The use of ants and other soil and litter arthropods as bio-indicators of the impacts of rainforest clearing and subsequent land use

Nakamura, Akihiro; Catterall, Carla; House, Alan; Kitching, R. L.; Burwell, Chris J.

doi:10.1007/s10841-006-9034-9

Cited by 93 publications

(119 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The Monte Carlo test was used to determine the signifi cance of the maximum IndVal recorded for each species. Those morphospecies with signifi cant IndVals greater than 70% (subjective benchmark adopted by van Rensburg et al 1999, McGeogh et al 2002, Nakamura et al 2007 were then regarded as indicator species for the site in question.The species accumulation curve and Chao 2 estimation were performed using the software EstimateS (Colwell 2006). SigmaStat (Jandel Scientifi c 1995) was used for ANOVA and post hoc tests.…”

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confidence: 99%

Arthropod recolonization in the restoration of a semideciduous forest in southeastern Brazil

Pais¹,

Varanda²

2010

Neotrop. entomol.

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-The use of arthropods for monitoring habitat changes has grown widely in the last decades. In Brazil, however, most of the studies in restored areas have involved only vegetation changes. The present study aimed at investigating recolonization patterns of epigeic arthropods in recently restored sites of semideciduous forests in southeastern Brazil. We compared the community structure of adjoining sites 5, 17, 29 and 36 months old with that at a nearby forest remnant (reference site). We also determined the most abundant species and looked for ecological indicator species of each site age. Arthropods were sampled using pitfall traps, and their assemblages were described and compared with multi-and univariate statistical methods. Species abundance and richness equivalent to the reference site were reached at fi ve months after planting, however species composition was very distinctive not only in relation to the reference site, but also among restored sites. Some of the main species found in this restoration stage are common in agroecosystems or cerrado vegetation. Nevertheless, there was a clear trend of arthropod fauna in restored sites moving toward the fauna in the forest remnant over time. Our results also highlighted ants and termites because of their abundance and ants because of their high value as ecological indicators of restoration age.KEY WORDS: Formicidae, seasonal forest, monitoring, ecological indicatorThe landscape of southeastern Brazil has been entirely transformed over time by human activities (Dean 1997). Changes were especially dramatic in the inner lands originally covered by mesophytic seasonal forests (deciduous and semideciduous forests) since their soils are particularly suitable for agriculture (Oliveira-Filho & Ratter 2002). Such forests are now restricted to few small patches in the agricultural-urban matrix. Some attempts of restoration have been made in the last decades, but their effectiveness has not been properly evaluated. Long-term monitoring of sites where attempts have already been performed is necessary for evaluating restoration success and improving restoration protocols. If techniques involve tree planting, special attention should be dispensed to the fi rst years of the restored site, when the greatest habitat changes occur due to the fast growing of pioneer trees.Most of the studies in restored areas are concerned with recovery and development of vegetation, especially tree species (Amador & Viana 2000, Souza & Batista 2004, whereas fauna is usually ignored (but see Majer 1992).Because of the high turnover and growth rates for most species, arthropods serve as probes that quickly respond to environmental changes. Another special attribute lies in their microgeographic distribution, which may refl ect fi nescale heterogeneity in habitats to which most vertebrates are insensitive (Mattoni et al 2000). Arthropods often provide a more sensitive indication than plants of the overall state of the ecosystem in which they occur (Rosenberg et al 1986, Andersen & Sparli...

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confidence: 99%

Arthropod recolonization in the restoration of a semideciduous forest in southeastern Brazil

Pais¹,

Varanda²

2010

Neotrop. entomol.

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“…However, distinctly different environmental conditions might require such different physiological or ecological adaptation strategies that tolerance ranges might become exceeded not only for species, but also for aggregated taxonomic groups. Indeed, studies pertaining to sites that are distinctly different with respect to for example land use or the degree of human disturbance showed that relatively coarse taxonomic arthropod data were sufficient to discriminate between the sites, despite a relatively large degree of taxonomic bifurcation (Biaggini et al 2007;Nakamura et al 2007). The lowland floodplains along the Rhine river in The Netherlands are characterized by considerable environmental heterogeneity, due to both natural processes and human influences (Schipper et al 2008a).…”

