Data/hora: 02/06/2024 17:54:08

Biblioteca(s): | Embrapa Florestas.
Data corrente: | 22/09/2008
Data da última atualização: | 22/09/2008
Autoria: | BIHN, J. H.; VERHAAGH, M.
Título: | Ants as environmental indicators in the Mata Atlântica.
Ano de publicação: | 2008
Fonte/Imprenta: | In: INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON SOIL ZOOLOGY, 15; INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON APTERYGOTA, 12., 2008, Curitiba. Biodiversity, conservation and sustainabele management of soil animal: abstracts. Colombo: Embrapa Florestas. Editors: George Gardner Brown; Klaus Dieter Sautter; Renato Marques; Amarildo Pasini. 1 CD-ROM.
Idioma: | Inglês

Conteúdo:

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are ubiquitous, highly abundant, diverse, of great functional
importance, sensitive to environmental change and are easily sampled (Andersen & Majer 2004).
Ants are therefore an obvious choice for biodiversity and environmental monitoring, yet they
have received meagre attention in comparison with other soil fauna such as earthworms. As
part of the ongoing project SOLOBIOMA (www.solobioma.ufpr.br) we study the extent to which
secondary forests occupying degraded and abandoned lands provide suitable habitat for forestadapted
species, especially soil animals. Here were present results of studies on the diversity
and ecological roles of ants during secondary forest succession in the Mata Atlântica.
We compared the resilience of epigeic versus hypogeic ant assemblages along a successional
gradient of secondary forests. For this purpose we sampled the epigeic and hypogeic ant
assemblage in 27 sites that encompassed a chronosequence from pastures to old growth forests
on two contrasting soil types (Bihn et al. 2008a). In addition, we examined bait preferences of
litter ants along this successional gradient to unveil underlying stoichiometric balances and
ecological processes (Bihn et al. 2008b).
Richness and composition of ant assemblages in secondary forests have recovered slowly and
have not approached conditions typical of old growth forests. The distribution of genera along
the successional stages was arranged in a nested pattern where ant genera of younger
successional stages were a subset of genera present in older stages. Edaphic conditions had
little influence on the recovery process. Overall, richness of ants was lower at study sites with
water-logged soils than at sites where soils did not exhibit hydromorphic properties. The hypogeic
ant assemblage recovered more slowly than the epigeic assemblage. Epigeic ants preferred
protein-based baits in secondary forests, yet preferred carbohydrate-based baits in old-growth
forests. This suggests a shift in stoichiometric balances between secondary and old-growth
forest which might have an impact on the functional interactions in these ecosystems.
Our results show that secondary forests do not act as refuges for many forest-adapted animals
which are currently restricted to discontinuous patches of old growth forest in the highly
endangered Mata Atlântica of Brazil. Estimated recovery times of 50 to several hundred years
suggest it would take much longer than previously presumed for complete recolonization of
forest ants. Moreover, the ecological services offered by secondary habitats may be quite
different from those offered by old-growth forests.

Categoria do assunto: | --
Registro original: | Embrapa Florestas (CNPF)
Exemplares: | CNPF - (43644-1) - UPE - PL - -- - CD0305 -  -  - DIS