Research on urban ants: approaches and gaps

Santos, Marcus Nascimento

doi:10.1007/s00040-016-0483-1

Cited by 38 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Biological invasion by ants is one of the leading threats to biodiversity, agriculture and the economy (Clavero & Berthou, 2005;Antweb, 2018b). Mass extinctions by these invaders to the native mesofauna (largely undescribed) may be rampant, but simply going on undocumented and unappreciated (Calcaterra & Cabrera, 2016;Santos, 2016). Invasive predatory ants can be particularly efficient at exterminating local arthropod species (Wetterer, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Sri Lanka, including four tramp species

Dias

Udayakantha

Wachkoo³

et al. 2018

Sociobiology

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Five ant species are reported for the first time from Sri Lanka: Ooceraea alii (Bharti & Akbar, 2013); O. biroi (Forel, 1907); Prionopelta kraepelini Forel, 1905; Strumigenys emmae (Emery, 1890) and S. membranifera Emery, 1869. Among the newly reported species, four species (O. biroi, S. membranifera, S. emmae and P. kraepelini) are known for their invasive and tramping nature, spreading via human commerce and have attained broad cosmopolitan distribution. Impact of these ants on regional fauna is not known and needs immediate attention. A brief diagnosis, distribution, and illustrations are provided for each species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Sri Lanka, including four tramp species

Dias

Udayakantha

Wachkoo³

et al. 2018

Sociobiology

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“…The expansion of cities is a conspicuous cause of the conversion of land into landscapes modified by man (McKinney, 2002;Santos, 2016). These urban landscapes are usually spatially and temporally dynamic (McIntyre et al, 2001), and often associated with low biodiversity (Vitousek et al, 1997;McIntyre et al, 2001;Yamaguchi, 2004;2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of sampling techniques and influence of environmental variables on ants in forest fragments in an oil extraction area in the Amazon

Souza

Araújo²

2020

Sociobiology

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Around the world, urban landscapes are environments modified by man, generally related to low diversity. The efficiency of a biodiversity inventory is linked to the choice of the sampling technique since the taxonomic and ecological responses of the taxons vary between methods. Here we investigate differences in the ant’s composition sampled using three different techniques in two fragments of the urban forest in the Brazilian Amazon. We also assessed whether the different techniques maintained the same ecological responses. We sampled 12 collection points at each fragment, at vegetation, and manual collection and Winkler extractor on the ground. At the same points, soil samples were collected to determine their granulometry, pH, and concentrations of organic matter, sodium, phosphorus, and potassium. We collected 115 taxa and 4720 ants. The Cururu was the richest site with more species in general, as well as in the techniques of manual collection and Winkler. We detected a complementary effect on sampling techniques, which collected different ants’ assemblages. The potassium concentration positively influenced the assemblage’s composition, but its effect varies according to the sampling techniques used. The studied fragments revealed diversity very similar to those registered in continuous Amazonian forests. The use of sampling techniques together improves the representation of the diversity of ants in the studied fragments. Edaphic environmental variables seem to have a predominant effect on ants, affecting their distribution in the landscape even in urban fragments. This highlights the importance of urban forest fragments and their inherent ecological processes.

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“…Multiple studies have shown that complex arthropod communities can be found in urban environments Faeth 2006, Sattler et al 2011) and that their overall response to urbanization is similar to that of other urban taxa such as plants and birds (McKinney 2008, Knop 2016. In recent years, ants have been used prominently to investigate the effects of urban development on biological diversity (Santos 2016). Ants are well suited for this kind of research because they are nearly ubiquitous, highly diverse, and responsive to environmental change (Alonso and Agosti 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Urbanization on the Diversity, Abundance, and Composition of Ant Assemblages in an Arid City

Miguelena

Baker

2019

Environmental Entomology

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Cities within arid regions make up a significant but understudied subset of the urban ecosystems of the world. To assess the effects of urbanization, fragmentation, and land-use change in an arid city, we sampled the ant assemblages in three habitat types in Tucson, Arizona: irrigated neighborhood parks, urban desert remnants, and preserved desert. We analyzed the abundance, species richness, evenness, as well as the species and functional group composition of ant assemblages. We found no significant differences in species richness or evenness. However, irrigated parks had significantly greater ant abundances. Although some exotic species were present in the urban habitats, they did not have significant effects on ant diversity. Ant assemblages from all three habitat types were distinct from each other in their composition. Irrigated parks included a significantly higher proportion of species typically found in cooler and wetter climates. The differences in abundance and species composition between irrigated parks and the other habitats are likely the effect of irrigation removing water as a limiting factor for colony growth and increasing resource availability, as well as producing a localized cooling effect. Our results show that arid urban ecosystems may include considerable biodiversity, in part thanks to increased landscape heterogeneity resulting from the irrigation of green areas.

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Research on urban ants: approaches and gaps

Cited by 38 publications

References 62 publications

New records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Sri Lanka, including four tramp species

New records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Sri Lanka, including four tramp species

Evaluation of sampling techniques and influence of environmental variables on ants in forest fragments in an oil extraction area in the Amazon

Effects of Urbanization on the Diversity, Abundance, and Composition of Ant Assemblages in an Arid City

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