Temporal variation in the composition of ant assemblages (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) on trees in the Pantanal floodplain, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

One of the main challenges in the study of insect communities is to explain what determines species diversity and how it occurs. Many ecological factors have been reported to affect the richness and composition of species in biological communities and different ecological and environmental factors can structure ant communities on different spatial scales (Kaspari & Weiser 1999; Kneitel & Chase 2004). In the wetlands of the Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, dry and rainy seasons alternate annually. During the rainy season, a large plain, which includes parts of Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil, is covered by the flood (Feener et al. 2008). Floods are the main regulating force of diversity patterns and processes in the area (Adis et al. 2001). Faunal diversity depends on the seasonality of important structural events, which usually leads to the inundation of large areas (Raizer & Amaral 2001). The Pantanal is one of the least known biomes of Brazil, and it has been suggested that the functional role of invertebrates in this ecosystem has a large contribution to its preservation (Lewinsohn et al. 2005). The ant family Formicidae is one of the most successful insect groups, and includes one of the highest species number and biomass among invertebrates, being also omnipresent in a wide range of environments (Santos et al. 2003; Battirola et al. 2005), easy to collect and identify, and responding relatively quickly to habitat changes (Ribas & Shoereder 2007). In addition, a significant correlation between habitat structural characteristics and structural patterns of ant communities has often been found (Samways 1983; Soares et al. 2007). Although some previous studies have demonstrated that the coexistence of arboreal ant species is affected by various abiotic and biotic factors (

Influence of the vegetation mosaic on ant (Formicidae: Hymenoptera) distributions in the Northern Brazilian Pantanal

“…Ant species richness in this study is similar to other studies in the Pantanal (Ribas & Schoereder, 2007;Marques et al, 2010;Marques et al, 2011;Silva et al, 2013;Soares et al, 2013). Wilson (1987) was the first to show that periodically flooded Peruvian Amazon forests had more species than dry forests.…”

“…participate in most ecological processes and have complex social behaviors and a variety of strategies for survival (Adis et al, 2001;Battirola et al, 2005, Castilho et al, 2005Santos et al, 2008;Silva et al, 2013;Soares et al, 2013). In an attempt to associate habitat complexity with the role played by ants in tropical ecosystems of the Pantanal, we tested the interaction between the vegetation mosaic and the distribution and richness of the edaphic ant community in the Pantanal in Brazil.…”

Ant community (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) associated with Callisthene fasciculata (Spr.) Mart. (Vochysiaceae) canopies in the Pantanal of Poconé, Mato Grosso, Brazil

“…This predominance was observed by Battirola et al (2005) in the Pantanal of Poconé, MT, Corrêa et al (2006), Soares et al (2013) in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul, and by Castaño-Meneses (2014), in a dry tropical forest in Mexico. For Ribas et al (2003), dominance behavior in ants can be observed according to the heterogeneity of host plants and availability of resources.…”

“…In A. phalerata, Solenopsis Westwood, 1840 and Camponotus Mayr, 1861 predominated (Battirola et al, 2005). Pheidole, Camponotus and Ectatomma Smith, 1868 were the most diverse genres in trees in flooded and nonflooded areas in the Pantanal de Miranda, MS (Soares et al, 2013). Pheidole, Ectatomma and Camponotus were the most diverse groups in clumps of dry matter in the Pantanal, MS (Côrrea et al, 2006).…”

“…Studies carried out in the Pantanal have demonstrated that ants are an important component of the arthropods communities, participating in ecological processes, developing different survival strategies and social behaviors in these areas (Adis et al, 2001;Battirola et al, 2005;Castilho et al, 2007;Santos et al, 2008;Marques et al, 2010Marques et al, , 2011Soares et al, 2013). Considering the importance of conserving wetlands for the maintenance of biological diversity and the role played by this taxon in food chains associated with these habitats, this study evaluated the temporal variation in the structure and composition of the ant community in the canopy of Callisthene fasciculata (Spr.)…”