Using ants as biological indicators for the formation of mini-ecological corridors in the “APA” Itacaré/Serra Grande, Bahia, Brazil

Authors

  • Hilda Susele Rodrigues Alves Laboratório de Mirmecologia, Convênio CEPLAC/UESC, Centro de Pesquisa do Cacau, CEPLAC, Caixa Postal 7, 45600-000, Itabuna, Bahia, Brasil; PRODEMA-UESC, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Km 16 Rod. Ilhéus-Itabuna, 45650-000 Ilhéus, Bahia, Brasil.
  • Jacques Hubert Charles Delabie Laboratório de Mirmecologia, Convênio CEPLAC/UESC, Centro de Pesquisa do Cacau, CEPLAC, Caixa Postal 7, 45600-000, Itabuna, Bahia, Brasil.
  • Ivan Cardoso Nascimento Laboratório de Mirmecologia, Convênio CEPLAC/UESC, Centro de Pesquisa do Cacau, CEPLAC, Caixa Postal 7, 45600-000, Itabuna, Bahia; Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Entomologia, Km 03, BR 116, 44031-460, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil.
  • José Raimundo Maia dos Santos Laboratório de Mirmecologia, Convênio CEPLAC/UESC, Centro de Pesquisa do Cacau, CEPLAC, Caixa Postal 7, 45600-000, Itabuna, Bahia, Brasil.
  • Raquel Maria Oliveira PRODEMA-UESC, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Km 16 Rod. Ilhéus-Itabuna, 45650-000 Ilhéus, Bahia, Brasil.
  • Maurício Santana Moreau PRODEMA-UESC, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Km 16 Rod. Ilhéus-Itabuna, 45650-000 Ilhéus, Bahia, Brasil.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13102/scb8075

Abstract

The Area of Environmental Protection (APA) Costa Itacaré-Serra Grande encloses part of the counties of Ilhéus, Uruçuca and Itacaré which is inserted in the Central Corridor of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (CCMA). There is no study identifying the areas making viable the implantation of ecological corridors in this APA. This study is an analysis of the use of ants as a tool for evaluating the support capacity of fragmented land for mini-corridors implantation between forest remnants. A study on series of Formicidae already available in the collection of the Laboratório de Mirmecologia was carried out. The ant diversity was compared in eight areas distributed in three kinds of environments: forest (four areas), cocoa plantations (two) and pastures (two). The species diversity in the forest and cacao plantations was larger that in the pastures. We identified 234 ant species belonging to 55 genera in 27 tribes and ten sub-families. Six of these were selected as possible biological indicators: Apterostigma, Camponotus, Ectatomma, Pachycondyla, Pheidole and Wasmannia. The most specious were Apterostigma, Pachycondyla and Pheidole, indicating good condition of conservation in forest and cocoa plantations. Although only four species of Wasmannia were found, the situation of the fragments where this genus occurs is of concern due to its frequency in a high rate of samples. One species is a well known indicator of environmental degradation (Wasmannia auropunctata), commonly observed in pastures and cocoa plantations. The most propitious fragments to the mini-corridor implantation are those with the greatest richness in Apterostigma, Pachycondyla and Pheidole species and with a low relative frequency of W. auropunctata.

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Published

2008-04-30

How to Cite

Alves, H. S. R., Delabie, J. H. C., Nascimento, I. C., Santos, J. R. M. dos, Oliveira, R. M., & Moreau, M. S. (2008). Using ants as biological indicators for the formation of mini-ecological corridors in the “APA” Itacaré/Serra Grande, Bahia, Brazil. SITIENTIBUS série Ciências Biológicas, 8(1), 71–79. https://doi.org/10.13102/scb8075

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2008)

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Artigos

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