Ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in urban centers of the Alto Tietê, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The Alto Tietê municipalities have rich remnants of Dense Rain Forest in their vicinities. Considering the environmental importance of the Alto Tietê as water source and that of ants as components of tropical biodiversity, this paper aimed at describing the diversity, composition and similarity of the ant fauna in urban centers of different cities. Samples were collected in houses and city squares. Seven subfamilies and 87 species were recorded, of which 39% are commonly found in the Atlantic Forest remnants adjacent to the cities. Linepithema neotropicum is dominant in areas outside the houses and in squares. In each municipality, in the area inside the houses, there is a dominant species. Tapinoma melanocephalumwas recorded preferably in the area inside the houses. Five exotic species were recorded mainly in the city of Mogi das Cruzes, SP, Brazil.

Effect of ants on herbivory levels ofInga laurina: the interplay between space and time in an urban area

“…Our understanding of the biodiversity in tropical urban parks in the tropics is scarce (< 10% of studies in parks) (Nielsen et al 2014). In Brazil, most investigations in urban areas evaluate the abundance and community composition of epigaeic ants; in addition, most studies were conducted in the Atlantic Forest biome (Munhae et al 2009, Melo et al 2022. To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first study in Brazil to evaluate how herbivory in an urban park (with the matrix surrounded by a city) is affected by ant-partners, space and time.…”