Section: Taxonomic Level Required For Biomonitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They account for a large amount of biomass and represent a substantial proportion of all terrestrial biodiversity (Adis 1988;1990;Stork 1988;Basset et al 2004;Nakamura et al 2007). The diversity and composition of terrestrial arthropod communities have widely been used as bio-indicators for a variety of processes and habitat characteristics, including vegetation properties, river flooding regime, land use and management practices, ecosystem restoration, and soil contamination (e.g., Basset et al 2004;Cartron et al 2003;Gardner 1991;Irmler 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using datasets of different taxonomic detail to assess the influence of floodplain characteristics on terrestrial arthropod assemblages

et al. 2010

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Four arthropod datasets of different taxonomic detail were compared on their discriminatory power for various environmental characteristics in a lowland floodplain area along the river Rhine. The arthropod datasets comprised ground-dwelling arthropods at class-order level (n = 10), beetle families (n = 32), ground beetle genera (n = 30) and ground beetle species (n = 68). Environmental characteristics included vegetation characteristics, hydro-topographic setting, physical-chemical soil properties and soil contamination levels. Relations between arthropod assemblages and environmental factors were assessed with variance partitioning: a multivariate statistical approach that attributes variation in community composition to specific explaining variables. The variance partitioning showed comparable results for the four datasets. A substantial part of the variation (31-38%) could be ascribed to vegetation characteristics. Variance could further be attributed to physical-chemical soil properties (7-10%), hydro-topographic setting (3-7%) and soil metal contamination (2-4%). Thus, in strongly heterogeneous landscapes like lowland river floodplains, relatively coarse taxonomic data can already provide a valuable indication of the relative importance of different environmental factors for structuring arthropod communities. However, the ground beetles showed a higher specificity for different vegetation types and a more distinct relation to soil contamination levels than the other arthropod datasets. Hence, a higher degree of taxonomic detail will be beneficial for investigating the consequences of for example environmental pollution or vegetation characteristics in terms of taxonomic diversity or community composition.

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“…Por serem sensíveis às mudanças no ambiente, de fácil captura, com grande abundância e diversidade, além de ampla distribuição geográfica, as formigas têm sido apontadas como excelentes indicadores biológicos da degradação ambiental e de sua regeneração (NAKAMURA et al, 2007;RIBAS et al, 2012). Assim, o levantamento de espécies desse grupo podem fornecer informações importantes em planos de manejo e conservação de uma dada região (ALBUQUERQUE; DIEHL, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Composição da assembleia de formigas em área de savana no norte da Amazônia

Júnior

Lima

Cidade³

et al. 2017

AGRO@MBIENTE ON-LINE

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Resumo: Os formicídeos constituem um dos grupos mais importante de insetos sociais do solo, apontados como potenciais indicadores biológicos da degradação ambiental e fornecedores de informações importantes em planos de manejo e conservação de uma dada região. Assim, objetivou-se com este trabalho inventariar a composição da assembleia de formigas e estabelecer as espécies predominantes, utilizando dois diferentes métodos de coleta (pitfall e isca de sardinha), em ecossistema de savana amazônica. Abstract:The formicidae comprise one of the most important groups of social soil insects, identified as potential biological indicators of environmental degradation, and which provide important information in the management and conservation plans for any given region. The aim of this work therefore, was to inventory the composition of ant assembly and establish the predominant species, using two different collection methods (pitfall trap and sardine bait), in a savannah ecosystem of the Amazon. The ants were collected at six different times from December 2010 to January 2011. There were 12 plots, each 250 m in length, in which there were 10 sampling points spaced 25 m apart. At each point, two collection methods were used: pitfall trap and sardine bait, giving 120 subsamples per method. After collection, the samples were taken to the Aquatic Invertebrate Laboratory of the Centre for Biodiversity (CBIO/UFRR) for sorting, and the specimens placed into bottles containing 70% alcohol for later taxonomic classification. Identification of the formicidae as to species and morphospecies was carried out at the National Research Institute of the Amazon (INPA). All materials were deposited in the invertebrate collection of INPA. It was found that the genera with greater occurrence were Camponotus, Crematogaster and Dorymyrmex, while those with the greatest species richness were Pheidole, Solenopsis and Camponotus. The species Crematogaster abstinens and Camponotus novogranadensis were predominant in the area of savannah under study. This is the first record of Kalathomyrmex emeryi in the State of Roraima. The collections made with pitfall traps were more efficient for evaluating ant richness.

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The use of ants and other soil and litter arthropods as bio-indicators of the impacts of rainforest clearing and subsequent land use

Cited by 93 publications

References 27 publications

Arthropod recolonization in the restoration of a semideciduous forest in southeastern Brazil

Arthropod recolonization in the restoration of a semideciduous forest in southeastern Brazil

Using datasets of different taxonomic detail to assess the influence of floodplain characteristics on terrestrial arthropod assemblages

Composição da assembleia de formigas em área de savana no norte da Amazônia

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