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The foraging activity of Constrictotermes cyphergaster was investigated in the Caatinga of Northeast Brazil. Eight colonies were monitored for seven days, during both dry and wet seasons. Foraging activity occurred in exposed columns at night, generally between 22:00 and 05:00 h. During the wet season, foraging activity was significantly higher, with one bout every 1.6 AE 0.2 days, than the dry season, when foraging bouts were performed every 1.9 AE 0.3 days. Foraging activity throughout the study colonies presented high temporal synchronization. In both seasons, foraging was negatively correlated with air temperature and positively correlated with humidity. The foraging trails were often re-utilized and ranged from 1 to 18.5 meters in length. No difference between seasons in the area potentially utilized by the study colonies was observed. Approximately 51000 individuals participated in the foraging bout during the dry season, whereas some 87000 individuals participated in the foraging bout during the wet season. This corresponds to 43 and 74% of the estimated total nest population for the dry and wet seasons respectively. The average ratio soldiers:workers during foraging was 1 : 1.2 in the dry season and 1 : 2 in the wet season. The higher frequency and number of individuals foraging during the wet season in the present study are likely to be a strategy from C. cyphergaster to store energy reserves to be utilized during the dry season.

Neotropical Entomology 36(5): 693-698 (2007) Biomassa e Estrutura Populacional de Constrictotermes cyphergaster (Silvestri) . These data suggest that C. cyphergaster is an important consumer of vegetal matter and, therefore, an important species affecting the nutrient

In arid and semiarid environments, seasonality usually exerts a strong influence on the composition and dynamics of the soil community. The soil macroarthropods were studied in a Caatinga forest located in the Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural (RPPN) Fazenda Almas, São José dos Cordeiros, Paraíba, Brazil. Samples were collected during the dry and rainy seasons following the method proposed by the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Program (TSBF), with minor modifications. At each station, 15 soil blocks (20 × 20 × 30 cm: 12 L) were extracted and divided into three layers: A (0-10 cm), B (10-20 cm), and C (20-30 cm). In the rainy and dry seasons 1,306 ± 543(se) and 458 ± 212 ind.m -2 macroarthropods were found, respectively, with 35 and 18 respective taxa recorded. The abundance of individuals and taxa were significantly higher in the rainy season. Isoptera (57.8%) was the most abundant taxon, followed by Hymenoptera: Formicidae (17.2%), Coleoptera larvae (7.3%), and Araneae (3.5%). In the rainy season, abundance in layer A (576 ± 138 ind.m -2 ) was significantly higher than that of layer C (117 ± 64 ind.m ). There was also no difference between the layer B and C abundances. In the dry season, abundance in layer B (232 ± 120 ind.m -2 ) was not significantly different compared to layer A (182 ± 129 ind.m -2 ), but was significantly higher than abundance in layer C (44 ± 35 ind.m -2 ). During the rainy season, layer A (34 taxa) was significantly richer in taxa than layers B (19 taxa) and C (11 taxa). On the other hand, during the dry season the richness of layers A (12 taxa) and B (12 taxa) was equal, but significantly higher than that of layer C (6 taxa). Richness of taxa and abundance were positively correlated with soil organic matter and negatively correlated with soil temperature. The community of soil macroarthropods in the area of Caatinga studied has taxonomic and functional structures that are relatively complex and is therefore likely to exert an influence on ecosystem productivity due to its physical effects on soil profile and necromass fragmentation, as occurs in other arid and semiarid ecosystems throughout the world.Keywords: semiarid, soil fauna, environmental variables, insects. Abundância e estratificação de macroartrópodes de solo em uma Caatinga do Nordeste do Brasil ResumoEm ambientes áridos e semiáridos, a sazonalidade geralmente exerce forte influência sobre a composição e dinâmica da comunidade do solo. , com 35 e 18 táxons registrados, respectivamente. A abundância de indivíduos e a riqueza de táxons foram significativamente maiores na estação chuvosa. Isoptera (57,8%) foi o táxon mais abundante, seguido por Hymenoptera: Formicidae (17,2 %), larva de Coleoptera (7,3%) e Araneae (3,5%). Na estação chuvosa, a abundância da camada A (576 ± 138 ind.m ). Também não houve diferença entre as abundâncias das camadas B e C. Na estação seca, a abundância da camada B (232 ± 120 ind.m -2 ) não apresentou 737 Braz. J. Biol., 2010, vol. 70, no. 3 (suppl.), p. 737-746 Araújo, VFP., Band...

Litterfall has a strong influence on biodiversity and on the chemical and physical characteristics of the soil. Its production can be quite variable over time and space, and can be influenced by both natural and anthropogenic factors. We evaluated litterfall production and its relationship with rainfall, species richness, and the densities of the arboreal vegetation. Thirty litter traps were constructed with 1.0 m 2 nylon mesh (1.0 mm) and randomly installed within a 2000 m × 500 m area of arboreal/shrub Caatinga (dryland) vegetation. Litter samples were collected monthly from November/2010 to June/2012, and the collected material was classified, dried, and weighted. Species richness and tree densities were determined by conducting phytosociological surveys in 20 m × 20 m plots surrounding each of the litter traps. The litterfall accumulation rate was 3.673 Mgha -1 yr -1 , similar to values from other seasonally dry tropical forests. Litterfall production was continuous, and principally accompanied the rainfall rate, but with a time interval of 2 to 3 months, with the greatest accumulation at the beginning of the dry season and the least during the rainy season.The different fractions of materials demonstrated distinct accumulation rates, with leaves being the principal category. Litterfall production was found to be related to tree density, but no link was found to species richness. The observed temporal heterogeneity of litterfall production demonstrated a strong link between rainfall and the dynamics of nutrient cycling in the semiarid region of Brazil.Keywords: Caatinga, spatial variability, temporal variability, necromass, neotropical region.Efeitos da precipitação e da vegetação sobre a produção de serapilheira em uma área do semiárido do nordeste brasileiro ResumoA serapilheira exerce forte influência sobre a biodiversidade e as características físicas e químicas do solo. Sua produção pode ser bastante variável no tempo e no espaço e pode ser influenciada por fatores naturais e antropogênicos. Este estudo buscou avaliar a taxa de produção de serapilheira e a sua relação com a precipitação, riqueza de espécies e densidade da vegetação arbórea. No interior de uma área de 2000 m × 500 m foram sorteados aleatoriamente 30 pontos amostrais e em cada um deles instalado um coletor de aço de 1,0 m 2 . As coletas ocorreram mensalmente de novembro de 2010 a junho de 2012. O material coletado foi triado, secado e pesado. A riqueza de espécies e a densidade de árvores foram obtidas através de estudo fitossociológico em 30 parcelas de 20 m × 20 m. Foi registrada uma produção de serapilheira de 3,673 Mgha -1 yr -1 , taxa condizente com os valores encontrados para florestas tropicais sazonalmente secas. A produção de serapilheira foi contínua entre os meses, acompanhando principalmente o efeito tardio da precipitação (dois a três meses anteriores) e apresentou maior deposição no período do início da estação seca e menor no chuvoso. As frações do material apresentaram taxas de contribuição distintas, sendo a de fo...