The importance of remnants of natural vegetation for maintaining ant diversity in Brazilian agricultural landscapes

Pacheco, Renata; Vasconcelos, Heraldo L.; Groc, Sarah; Camacho, Gabriela P.; Frizzo, Tiago L. M.

doi:10.1007/s10531-013-0463-y

Cited by 34 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…The proximity of the vegetation to the agroecosystems tends to encourage the existence and maintenance of an assembly of diverse ants in its environment, serving as a repository of species (PACHECO et al, 2013;CREPALDI et al, 2014). This can assist in explaining the occurrence of legionary species Labidus coecus, and the genera Hypoponera and Pachycondyla, in these areas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does organic management of agroecosystems contribute to the maintenance of the richness of ants?

Holdefer

Lutinski

García

2017

SCA

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Does organic management of agroecosystems contribute to the maintenance of the richness of ants? This study assessed the richness of ant species in organically farmed crop agroecosystems of different ages located in the southern state of Paraná, Brazil. During the sampling, the pitfalls that were active during May/August 2009 and from October 2009 to February 2010 were used. A total of 11,874 ants belonging to five subfamilies was sampled, comprising 18 genera and 48 species. The subfamily Myrmicinae (S = 27) had the highest richness, followed by the genera Pheidole (S = 10), Solenopsis (S = 7), Formicinae (S = 3), Camponotus (S = 5), and Brachymyrmex (S = 5). The average difference between the observed richness (Sobs) and the estimated richness (Chao2) was 10.9%. Ant assemblages belonging to agroecosystems under organic management for long times presented the greatest richness, indicating that this system contributes to the maintenance of ant diversity. Key words: Atlantic forest. Biodiversity. Conservation. Pheidole. Richness. ResumoO sistema de manejo orgânico de agroecossistemas contribui para a manutenção da diversidade de formigas? Este trabalho avaliou a riqueza de formigas presentes em lavouras inseridas em agroecossistemas de manejo orgânico, com tempos de integralização diferentes, localizados no sul do Estado do Paraná, Brasil. Na amostragem, foram utilizadas pitfalls que permaneceram ativas nos períodos de maio a agosto de 2009 e outubro de 2009 a fevereiro de 2010. Foram amostradas 11.874 formigas pertencentes a cinco subfamílias, 18 gêneros e 48 espécies. Destacou-se em riqueza a subfamília Myrmicinae (S = 27) e os gêneros Pheidole (S = 10) e Solenopsis (S = 7). Também Formicinae (S = 3) e os gêneros Camponotus (S = 5) e Brachymyrmex (S = 5). A diferença média entre a riqueza observada (Sobs) e a estimada (Chao 2) foi de 10,9%. Assembleias pertencentes aos agroecossistemas com maior tempo de manejo orgânico foram as mais ricas, indicando que este sistema contribui para a manutenção da diversidade de formigas. Palavras-chave: Mata Atlântica. Biodiversidade. Conservação. Pheidole. Riqueza.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does organic management of agroecosystems contribute to the maintenance of the richness of ants?

Holdefer

Lutinski

García

2017

SCA

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“…; Pacheco et al . ) and more complex ones, such as organic coffee farms, had less severe consequences on ant diversity (Perfecto & Vandermeer ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ant community patterns in highly fragmented Chaco forests of central Argentina

