Hypogaeic pitfall traps: methodological advances and remarks to improve the sampling of a hidden ant fauna

Schmidt, Fernando Augusto; Solar, Ricardo

doi:10.1007/s00040-010-0078-1

Cited by 43 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In each of the five plots, five sampling points set 10 m apart were selected, representing a total of 25 points per stage. As different strata may have different ant assemblages (Schmidt & Solar, 2010), unbaited pitfall traps were installed at each sample point in hypogaeic (underground), epigaeic (ground level) and arboreal strata, totaling 75 points overall (5 plots x 5 sampling points x 3 pitfall traps = 75). Arboreal pitfalls were designed based on the description in Ribas et al (2003), and epigaeic pitfall were similar to the arboreal pitfall but was buried so that the opening of the container was located at ground level.…”

Section: Ant Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ant Assemblage Structure in a Secondary Tropical Dry Forest: The Role of Ecological Succession and Seasonality

et al. 2017

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This study identified the main biological mechanisms governing the diversity of ants on different ecological time scales. Ants were sampled in 15 plots distributed in early, intermediate and late stages of succession (five plots per stage) at the Parque Estadual da Mata Seca, Brazil. At each sample point, unbaited pitfall traps were installed in hypogaeic, epigaeic and arboreal strata. We collected 95 ant species from 26 genera and nine subfamilies. Our results indicated that there was an increase in species richness in advanced stages of succession. We also observed that ant assemblages were different among successional stages. For the arboreal and epigaeic strata, species richness did not change with succession progression, but species composition of these two strata differed among successional stages. Unlike to arboreal and epigaeic ants, hypogaiec ant species richness was higher in the intermediate and late stages of succession and the composition of hypogaeic ants differed among successional stages. Similarity between ant species foraging in arboreal and epigaeic strata decreases with succession progression and β-diversity was higher in advanced successional stages. Additionally, species richness was higher in the dry season, whereas the composition of ant assemblages did not change between seasons. A considerable fraction of the ant assemblage was found only in advanced stages of succession, demonstrating the importance of secondary habitats in maintaining biodiversity in dry forests.

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Section: Ant Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ant Assemblage Structure in a Secondary Tropical Dry Forest: The Role of Ecological Succession and Seasonality

et al. 2017

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“…The differential use of a specific strata or microhabitat is commonly found in ant communities in several systems (Vasconcelos & Vilhena, 2006;Schmidt & Solar, 2010;Wilkie et al, 2010), including non-forest ecosystems as savannas (e.g. Cerrado: Campos et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ground-Dwelling and Vegetation Ant Fauna in Southern Brazilian Grasslands

Dröse¹,

Podgaiski²,

Cavalleri³

et al. 2017

Sociobiology

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Non-forest ecosystems, as natural grasslands from Southern Brazil, are still neglected in conservation policies. Measuring their biodiversity is one of the main steps to generate management strategies for these habitats. This study aims to (i) describe grassland ant richness and composition in Rio Grande do Sul state, and (ii) compare ant communities sampled on the ground and in grassland vegetation, adding to our knowledge of habitat use patterns and vegetation associated species. Six sites were sampled, three belonging to the Pampa biome and three in highland region from the Atlantic Forest biome. Ant fauna was collected once per year in summer during four years in each site with pitfalls traps and sweeping nets. Overall, 29,812 ant individuals were sampled belonging to eight subfamilies, 30 genera e 106 species. The grasslands of Pampa accumulated 91 species and 45 exclusive species, while highland grasslands summed up 61 species and only 15 exclusive species. Species composition differs between biomes as well as between sampling methods. Ant communities sampled from vegetation represented a clear subset of the fauna sampled with pitfall traps, and indication analysis showed only two species associated with this stratum: Myrmelachista gallicola and Pseudomyrmex nr. flavidulus. This study highlights the importance of Southern Brazilian grasslands and the need for specific conservation strategies for the natural grasslands from each biome.

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“…At each point we installed two pitfall traps, in each pitfall trap we placed 200 ml of solution of water, detergent (0.6 %) and salt (0.4 %). One trap was placed in the epigaeic microhabitat and other in the hypogaeic (for trap details see Bestelmeyer et al, 2000;Schmidt & Solar, 2010). All traps remained in the field for 96 hours.…”

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confidence: 99%

Can anthropic fires affect epigaeic and hypogaeic Cerrado ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) communities in the same way?

Canedo

Cuissi

Curi

et al. 2016

RBT

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Abstract:Fire occurrences are a common perturbation in Cerrado ecosystems, and may differently impact the local biodiversity. Arthropods are one of the taxa affected by fires, and among them, ants are known as good bioindicators. We aimed to evaluate the effect of anthropic fires on epigaeic and hypogaeic ant communities (species richness and composition) in Cerrado areas with different post-fire event recovery periods. We conducted the study in four Cerrado areas during two weeks of 2012 dry season: one unburned and three at different post-fire times (one month, one and two years). We sampled ants with pitfall traps in epigaeic and hypogaeic microhabitats. We collected 71 ant morpho-species from 25 genera. In the epigaeic microhabitat we sampled 56 morpho-species and 42 in the hypogaeic microhabitat. The area with the shortest recovery time presented lower epigaeic ant species richness (4.3 ± 2.00) in comparison to the other areas (8.1 ± 2.68 species on one year area; 10.3 ± 2.66 species on two years area; 10.4 ± 2.31 species on control area), but recovery time did not affect hypogaeic ant species richness. Regarding ant species composition, fire did not directly affect hypogaeic ant species, which remained the same even one month after fire event. However, two years were not enough to reestablish ant species composition in both microhabitats in relation to our control group samples. Our study is the first to assess anthropic fire effects upon epigaeic and hypogaeic ants communities; highlighting the importance of evaluating different microhabitats, to more accurately detect the effects of anthropic disturbances in biological communities. We concluded that ant communities are just partially affected by fire occurrences, and epigaeic assemblages are the most affected ones in comparison to hypogaeic ants. Furthermore the study provides knowledge to aid in the creation of vegetation management programs that allow Cerrado conservation. Rev. Biol. Trop. 64 (1): 95-104. Epub 2016 March 01.Key words: anthropic burning, brazilian savannah, post-fire recovery, conservation, bioindicators.The Brazillian Savanna (Cerrado) is a biodiversity hotspot presenting many endemic species (Myers, Mittermeier, Mittermeier, Fonseca, & Kent, 2000). Its vegetation can be characterized by sparse trees and continuous grassy fields and is influenced by seasonal rainy periods and various disturbances, with fire figuring as the major one (Huntley & Walker, 1982). Natural fires are common in the Savannas, chiefly caused by lightning reaching small patches in the rainy season (Ramos-Neto & Pivello, 2000), and have great importance in community dynamics maintenance in this biome (Townsend, Begon, & Harper, 2010). Fire can be considered one of the factors that allow the balance between tree and grass density, maintaining the main features of savanna vegetation (Higgins, Bond, & Trollope, 2000).Biological communities of savannas are widely adapted to fire action, having great resistance and resilience to this disturbance. This fact can be attrib...

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Hypogaeic pitfall traps: methodological advances and remarks to improve the sampling of a hidden ant fauna

Cited by 43 publications

References 25 publications

Ant Assemblage Structure in a Secondary Tropical Dry Forest: The Role of Ecological Succession and Seasonality

Ant Assemblage Structure in a Secondary Tropical Dry Forest: The Role of Ecological Succession and Seasonality

Ground-Dwelling and Vegetation Ant Fauna in Southern Brazilian Grasslands

Can anthropic fires affect epigaeic and hypogaeic Cerrado ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) communities in the same way?

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