Ants as indicators of soil quality in an on-going recovery of riparian forests

Segat, Julia Corá; Vasconcellos, Rafael Leandro de Figueiredo; Silva, Daniel P.; Baretta, Dilmar; Cardoso, Elke Jurandy Bran Nogueira

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2017.07.038

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…10, No. 9; transporting materials for the formation of nests (Paul et al, 2015;Segat et al, 2017;Siqueira et al, 2014;Wolters, 2000). This may explain the coexistence of a high number of Formicidae with other taxa.…”

Section: Soil Famentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations Between Different Soil Management Practices, Soil Fauna and Maize Yield

Martins¹,

Siqueira²,

Moura³

et al. 2018

JAS

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Soil fauna play an important role in ecosystems, and in this context, it is important to better understand how the abiotic and biotic drivers of these organisms interact. We hypothesize that soil fauna are affected by different soil management practices, which has an influence on maize grain yields. The aim of this study was to evaluate the structure of soil fauna under different soil management practices and their associations with maize grain yield. The experiment was conducted in Maranhão, Brazil, in an area divided into 24 plots of 4 × 10 m in a randomized block design with six treatments with four replicates (R). Pitfall traps were placed in the area. The treatments were Leucaena leucocephala-Leucaena (L), nitrogen (N), humic acid + nitrogen (HA + N), nitrogen + Leucaena (N + L), humic acid + Leucaena (HA + L) and humic acid + nitrogen + Leucaena (HA + N + L). The soil fauna dominance, abundance, richness, Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Pielou evenness index and maize grain yield were determined. Formicidae was clearly affected by management with Leucaena, while Coleoptera was affected by management with nitrogen. Despite this, Isopoda and Diplura were the only groups associated with the maize yield. Although fauna abundance did not differ among treatments, it was related to the yield. This study confirms that the abundance and some taxa of soil fauna can influence yield and that these organisms can be used to increase agricultural sustainability.

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Section: Soil Famentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations Between Different Soil Management Practices, Soil Fauna and Maize Yield

Martins¹,

Siqueira²,

Moura³

et al. 2018

JAS

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“…As our results indicate, Atta species are well adapted to disturbed landscapes revealing that Atta is a genus resilient to environmental disturbances (Diehl et al, 2017;Segat et al, 2017). These species were associated with young forests (Vasconcelos and Cherrett, 1995;Segat et al, 2017), forest edges (Silva et al, 2018), road edges (Forti et al, 2020), grazing sites (Leite et al, 2018) and open habitats (Dalle Laste et al, 2019;Swanson et al, 2019). This indicates that the wide dispersion of the Atta genus may have been favored by increased degradation of biomes (Siqueira et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Interplays between Atta ants (Formicidae: Attini), soils and environmental properties in the Brazilian Neotropics: a preliminary assessment

Schaefer¹,

Henriques²,

Gomes³

et al. 2021

Revista Brasileira De Ciência Do Solo

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Leaf-cutting ants are the most important herbivore in the neotropics, represent active agents of pedobioturbation, and are regarded as ecosystem engineers. These ants have a wide variety of ecological functions, such as pollination, seed dispersal, and tree-growing control. Despite this importance, little is known on their distribution in relation to possible soil and environmental conditions that affect Atta ants occurrence. This study aimed to spatialize the main occurrences of Atta species in the Brazilian territory and evaluate the main environmental conditions driving ants species in the Brazilian tropical landscapes, at a preliminary basis. We compiled data of occurrence for 12 Atta species from Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) databases, and scientific literature (up to 2019) for each Atta species. To each point, we obtained the respective geoenvironmental data as soil properties, biome, geology, vegetation land use, and climate variables. From these data, possible zonalities of occurrence of 9/10 Atta species were discussed. We applied the principal components analysis (PCA) and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) to identify the environmental gradient and investigate the possible interplay between variables and species. Soil, vegetation, and land use attributes are the main drivers on the distribution of Atta at local scale where their evolutionary physiological and foraging adaptations allow them to nest and maintain the fungi culture. At broader scales, climatic attributes are key drivers of Atta distribution across Brazil, and also influence pedogenic processes. Our study demonstrates that species of Atta ants are not randomly dispersed in Brazil and are strongly associated with complex and diverse Brazilian landscapes. We remark that further studies on the distribution of leaf-cutting ants of the Atta genus in Brazil, as well as their evolutionary phylogenetics, are needed, based on larger database.

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“…Ants are key factors in many ecosystems and their abundance, community composition, and interactions with both biotic and abiotic factors may offer useful information for a better understanding of ecological dynamics and multitrophic network in which they can be involved (e.g., Arnan et al, 2018; Castracani et al, 2015; Gibb et al, 2017; Lach et al, 2010; Lawes et al, 2017; Segat et al, 2017). They frequently interact with most of the biotic components of their environment, and often mainly act as predators (Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990; Lach et al, 2010; Cerdá & Dejean, 2011; Grasso et al, 2015; Nepi et al, 2018): most ants represent a model of generalist predators having a positive effect on the reduction of phytophagous insects (e.g., Campolo et al, 2015; Castracani et al, 2017; Cerdá & Dejean, 2011; Giannetti et al, 2019; Hölldobler & Wilson, 2009; Schifani et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The introduced oak Quercus rubra and acorn‐associated arthropods in Europe: An opportunity for both carpophagous insects and their ant predators

Giannetti

Schifani

Castracani

et al. 2022

Ecological Entomology

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We studied the interactions involving oak acorns and associated arthropods focusing on the role of the introduced Quercus rubra in Italy. We conducted our study in areas where native oaks coexist with Q. rubra. We carried out a survey on the arthropods inhabiting fallen acorns and a colonisation experiment. Furthermore, we conducted laboratory experiments documenting the interactions among the most abundant arthropod species on Q. rubra. Acorns were colonised by ant species and carpophagous insects showing different preferences concerning acorns' position within the leaf litter and oak species. Acorns of Q. rubra were colonised frequently by ants (mostly Temnothorax nylanderi) and Cydia fagiglandana. Cydia splendana preferred native acorns, while Curculio beetles were ubiquitous. Our data suggest that ants occupy exclusively acorns previously attacked by Cydia, killing or displacing their caterpillars if still developing inside the acorns. Vertebrates may prefer to feed on Q. rubra acorns over native species. Quercus rubra has a meaningful influence on native arthropods associated with oak acorns. The ecological consequences of this interaction are still not fully clear, yet our data suggest an increase in acorn‐consuming insects, partly affecting the acorns of neighbouring native oaks, but also an increase of predatory ants.

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Ants as indicators of soil quality in an on-going recovery of riparian forests

Cited by 15 publications

References 43 publications

Associations Between Different Soil Management Practices, Soil Fauna and Maize Yield

Associations Between Different Soil Management Practices, Soil Fauna and Maize Yield

Interplays between Atta ants (Formicidae: Attini), soils and environmental properties in the Brazilian Neotropics: a preliminary assessment

The introduced oak Quercus rubra and acorn‐associated arthropods in Europe: An opportunity for both carpophagous insects and their ant predators

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