Mini-Winkler Extractor and Pitfall Trap as Complementary Methods to Sample Formicidae

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the use of mini-Winkler extractor and pitfall traps as appropriate and complementary methods to sample ant communities in the phytophysiognomy mosaic in the Poconé Pantanal region, state of Mato Grosso, Brasil. Seven units were studied for landscape, located within a 25 km(2) collection area, formed by thirty 250-m transects, at 1-km intervals in a 5 × 5 km area. Five collection points were marked in each transect at 50-m intervals, totaling 150 points. A collection was made at each sampling point with mini-Winkler extractor and pitfall traps. Using the mini-Winkler extractor, 1,088 individuals were collected distributed in 20 genera and 55 species, with Solenopsis invicta Buren and Pheidole (gr. biconstricta) sp.1 as the most frequent ants. Using pitfall traps, 2,726 individuals distributed in 24 genera and 48 species were sampled and Dorymyrmex (gr. pyramicus) sp.1 and Pheidole (gr. biconstricta) sp.1 were the most frequent species. A significant difference between the methods was observed in measured species number. The Principal coordinates analysis discriminated two species groups exclusively sampled by the mini-Winkler extractor and another by the pitfall methods. Therefore, it was concluded that these methods were complementary for ant diversity inventories in the Poconé Pantanal region.

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.…”

Leaf litter arthropod responses to tropical forest restoration

“…; Sabu and Shiju ; Silva et al. ). Taking this into account, the collective results of morphospecies and function group composition point to a strong trend of recovery in both the island and plantation treatments compared to natural regeneration.…”

Amazon Rainforest Ant-Fauna of Parque Estadual do Cristalino: Understory and Ground-Dwelling Ants

“…Mato Grosso State is the third largest state in Brazil, hosting three different Biomes and the many new records in an inventory (18 species collected in the soil, seven in vegetation and 10 in both strata) demonstrating a gap or shortcoming related mainly to the lack of surveys throughout the South American territory (but see: Kempf 1972; Brandão 1991; Silva et al, 2013;Meurer et al, 2015). Although there are a number of studies on the ecology and distribution of ants in the Amazon in northern Mato Grosso (Dáttilo et al, 2013;Falcão et al, 2015;Vicente et al, 2011Vicente et al, , 2012Vicente et al, , 2014Vicente et al, , 2015 this is the first list of ant species for the region, as well as being the most complete list published until now for the southern Amazon.…”

“…Regardless of their ecological importance and diversity, studies on Brazilian ant fauna were usually concentrated in the Atlantic Forest (Feitosa & Ribeiro, 2005;Figueiredo et al, 2013;Silva et al, 2007), the Cerrado (Dáttilo et al, 2012b;Silva & Brandão, 2014;Camacho & Vasconcelos, 2015), and Pantanal (Ribas & Schoereder, 2007;Silva et al, 2013;Meurer et al, 2015). Although the Amazon is one of the largest and heterogeneous tropical forests remaining, the panorama is not different.…”