In this study we assessed the leaf-litter ant community in the Cicuta Forest, a semideciduous forest located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. Specifically, we tested the following hypotheses: (1) ant richness and diversity are higher in the rainy season, due to higher resource availability and better temperature and humidity conditions; and that (2) the structure of the ant community is influenced by climate seasonality. We collected 83 ant species of 35 genera and eight subfamilies. In total, 64 species were collected in the dry season and 73 species in the rainy season. Based on rarefaction curves with confidence intervals, we observed that species richness in the dry and rainy seasons did not differ significantly from each other. Shannon diversity did not differ significantly (t = -1.20; P = 0.23) between the dry (3.43) and rainy seasons (3.52). We did not observe a significant effect of climate seasonality neither on ant species composition, richness, and diversity, nor on community structure. These results may be explained by the degree of isolation and degradation of this forest remnant. In short, our study contributes to knowledge on how seasonal variations affects ant communities. Sociobiology
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.