was evaluated. More than half (57.3%) of ants collected in HA were associated with some kind of bacteria, with 26.7% of them being opportunist bacteria, while 84,2% of the ants from HB presented associated bacteria growth, with 61.4% of them being opportunist bacteria. Twenty four species of bacteria were isolated. The Gram-positive bacilli of the genus Bacillus were the most frequent, followed by the Gram-positive cocci, Gram-negative bacilli (family Enterobacteriaceae) and Gram-negative non-fermenters bacilli. The profi le of sensitivity of the bacterial isolates to drugs pointed out the existence of multi-resistant isolates carried by ants. For the fi rst time, are reported cases of the same bacterial resistant isolates taken form homospecifi c ant workers that point out the importance of ants to bacteria dissemination and proliferation in a hospital. Our results suggest that the risk of contamination presented by these ants is similar to the one of any other mechanical vector of bacterial dissemination.KEY WORDS: Nosocomial infection, public health, urban ant O êxodo contínuo da população mundial rural e o consequente crescimento acelerado dos conglomerados urbanos provocacom frequência, a redução da qualidade sanitária das cidades, acompanhada da proliferação de vetores de inúmeras doenças. O papel de alguns desses vetores já é bem conhecido, como o dos ratos na propagação de zoonoses como a leptospirose e hantavirose, piolhos de Rickettsia spp., pulgas na transmissão de doenças como a peste bubônica e o tifo murino, e mosquitos na transmissão de inúmeras doenças de importância à saúde pública no Brasil, como a malária e a dengue.

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-Mangroves are common in estuaries along the Atlantic coast of Brazil. Although plant diversity is low, this ecosystem supports a range of animals, offering some resources for non-aquatic organisms. Many insects live in mangroves and, between them, many ant species that are exclusively arboreous. Mangroves throughout the world suffer from high levels of human impact, and this is particularly true for southeastern Bahia, where land-uses include traditional crab and fish exploitation, urban development, refuse pollution, recreation, and timber extraction. The ants of 13 mangrove sites, representing a range of levels of human use, have been studied along 250 km of the southern Bahia littoral, between Itacaré and Porto Seguro. Ants were sampled both inside and on the periphery of the tidal zone, using entomological rainbow, baiting, collect of hollow branches and pit-fall. A total of 108 species have been collected, with the richest genera being Camponotus and Pseudomyrmex, and the most frequent belonging to the genera Azteca and Crematogaster. The ant community living on the periphery of mangrove areas is rather homogeneous regardless of the degree of environmental perturbation, but varies markedly with the disturbance inside the mangroves themselves. The evolution of richness of the both communities, mangrove and periphery, is negatively related to the human effects, even limited to the periphery. Ant communities therefore have the potential to be useful as biological indicators of ecological impacts of land-use in these mangrove systems.KEY WORDS: Formicidae, animal community RESUMO -Os manguezais são comuns ao longo dos estuários da costa Atlântica do Brasil. Embora a diversidade de plantas seja baixa, esse ecossistema suporta uma fauna diversa, oferecendo diferentes tipos de recursos para numerosos organismos não aquáticos. Muitos insetos habitam as áreas de manguezal e, entre estes, numerosas espécies de formigas exclusivamente arbóreas. Na maior parte das áreas do mundo onde ocorrem, os manguezais vêm sofrendo altos níveis de impacto humano e isso é particularmente evidente no Sudeste da Bahia, onde ocorre o tradicional extrativismo de caranguejos e peixes, aterramento com fim de exploração imobiliária e corte de lenha. A comunidade de formigas de 13 manguezais com diferentes níveis de antropização foi estudada na costa sudeste da Bahia, em áreas distribuídas em 250 km de litoral, entre Itacaré e Porto Seguro. As formigas foram amostradas dentro e nas vegetações periféricas dos manguezais, usando lençol entomológico, isca, coleta de galhos ocos e pit-fall. Foram amostradas 108 espécies de formigas, sendo Camponotus e Pseudomyrmex os gêneros com maior riqueza especifica e Azteca e Crematogaster os mais freqüentes. A comunidade de formigas que vivem na vegetação periférica aos manguezais estudados é bastante homogênea mas varia notoriamente com a perturbação antrópica dentro desses ambientes. As riquezas das comunidades da periferia e do próprio manguezal são relacionadas negativamente com o grau de an...