ABSTRACT
There is often a vertical stratification of the vegetation in tropical forests, where each forest stratum has a unique set of environmental conditions, including marked differences in habitat heterogeneity, physical complexity, and microclimate. Additionally, many tropical forests are highly seasonal, and we need to consider the temporal variation in environmental conditions when assessing the functional aspects of their organisms. Here, we tested the hypothesis that vertical stratification and seasonality shape tropical ants' functional ecology and that there are differences in the functional trait diversity and composition between arboreal and ground-dwelling ant communities. We collected ants in the arboreal and ground strata in the rainy and dry seasons in six different areas, measuring seven morphological traits to characterize their functional ecology and diversity. Irrespective of the season, we found a distinct functional composition between arboreal and ground-dwelling ants and a higher functional richness on the ground. However, ground ants were more functionally redundant than arboreal ants. The differences in functional richness and redundancy between ant inhabiting strata and season could also be observed in the community-weighted mean traits: arboreal and ground ant traits can be distinguished in Weber's length, mandible length, eye length, and eye position on the head capsule. The differences in these functional traits are mainly related to the ants' feeding habits and the complexity of their foraging substrates. Overall, by providing the first systematic comparison of continuous traits between arboreal and ground-dwelling ants, our study opens new investigation paths, indicating important axes of functional diversification of tropical ants.
Subject(s)
Ants , Trees , Animals , Tropical Climate , Ecosystem , ForestsABSTRACT
The state of Par in northern Brazil is located entirely within the Amazon Basin and harbors a great diversity of landscape and vegetation types that support high levels of biodiversity. Here, we provide a comprehensive inventory of ant species and their distribution in Par. This regional list is based on an extensive review of species records from published and unpublished sources covering a period of 134 years (18862020) and includes the five most representative ant collections in Brazil. In total, we documented 12 subfamilies, 90 genera and 753 ant species, including 97 species recorded for the first time in Par and 12 species newly reported in Brazil. Sampling effort across the state is highly uneven, and most records may be associated with research areas near the state capital, mining areas, hydroelectric dams, and research field stations run by the state or universities. In addition, our results suggest a strong bias in ant collection in Par in terms of proximity of sampled sites to access routes, such as roads and rivers. We also found that species records were highly unevenly distributed based on areas of endemism within the Amazon, vegetation type, and protected areas within the state. Ant surveys are still lacking from most protected areas of Par, and further sampling is urgently needed in view of the current trend of expansion of major infrastructure projects and natural resource harvesting within protected areas of Par. Our database represents an extremely valuable and rich source of information for further studies on ant biodiversity and conservation in the Amazon Basin.
Subject(s)
Ants , Biodiversity , Animals , Ants/classification , Brazil , RiversABSTRACT
Variation in the structure of phlebotomine (sand fly) communities in forest fragments with different degrees of preservation and human occupation (peridomicile) in eastern Amazonia was studied. We identified 43 species of sand flies in our study, of which 38 occurred in both preserved forest areas and in the peridomiciles of short-term settlements, while another 28 species occurred in altered forest fragments and long-term settlements. The composition of the community at each site changed with the type of environment (forest or peridomicile), with the species Lutzomyia evandroi, L. whitmani, L. choti, L. serrana, L. triacantha, L. migonei, L. hirsuta, L. shannoni, and L. brachyphylla accounting for more than 54% of the differences among environments. The quality of the environment exerted a significant influence on the structure of phlebotomine communities, and affected their species composition, richness, and abundance.
