Richness and structure of ant assemblies (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Atlantic forest in southern Brazil

Abstract

Ant diversity is influenced by the structural complexity of the environment. Ants are thus an ecologically important group due to their potential to serve as indicators of environmental quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate ant diversity in areas with different land use histories and thus, within different stages of regeneration in the Permanent Preservation Area of the Foz do Chapecó Hydroelectric Plant reservoir. Ant assemblies among sample sites were compared using rarefaction analysis, and estimated richness, frequency of occurrence, and relative abundance were calculated. Associations between species and sample sites were evaluated using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). We identified 55 species in total from 24 genera, distributed among seven subfamilies. Eight species had positive associations with sample sites. Estimates indicated that ant richness may be up to 21.4% greater than that observed. This study presents an inventory of species capable of colonizing environments undergoing natural regeneration processes, and aids our understanding of ecological recovery dynamics in protected areas near hydroelectric plant reservoirs southern Brazil.

Utilization of Coconut Oil ( Cocos nucifera L.) for Provoke The Presence of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

“…Species that exist in litter, bush, and terrain locations in the Serdang Menang Village plantation are certainly more than ant species that are interested in coconut oil. It can be assessed that on ant inventory in other regions as conducted by Lutinski et al (2017), found 52 species of ants in the Atlantic forest, South Brazil. Ranny et al (2015), found 12 species of ants in the Lubuk Minturun dragon fruit plantation.…”

What is the influence of agroecological and conventional crops under ant assemblages?

“…Ants of the genus Solenopsis are associated with anthropization (Lutinski et al 2014(Lutinski et al , 2017b, loss and fragmentation of tropical forests, reducing the richness of other ant species by competitiveness (Dejean et al 2015). This is the case of Solenopsis saevissima, a species that is often found in environments modified by man.…”

“…Regarding the rarefaction curves, they did not reach asymptote, indicating that the sampling effort did not fully analyze the ant assemblies, being possible to register additional species in all environments. However, the lack of stabilization in the sampling curves is commonly observed in ant communities, a pattern that may be related to the aggregate distribution or rarity of some species (Lutinski et al 2017b(Lutinski et al , 2018.…”

Corak Taburan Ruang-Masa Semut (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) di Ekosistem Sawit, Endau Rompin, Pahang

“…Terdapat sekurang-kurangnya dua generasi semut pekerja bagi memastikan koloni sentiasa stabil (Collingwood et al 2011). Sifat ini telah menjadikan semut sebagai haiwan majoriti di dalam sesuatu habitat contohnya ladang kelapa sawit (Lutinski et al 2017). Justeru, ini menjadikannya calon yang sesuai sebagai penunjuk biologi ekosistem dan sekaligus menekankan kepentingan kajian ekologi kumpulan serangga tersebut.…”