Ant Fauna on Cecropia pachystachya Trécul (Urticaceae) Trees in an Atlantic Forest Area, Southeastern Brazil

Sociobiology

Wesley D DaRocha²  Luiz AD Falcão²  Frederico S Neves¹  Paula CJ Reis²  Tadeu J Guerra¹ 

[1] Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais;Universidade Federal de Minas GeraisPós-graduação em Ecologia, Conservação e Manejo da Vida Silvestre

关键词: Azteca;    road dust;    roadside;    plant architecture;   

DOI  :  

来源: Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Brazil

【 摘 要 】

Cecropiaare pioneer successional trees frequently associated with ants. Generally a single dominant colony ofAztecaant inhabits each matureCecropiatree, but other ant species may be found living or foraging on the same tree. In this study, we assessed the diversity of ant species onCecropia pachystachyatrees in two sites in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: a dust-free roadside and a dusty roadside. We also investigated the influence of tree architecture on ant species richness. We found a total of 24 ant species distributed in 11 genera and five subfamilies onC. pachystachyatrees; 18 in the dust-free roadside and 14 in the dusty roadside. We found up to five ant species on a single tree, but onlyAzteca alfariwas frequently encountered. Ant species richness per tree did not differ significantly between sites and was related to tree architectural traits. On the other hand, ant species composition on trees differed significantly between sites. Our study indicates that heavy dust deposition onCecropiatrees may affect associated ant communities, not by changing ant species richness, but by causing different species to live and forage on trees under different dust exposure.

【 授权许可】

Unknown