Subject(s)
Biodiversity , Conservation of Natural Resources , Forests , Insect Vectors , Psychodidae , Animals , BrazilABSTRACT
ResumenLa deforestación es una de las principales causas de pérdida de biodiversidad en todo el mundo. Las hormigas son clave como ingenieras del ecosistema, por lo tanto, la pérdida de la diversidad de hormigas puede indicar la pérdida de funciones cruciales de los ecosistemas. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la riqueza de hormigas del suelo y estimar si los niveles superiores (Subfamilia y Género) pueden ser usados como sustitutos para estimar la riqueza de especies en diferentes estados de sucesión del bosque (bosque primario, bosque secundario y sistema agroforestal) en la Amazonía Oriental. Fueron muestreadas 65 parcelas en el estado de Maranhão y Pará entre 2011 y 2014. El esquema de muestreo siguió el procedimiento de Biología de Suelos Tropicales y Fertilidad (TSBF). Primero caracterizamos los tipos de vegetación de acuerdo con su edad y luego se estimó la riqueza de especies. Para evaluar si los taxones superiores pueden utilizarse como sustitutos utilizamos funciones lineales y exponenciales y correlación de Pearson. En total, se identificaron 180 especies distribuidas en 60 géneros. Los resultados mostraron que la riqueza fue superior en el bosque secundario intermedio (88) y avanzado (76) y fue menor en el sistema agroforestal (38) y bosque ribereño primario (35). El género fue el mejor sustituto para estimar la riqueza de especies de hormigas a través de los diferentes tipos de sucesión vegetal, explicando entre el 72-97 % (P < 0.001) de la variabilidad total de especies. Nuestros resultados confirman que el uso del nivel de género es un excelente sustituto para estimar la riqueza de especies de hormigas en la región y tanto los bosques en regeneración y sistemas agroforestales pueden contribuir en la conservación de la comunidad de hormigas en la Amazonía Oriental.
Abstract:Deforestation in Amazon forests is one of the main causes for biodiversity loss worldwide. Ants are key into the ecosystem because act like engineers; hence, the loss of ants' biodiversity may be a guide to measure the loss of essential functions into the ecosystems. The aim of this study was to evaluate soil ant's richness and to estimate whether higher taxa levels (Subfamily and Genus) can be used as surrogates of species richness in different vegetation types (fallows, old-growth forests and agroforestry systems) in Eastern Amazon. The samples were taken in 65 areas in the Maranhão and Pará States in the period 2011-2014. The sampling scheme followed the procedure of Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (TSBF). Initially, the vegetation types were characterized according to their age and estimated species richness. Linear and exponential functions were applied to evaluate if higher taxa can be used as surrogates and correlated with the Pearson coefficient. In total, 180 species distributed in 60 genera were identified. The results showed that ant species richness was higher in intermediate fallows (88) and old secondary forest (76), and was lower in agroforestry systems (38) and mature riparian forest (35). The genus level was the best surrogate to estimate the ant's species richness across the different vegetation types, and explained 72-97 % (P < 0.001) of the total species variability. The results confirmed that the genus level is an excellent surrogate to estimate the ant's species richness in the region and that both fallows and agroforestry systems may contribute in the conservation of Eastern Amazon ant community. Rev. Biol. Trop. 65 (1): 279-291. Epub 2017 March 01.
Subject(s)
Animals , Ants/classification , Ants/physiology , Soil , Forests , Biodiversity , Reference Values , Species Specificity , Brazil , Population Density , Statistics, Nonparametric , Conservation of Natural Resources , Animal DistributionABSTRACT
Deforestation in Amazon forests is one of the main causes for biodiversity loss worldwide. Ants are key into the ecosystem because act like engineers; hence, the loss of ants' biodiversity may be a guide to measure the loss of essential functions into the ecosystems. The aim of this study was to evaluate soil ant's richness and to estimate whether higher taxa levels (Subfamily and Genus) can be used as surrogates of species richness in different vegetation types (fallows, old-growth forests and agroforestry systems) in Eastern Amazon. The samples were taken in 65 areas in the Maranhão and Pará States in the period 2011-2014. The sampling scheme followed the procedure of Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (TSBF). Initially, the vegetation types were characterized according to their age and estimated species richness. Linear and exponential functions were applied to evaluate if higher taxa can be used as surrogates and correlated with the Pearson coefficient. In total, 180 species distributed in 60 genera were identified. The results showed that ant species richness was higher in intermediate fallows (88) and old secondary forest (76), and was lower in agroforestry systems (38) and mature riparian forest (35). The genus level was the best surrogate to estimate the ant's species richness across the different vegetation types, and explained 72-97 % (P < 0.001) of the total species variability. The results confirmed that the genus level is an excellent surrogate to estimate the ant's species richness in the region and that both fallows and agroforestry systems may contribute in the conservation of Eastern Amazon ant community.
