Occurrence of Atta cephalotes (L.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Alagoas, Northeastern Brazil

Corrêa, Michele M.; Bieber, Ana Gabriela D.; Wirth, Rainer; Leal, Inara R.

doi:10.1590/s1519-566x2005000400023

Cited by 23 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…This study analyses forest structure and resulting microclimate at nests of Atta cephalotes , one of the two co‐occurring Atta species in NE Brazil (Correa et al , 2005) that is widespread throughout the Neotropics from Mexico to Bolivia (Kempf, 1972). Colonies of A. cephalotes are long lived (life expectancy of 8 years; Meyer et al , 2009) and construct nests that are characterised by a large central nest mound sometimes accompanied by smaller lateral excavations.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem engineering by leaf-cutting ants: nests of Atta cephalotes drastically alter forest structure and microclimate

Meyer

Leal

Tabarelli

et al. 2010

Ecological Entomology

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107

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1. The role played by Atta species as ecosystem engineers remains poorly investigated despite previous evidence that their nests can impact plant assemblages.2. In a large remnant of Atlantic forest, we compared forest structure at 36 Atta cephalotes nests to control sites and assessed shifts in microclimate along transects from nests up to 24 m into the forest (11 representative colonies).3. Nests (average size: 55 m 2 ) were virtually free of understorey vegetation with a high proportion of dead stems (up to 70%).4. Canopy openness above colonies increased by roughly 40% compared with controls (5.3% at colony vs. 3.7% at control sites).5. At nest centres, about 6% of the total radiation penetrated through the sparse canopy. Light levels declined exponentially, reaching a third (2%) in the unaffected forest understorey.6. Likewise, maximum soil temperatures and daily amplitudes declined exponentially from 25 to 23 • C and 1.6 to 0.8 • C, respectively. Soil moisture increased significantly along transects, yet the effect was small and no differences were detected for air temperature and humidity. 7. We extrapolated that individual A. cephalotes nests modify the microclimate in an area of almost 200 m 2 on average. For the population, this amounts to 6% of the area along forest edges, where colonies are strongly aggregated, compared with only 0.6% in the forest interior.8. Nests changed microclimate to an extent that has been reported to impact seed germination, plant growth, and survival of seedlings, conclusively demonstrating that leaf-cutting ants act as ecosystem engineers.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem engineering by leaf-cutting ants: nests of Atta cephalotes drastically alter forest structure and microclimate

Meyer

Leal

Tabarelli

et al. 2010

Ecological Entomology

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107

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“…Other organisms in other taxa have also been suggested as bioindicators, but few are as widespread as El. nigrita [e. g. Atta cephalotes (L.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), for well preserved Atlantic Forest environments, and Atta sexdens (L.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), for disturbed areas -see Corrêa et al 2005].…”

Section: Abundance Contrary Tomentioning

confidence: 99%

Edge effects on the orchid-bee fauna (Hymenoptera: Apidae) at a large remnant of Atlantic Rain Forest in southeastern Brazil

Silveira¹

2006

Neotrop. Entomol.

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The main goal of this study was to assess the abundance, richness, and the community structure of the orchid-bee fauna at different distances from the edge. In all, 1,183 males from 20 species were collected. Only minor and insignificant variation in richness and abundance were observed among the sites. Two dominant species, Euglossa analis Westwood (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and Eulaema cingulata (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), showed strongly opposing habitat associations: while males of the former were most collected in the interior of the forest, the latter was most found at or close to the edge. The responses of individual species, such as these, and not composite measures of richness and abundance, are more informative regarding forest integrity and edge effects.

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“…Study species .— We studied Atta cephalotes , one of the most common LCA species in the region (Corrêa et al . 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…2005). Atta cephalotes has a wide distribution, from Mexico to the Amazon, with an additional disjunct occurrence in NE Brazil (Kempf 1972, Corrêa et al . 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

Cutting More from Cut Forests: Edge Effects on Foraging and Herbivory of Leaf‐Cutting Ants in Brazil

et al. 2007

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Edge‐mediated changes in species composition are known to result in modified species interactions. Because of the crucial trophic position of herbivores and their far‐reaching impact on plant communities, it is important to understand how edge influences herbivory. In the present paper, we investigated whether and how leaf‐cutting ant foraging is altered in the forest edge, as this habitat is characterized by an increased proportion of pioneer species. We assessed basic foraging data as well as the herbivory rate (i.e., the proportion of the leaf material harvested by a colony in relation to the available leaf area in the foraging area) of Atta cephalotes colonies at the edge versus interior sites of a large remnant of the Atlantic forest in Northeast Brazil. Our results indicated clear edge effects on leaf‐cutting ants: equally sized A. cephalotes colonies located at the forest edge removed about twice as much leaf area from their foraging grounds than interior colonies (14.3 vs. 7.8%/col/yr). This greater colony‐level impact within the forest edge zone was a consequence of markedly reduced foraging areas (0.9 vs. 2.3 ha/col/yr) and moderately lower leaf area index in this habitat, whereas harvest rates were the same. Our results suggest that forest edges induce increased leaf‐cutting ant herbivory, probably via the release of resource limitation. Together with the increase of leaf‐cutting ant populations along forest edges, this may amplify environmental changes induced by habitat fragmentation.

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Occurrence of Atta cephalotes (L.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Alagoas, Northeastern Brazil

Cited by 23 publications

References 7 publications

Ecosystem engineering by leaf-cutting ants: nests of Atta cephalotes drastically alter forest structure and microclimate

Ecosystem engineering by leaf-cutting ants: nests of Atta cephalotes drastically alter forest structure and microclimate

Edge effects on the orchid-bee fauna (Hymenoptera: Apidae) at a large remnant of Atlantic Rain Forest in southeastern Brazil

Cutting More from Cut Forests: Edge Effects on Foraging and Herbivory of Leaf‐Cutting Ants in Brazil

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