Determinantes de comunidades de formigas em restinga

• Ano de defesa: 2009
• Autor(a) principal: Cardoso, Danon Clemes
• Orientador(a): Schoereder, José Henrique
• Banca de defesa: Salomão, Tânia Maria Fernandes , Sperber, Carlos Frankl , Souza, Danival José de
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de Viçosa
• Programa de Pós-Graduação: Mestrado em Entomologia
• Departamento: Ciência entomológica; Tecnologia entomológica
• País: BR
• Palavras-chave em Português: Formigas; Composição de espécies; Riqueza; Ecologia; Restinga
• Palavras-chave em Inglês: Ants; Species composition; Richness; Ecology; Restinga
• Área do conhecimento CNPq: CNPQ::CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS::ECOLOGIA
• Link de acesso: http://locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/3890

The Brazilian coast presents approximately 9,200 kilometers, which 5.000 km of them are occupied by the Restinga ecosystems. This ecosystem is a set of vegetation formations that develop in sandy plains dating from the Quaternary, within the Atlantic Forest domain. The plant species that occur in Restinga have high plasticity, presenting adaptations for their development under the influence of various biotic and abiotic factors such as drought stress, wind, topography and salinity. These factors influence the occurrence and distribution of plant communities in the Restinga, and similarly, should influence the distribution and diversity of animals. The aim of this dissertation was to test the assumption that the species richness of ants increases with distance from the ocean, as well as the following hypotheses: (1) ant species richness increases with plant species richness, which in turn increases with distance from the sea, (2) ant species richness is proportional to soil cover by plants and litter; (3) ant species richness increases with soil organic matter concentration, (4) ant species richness decreases with soil salinity, and (5) the species richness of ants responds positively to spatial heterogeneity of the environment. Moreover, we tested a second assumption that the distinct Restinga phytophysiognomies have different ant species composition. The ants were sampled in herbaceous and shrubby Restinga of the Morro dos Conventos in Araranguá (SC) using pitfall traps. Sixty-five pitfall traps were placed 10 meters away from each other in transects disposed from the ocean to the continent. At each sampling point, were collected the following explanatory variables: plant species richness, percentage of vegetation cover and litter, concentration of organic matter and salt in soil. In total, we collected 71 species of ants. Our results have confirmed both assumptions. Ant species richness was related to distance from the sea, plant species richness, soil cover by plant and litter. Moreover, we observed that different vegetation types within Restinga have specific communities of ants, where habitats near or with similar environmental conditions had higher similarity among them. These results indicate that the vegetation and environmental factors affected by them are the main factors determining the ant species richness and composition in Restinga.