A 15-year post evaluation of the fire effects on ant community in an area of Amazonian forest

Revista Brasileira de Entomologia

Jean C. Santos²  Jacques H. C. Delabie¹  G. Wilson Fernandes² 

[1] ,niversidade Federal de Minas Gerais Ecologia Evolutiva & Biodiversidade Belo Horizonte MG ,Brazil

关键词: Amazon;    Brazil;    community structure;    rain forest;    species richness;    Amazônia;    Brasil;    estrutura de comunidades;    Floresta Tropical;    Riqueza;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0085-56262008000100015

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

Fire represents an important disturbance to ant communities in areas of fire regime. Otherwise, little is known about the effects of fire on ant communities in areas of non-fire regimes, such as in the Amazonian region. We evaluated the long-term effect of fire on ant species richness in a rain forest (Bacaba Plateau) burned 15-years ago and compare our data with the data of primary unburned forest. A total of 85 ant species distributed in 21 genera and 14 tribes were collected; among them, 72 and 44 species were found on the litter and vegetation, respectively. The fire damaged forest studied supports an intermediate richness of ants when compared to a primary unburned rain forest in the same region. A comparative analysis of ant species richness showed that the Bacaba Plateau presented a different ant fauna when compared with the primary unburned forests, suggesting that fire can alter ant species composition. Although, our results cannot be conclusive on the effects of fire on ant community, they represent a pioneer data on human induced fire in tropical rain forests.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC-ND   
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