Predictive model of distribution of<i>Atta robusta</i>Borgmeier 1939 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): subsidies for conservation of a Brazilian leaf-cutting ant endangered species

Dáttilo, Wesley; Falcão, Jéssica C.F.; Teixeira, M.B.

doi:10.1080/01650521.2012.700791

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The predominant soils in this pedoenvironments are Spodosols and Quartzarenic Neosols (Rossi and Mattos, 2002;Gomes et al, 2007). The occurrence of this species is related to greater temperature/rainfalls variations and low altitudes (Dáttilo et al, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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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“…In general, studies on Formicidae aimed at assessing the invasive potential of exotic species (Roura-Pascual et al, 2006;Hartley et al, 2006;Roura-Pascual et al, 2009) used mainly correlative modeling. Conservation studies also used correlative modeling, mostly (Dáttilo et al, 2012;Talavera et al, 2014;Campiolo et al, 2015). Only one study used the mechanistic approach (Maggini et al, 2002).…”

Section: Mechanistic Versus Correlative Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Maxent (Phillips et al, 2006) is the most frequently used algorithm in studies on Formicidae, both to predict areas susceptible to invasion (Ward, 2007;Steiner et al, 2008;Roura-Pascual et al, 2009;Bertelsmeier et al, 2013;Kumar et al, 2015;Coulin et al, 2019), and to infer areas of occurrence/ habitat/ potential distribution (Solómon et al, 2008;Souza & Delabie, 2013;Cristiano et al, 2016;Simões-Gomes et al, 2017;Koch et al, 2018;Sánchez-Restrepo et al, 2019;Senula et al, 2019), as well as in two conservation studies (Dáttilo et al, 2012;Talavera et al, 2014). The GARP algorithm (Stockwell & Peters, 1999) has been used in some studies mainly to assess the risk of the ant L. humile invasion (Roura-Pascual et al, 2004;2006;2009), and was used once in a conservation study (Campiolo et al, 2015), and another time to identify species richness patterns (Chaladze, 2012).…”

Section: Identification Of Algorithmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Distribution Modeling in Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Biogeographic Studies

et al. 2022

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The state of the art of Formicidae biogeographic studies using distribution modeling tools was reviewed. We aimed to evaluate how and for what purpose such tools were used in ant studies, as well as detecting modeling methods, algorithms, and variables selected for these studies. We analyzed papers published from 2001 to 2021 and focused on predicting invasion risks, conservation, and potential distribution of species. We also considered the mechanistic and correlative approaches, types of algorithms, and environmental variables. We observed that modeling is first used to predict invasion risks before conservation. The correlative approach was the most used, although it does not consider biotic or physiological aspects as the mechanistic approach does. The most used algorithm was Maxent, combining data set of occurrences with climatic variables. Nine studies used combinations of algorithms with consensual models. Research using modeling has been conducted more and more. However, it remains still incipient, mainly regarding conservation, as the current distribution of most of the Formicidae species is not well known. Although not frequently used in ant studies, distribution modeling represents an important approach for research in biogeography, ecology, and related areas. Certain perspectives could be useful, for example, for studying climatic changes, since possible variations in ant distributions, if anticipated, could suggest or guide further investigations or decision-making in public policies.

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“…The species of the Neoatta clade exhibit an evolutionary pattern that is similar to that discussed previously for the Epiatta clade, in which closely related species have distinctly different ecologies. Atta robusta is endemic to the restingas in the States of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo in Brazil (Fowler, 1995;Dáttilo et al, 2012). Atta robusta is very well adapted to the semiarid climate of this region, building its nests in sandy soil, producing medium-sized adult colonies, and specializing on dicotyledonous plants (Gonçalves, 1945;Teixeira et al, 2008).…”

Section: Phylogenetic Relationships Within the Genus Attamentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogenomic reconstruction reveals new insights into the evolution and biogeography of Atta leaf‐cutting ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Barrera

Sosa‐Calvo

Schultz

et al. 2021

Systematic Entomology

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Atta Fabricius is an ecologically dominant leaf-cutting ant genus, the major herbivore of the Neotropics, and an agricultural pest of great economic importance. Phylogenetic relationships within Atta have until now remained uncertain, and the delimitation and identification of a subset of Atta species are problematic. To address these phylogenetic uncertainties, we reconstruct the most comprehensive phylogenetic estimate to date of Atta by employing ultraconserved elements (UCEs). We recovered 2340 UCE loci from 224 Atta specimens, which include 14 out of the 15 identifiable species from across their geographic distributions, and 49 outgroup specimens. Our results strongly support the monophyly of Atta and of the four clades that coincide with the previously recognized subgenera Archeatta Gonçalves, Atta s.s. Emery, Epiatta Borgmeier, and Neoatta Gonçalves. The Archeatta clade contains three species occurring in North and Central America and the Caribbean and is the sister group of the remainder of all other Atta species. The Atta s.s. clade is composed of two species occupying North, Central, and South America. The Epiatta clade contains seven entirely South American species and the two species of the Neoatta clade occur in Central and South America. Divergence-dating analyses identify a series of major events in the Miocene, such as the divergence of Acromyrmex Mayr and Atta 16.7 million years ago (Ma) and the crown-group origin of Atta around 8.5 Ma. Extant Atta species evolved very recently, originating in the early Pleistocene, approximately 1.8-0.3 Ma (crown-group ages). We provide the first evidence that Atta goiana Gonçalves belongs to the Epiatta clade and that Atta robusta Borgmeier is the species with the youngest crown-group age of 0.3 Ma. The very young ages of Atta and its component species indicate a recent, rapid radiation. Biogeographic analyses suggest that the range of the most recent common ancestor of Atta consisted of the combined North/Central America and NW South America bioregions and that one daughter lineage subsequently dispersed into South America, rapidly diversifying in the newly formed Cerrado biome and Chaco, and further dispersing into the Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, and Pampas bioregions.

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Predictive model of distribution ofAtta robustaBorgmeier 1939 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): subsidies for conservation of a Brazilian leaf-cutting ant endangered species

Cited by 7 publications

References 25 publications

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

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

Review of Distribution Modeling in Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Biogeographic Studies

Phylogenomic reconstruction reveals new insights into the evolution and biogeography of Atta leaf‐cutting ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

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