Proventriculus of Cephalotes ants: a structural and comparative analysis.

The use of optic microscopy and scanning electron microscopy propitiated the comparative examination of the structure of the proventriculus bulb of Cephalotes atratus, Cephalotes clypeatus and Cephalotes pusillus. This portion of the digestive tract possesses highly sclerotized projections which act in the selection of victuals. This structure is of importance to phylogeny studies and thus was compared with others known species of ants in a dendrogram adapted from Eisner (1957). We did not detect differences among the three studied species in the nature of histochemistry and ultra morphology.

Questioning the implementation of habitat corridors: a case study in interior São Paulo using ants as bioindicators.

In this paper we operated ant collections in three inland Atlantic forest fragments and in the neighboring Edmundo Navarro de Andrade State Forest (FEENA), an Eucalyptus plantation located in Rio Claro, interior of São Paulo State. We show that the ant communities of the native forest fragments are more similar among themselves than to the ant community of FEENA. Thus we evidence that, in addition to the clear difference in vegetation segment, other components of the biota (like ants) can be different between FEENA and the native forest fragments. Our results conveniently served as a basis to discuss the proposal of connecting FEENA to the three native forest fragments by a habitat corridor. These fragments are important to conservation purposes since they represent the biggest areas of native vegetation in the region.

Questioning the implementation of habitat corridors: a case study in interior São Paulo using ants as bioindicators

In this paper we operated ant collections in three inland Atlantic forest fragments and in the neighboring Edmundo Navarro de Andrade State Forest (FEENA), an Eucalyptus plantation located in Rio Claro, interior of São Paulo State. We show that the ant communities of the native forest fragments are more similar among themselves than to the ant community of FEENA. Thus we evidence that, in addition to the clear difference in vegetation segment, other components of the biota (like ants) can be different between FEENA and the native forest fragments. Our results conveniently served as a basis to discuss the proposal of connecting FEENA to the three native forest fragments by a habitat corridor. These fragments are important to conservation purposes since they represent the biggest areas of native vegetation in the region.

Neste trabalho operamos coletas de formigas em três fragmentos de Mata Atlântica e na vizinha Floresta Estadual Edmundo Navarro de Andrade (FEENA), um reflorestamento de eucaliptos em Rio Claro, interior de São Paulo. Demonstramos que as comunidades de formigas dos fragmentos de floresta nativa são mais parecidas entre si do que com a da FEENA. Desse modo evidenciamos que além da clara diferença no segmento vegetacional, outros componentes da biota (como as formigas) podem ser diferentes entre a FEENA e os fragmentos de floresta nativa. Nossos resultados oportunamente serviram como base para discussão sobre a proposta de se unir através de um corredor ecológico a FEENA a esses fragmentos de floresta nativa. Tais fragmentos são importantes para fins de conservação uma vez que representam as maiores áreas de vegetação nativa da região.

Body size and flight distance in stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Meliponini): inference of flight range and possible ecological implications.

We examined the spatial implications of maximum flight distance for several species of stingless bees. Data suggested that maximum flight distance in Meliponini is a function of body size, especially generalized wing size, which can be estimated through principal component analysis. For six species of stingless bees, flight distances and generalized wing sizes were highly correlated (r = 0.938). This indicates that species of Meliponini occupy an effectively larger area as body size increases, which has important implications in the spatial dynamics of local populations restricted to forest fragments. We also used the fitted linear regression model to estimate the maximum flight distance for 12 other species of Meliponini. The results of this research may provide insights for future studies of biological conservation.

Body size and flight distance in stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Meliponini): inference of flight range and possible ecological implications

Neste trabalho analisamos as implicações espaciais da distância máxima de vôo para algumas espécies de meliponíneos. Os dados sugerem que a distância máxima de vôo em meliponíneos está relacionada ao tamanho do corpo, especialmente ao tamanho generalizado das asas, que pode ser estimado utilizando análises de componentes principais. Uma análise utilizando seis espécies de meliponíneos evidenciou que o tamanho generalizado das asas está fortemente correlacionado à distância de vôo (r = 0,938). Isso sugere que espécies de meliponíneos ocupam área efetivamente maior quanto maior for o tamanho do corpo, trazendo importantes implicações para a dinâmica espacial de populações locais restritas a áreas fragmentadas. Neste trabalho, também utilizamos um modelo de regressão linear a fim de estimar as distâncias máximas de vôo para 12 outras espécies de meliponíneos. Esta pesquisa fornece subsídios para futuros estudos relacionados à conservação da biodiversidade.

Fungus-growing ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on Santa Catarina Island, Brazil: patterns of occurrence.

A taxonomic survey on fungus-growing ants (Attini) was made at 14 beaches on Santa Catarina Island (SC), Brazil. The samplings were manual, in soil or litterfall, in the following habitats: sandy beach, herbaceous vegetation and shrubby vegetation. From 12 species of Attini (ten of Acromyrmex Mayr and two of Cyphomyrmex Mayr), the most frequent were Cyphomyrmex morschi Emery and Acromyrmex crassispinus Forel, collected, respectively, on eight and ten of the monitored beaches. Altogether, Sorensen's similarity coefficients were high (range: 0.59-0.80), in spite of the lower numbers of ant species on sandy beaches.

[Natural microbial control of crickets populations (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae: Scapteriscus borellii): regulation of populations aggregated in time and space]. / Controle microbiano natural de populações de paquinhas (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae: Scapteriscus borellii): regulação de populações agregadas no tempo e no espaço.

From 1983 through 1988, a total of 1,762 collections, containing 31,312 individuals of the mole cricket, Scapteriscus borellii, were made, principally in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Collections were found to fit a negative binomial distribution both as whole and when divided into monthly collections. In these collections, an iridovirus, a entomogenous nematode, and the fungi Metarhizium anisopliae, Beauveria bassiana, Paecilomyces sp., and Entomophtora sp., were found to be agents of natural mortality, although usually as endozootics and relatively rarely as epizootics and panzootics. As a group, these diseases were also distributed in a binomial negative. These data suggest that the temporal and spatial aggregations of the mole crickets, produced by high rates of migration among suitable habitats, are adaptations to outbreaks of epidemics, which also serve as mole cricket population regulators. These ideas are develop and derived from simple mathematical models of population change.

Seed predator responses.

An examination of Enterolobium contortisiliquum predispersal seed predation by beetles suggests that simple tests of the importance of seed density or seed distance from the parent tree must be interpretated with caution.