Natural regeneration in Atlantic Forest Fragments: using ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) for monitoring a conservation unit

Abstract

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is considered one of the most threatened tropical forests in the world due to the extensive environmental impact it has endured throughout history. Only 12.4% of its original vegetation is estimated to remain. Even though reduced and highly fragmented, it houses enormous biodiversity, and its preservation is paramount to the maintenance of the country’s fauna, flora, funga and microbiota. One of the most efficient measures adopted by public agencies aimed at protecting biodiversity has been the creation of conservation units. To evaluate the preservation state of protected areas, several environmental studies have been performed; species inventories are one among them. Ants are excellent bioindicators, for they are not only sensitive to environmental changes, but they also have a history of being used in impact assessment (i.e., fragmentation). In this study we assessed the ant communities inhabiting the leaf litter in areas with different regeneration states at the RPPN Botujuru – Serra do Itapety (Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo – Brazil). Mini-Winkler traps were used in the ant survey, and diversity analyses were performed. In total, we recorded 86 species of ants, with a highlight to Camponotus cillae Forel, 1912, a species that remained unrecorded for the state of São Paulo for over 100 years, and a possible new species of Octostruma Forel, 1912. Overall, the species found show that the areas are in the process of natural regeneration. Our data on RPPN Botujuru is unprecedented, and our species list has the potential of being used as an effective monitoring tool for this conservation unit.

Diversidad taxonómica de hormigas en áreas verdes urbanas en una ciudad de tamaño medio en los Andes centrales de Colombia

“…Análisis de escalamiento multidimensional no-métrico (NMDS) de la composición de especies de los fragmentos de bosque y de guadua basado en el índice Bray-Curtis Figura 6. Partición de la diversidad beta (βsor) en sus componentes de recambio espacial (βsim) y anidamiento (βnes) para las comunidades de hormigas de los fragmentos de bosque y de guadua géneros y especies de hormigas como Pheidole, Strumigenys, Solenopsis, y Hypoponera, entre otros, catalogados como megadiversos y dominantes en hojarasca (Wilkie et al, 2010, Magalhães et al, 2022Ramos-Ortega & Guerrero, 2023).…”