2019

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The Chaco is the largest dry forest biome in South America and one of the regions most threatened by agricultural intensification. As a consequence, in several areas Chaco forests persist as forest remnants of different sizes embedded in an agricultural matrix. Ants are social insects that have key roles in ecosystem functioning, and the effects of this ongoing land use change process on ant communities are little known for this region. In the present study, we assessed the consequences of land use replacement by monocultures and forest fragmentation on ant communities. Particularly, we assessed whether patch size, patch isolation and edge effect affect species richness and composition of ground-dwelling ants in fragmented landscapes of Chaco forests. We collected ants by combining hand collecting and pitfall traps in 17 forest fragments and the surrounding matrix from two sites in C ordoba, Argentina. Patch size and patch isolation had no effect on ant richness; however, patch isolation and, to a lesser extent, patch size altered ant species composition. The ant community was not affected by edge but it was negatively affected by the crop matrix, which reduced richness and altered species composition. These results indicate that monoculture matrices severely affect ant communities in the Chaco forests, and that the effects of other indicators of habitat fragmentation (patch size and edge effect) are subtler and less relevant. In the present context of land use change, even small fragments could have an important value for the conservation of ant diversity.Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.

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“…These types of savannas are the most common ones in our study region. For a more detailed description of the study sites see Pacheco et al (2013).…”

Section: Study Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Land‐cover and land‐use changes often affect the structure of ant communities (Majer, ; Andersen & Majer, ; Hoffmann, ), and thus potentially also the rate at which ant services are delivered. In particular, ant services may be severely affected by the expansion and intensification of modern agriculture, which is known to cause heavy biodiversity losses (Pimm & Raven, ) and induces a simplification and homogenisation of biological communities (Pacheco et al., ; Solar et al., ). Over the past 50 years, the largest and richest savanna region of South America – the Cerrado, in central Brazil – has witnessed a rapid process of conversion into intensive, large‐scale agricultural fields, especially those devoted to the production of soybeans (Ratter et al., ; Myers et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the past 50 years, the largest and richest savanna region of South America – the Cerrado, in central Brazil – has witnessed a rapid process of conversion into intensive, large‐scale agricultural fields, especially those devoted to the production of soybeans (Ratter et al., ; Myers et al., ). The conversion of large tracts of natural Cerrado vegetation into soybean plantations was found to have strong negative impacts on the diversity of ground‐dwelling ants (Frizzo & Vasconcelos, ; Pacheco et al., ). However, the consequences of such conversion on the predatory activity of ants remain unclear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of land‐use changes on ecosystem services: decrease in ant predation in human‐dominated landscapes in central Brazil

Pacheco

Camacho

Frizzo

et al. 2017

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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Anthropogenic disturbances often affect the abundance and diversity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) but relatively few studies have explored the implications of such changes on the ecosystem services mediated by these insects. Here, we evaluated how the transformation of Cerrado savanna habitats into crop plantations affects the abundance, diversity, and the predatory activity of ants. A survey of the ant faunas foraging above‐ and belowground was performed in six crop and six non‐crop (i.e., native vegetation) sites. Above‐ and belowground rates of ant predation were estimated at these same sites using mealworms, Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), as baits, simulating crop herbivores. Belowground predation rates were significantly greater in the non‐crop sites, despite the lack of difference in overall abundance and species richness of ants foraging belowground between the crop vs. non‐crop sites. In contrast, we did not detect any significant difference in aboveground predation rates between crop vs. non‐crop sites even though there were significantly more species of ants foraging aboveground in the non‐crop sites. Army ants (subfamily Dorylinae) were the main predatory species belowground, and their abundance was significantly greater in non‐crop sites. In contrast, the main predators aboveground were omnivore ants of the genera Pheidole and Solenopsis, which had similar abundances in the crop and non‐crop sites. Overall, our results indicate that transformation of native Cerrado habitats into crop plantations reduces the abundance of some important predatory species, notably those that forage belowground, and this may negatively affect the potential for ants to provide pest control services in agroecosystems.

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The importance of remnants of natural vegetation for maintaining ant diversity in Brazilian agricultural landscapes

Cited by 34 publications

References 70 publications

Does organic management of agroecosystems contribute to the maintenance of the richness of ants?

Does organic management of agroecosystems contribute to the maintenance of the richness of ants?

Ant community patterns in highly fragmented Chaco forests of central Argentina

Effects of land‐use changes on ecosystem services: decrease in ant predation in human‐dominated landscapes in central Brazil

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