Ant nesting ecology of leaf-cutter ants in altitude natural fields, southern Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v9i9.7371Keywords:
Behaviour; Sauvas; Quenquens; Anthills; Altitude fields.Abstract
This work aimed to study the ecological aspects of the nesting process carried out by Atta and Acromyrmex leaf-cutter ants in the Campos de Lages Microregion, Brazil. In each municipality 4 equidistant observation sites were established, each point representing an anthill, for a total of 72 anthills. All cutter anthill’s sampled were georeferenced and measured in relation to their surface. Soil samples were collected at three points at 1.5 m from each anthill, at a depth of 10 to 20 cm. Subsequently, the environmental characterization and definition of the architecture of each anthill were performed. The clay contents influenced the selection process of ant nesting sites of the species Atta ssp., and the Al contents and pH values of the soil influenced the nesting process of Acromyrmex ssp. ants. The Acromyrmex spp. anthills were located at higher altitudes than the Atta ssp. anthills. Regarding Atta ssp. anthill’s have a rough shape, are apparent and preferably located on the edges of vegetative fragments. Acromyrmex spp. anthill’s have a circular shape, are apparent, and preferably located in areas on the edges of forest fragments.
References
Alvares, C. A., Stape, J. L., Sentelhas, P. C., de Moraes, G., Leonardo, J., & Sparovek, G. (2013). Köppen's climate classification map for Brazil. Meteorologische Zeitschrift, 22, 711-728.
Alves Sobrinho, T., Pertussatti, C. A., Rebucci, L. C. S., & Oliveira, P. T. S. D. (2011). Estimativa da erosividade local das chuvas, utilizando redes neurais artificiais. Revista Ambiente &Água, 6, 246-254.
Araújo, M. S., Della Lucia, T., Ribeiro, G. A., & Kasuya, M. (2003). Impacto da queima controlada da cana-de-açúcar na nidificação e estabelecimento de colônias de Atta bisphaerica Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Neotropical Entomology, 32, 685-691.
Araújo, M. S., Ribeiro, M. M. R., Marinho, C. G. S., Oliveira, M. A., & Della-Lucia, T. M. C. (2011). Fundação e estabelecimento de formigueiros. Formigas-cortadeiras, da Biologia ao Manejo, 173-189.
Spadoni, A. B., Papa, G., Zanardi Junior, J. A., Staudt, N. G., & Castro, M. C. D. (2015, September). A vida dos insetos. In Congresso de extensão universitária da UNESP (pp. 1-4). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP).
Caldato, N., da Silva Camargo, R., Forti, L. C., de Andrade, A. P. P., & Lopes, J. F. S. (2016). Nest architecture in polydomous grass-cutting ants (Acromyrmex balzani). Journal of Natural History, 50, 1561-1581.
da Silva Camargo, R., Silva, L., Forti, L. C., & Lopes, J. F. (2016). Mandibles of leaf-cutting ants: morphology related to food preference. Sociobiology, 63, 881-888.
De Carvalho, F., De Souza, F. A., Carrenho, R., de Souza Moreira, F. M., da Conceicão Jesus, E., & Fernandes, G. W. (2012). The mosaic of habitats in the high-altitude Brazilian rupestrian fields is a hotspot for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Applied Soil Ecology, 52, 9-19.
Delabie, J. H. C., Alves, H. R., Reuss-Strenzel, G. M., Carmo, A. D., & Nascimento, I. D. (2011). Distribuição das formigas cortadeiras dos gêneros Acromyrmex e Atta no Novo Mundo. Formigas Cortadeiras: da Bioecologia ao Manejo. 1a ediçao. Viçosa-MG, Editora da Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 80-101.
Della Lucia, T. M. C., & Souza, D. J. (2011). Importância e história de vida das formigas-cortadeiras. DELLA LUCIA, TMC Formigas-cortadeiras: da biologia ao manejo. Viçosa-MG: UFV, 13-26.
Ebeling, A. G., Anjos, L. H. C. D., Perez, D. V., Pereira, M. G., & Valladares, G. S. (2008). Relação entre acidez e outros atributos químicos em solos com teores elevados de matéria orgânica. Bragantia, 67, 429-439.
Farji-Brener, A. G., Elizalde, L., Fernández-Marín, H., & Amador-Vargas, S. (2016). Social life and sanitary risks: evolutionary and current ecological conditions determine waste management in leaf-cutting ants. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1831), 20160625.
Felfili, J. M., Eisenlohr, P. V., Melo, M. M. R. F., Andrade, L. A., & Meira Neto, J. A. A. (2011). Fitossociologia no Brasil: métodos e estudos de casos. Viçosa: UFV, 1, 556.
Forti, L. C., Moreira, A. A., Andrade, A. P., Castellani, M. A., & Caldato, N. (2011). Nidificaçao e arquitetura de ninhos de formigas-cortadeiras. Della Lucia, TMC Formigas-Cortadeiras da Bioecologia ao Manejo. Viçosa: Ed. UFV, 102-125.
Giesel, A., Boff, M. I., Gonçalves, P. A., & Boff, P. (2013). Activity of leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens piriventris submited to high dilution homeopathic preparations. Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems, 16, 25-33.
Loeck, A. E., & Grutzmacher, D. (2005). Caracterização morfológica das formigas do gênero Acromyrmex de maior ocorrência no estado do rio grande do sul. Revista brasileira de Agrociência, 11, 437-444.
Loeck, A. E., Grutzmacher, D., & Coimbra, S. (2003). Ocorrência de formigas cortadeiras do gênero Acromyrmex nas principais regiões agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul. Current Agricultural Science and Technology, 9, 129-133.
Loeck, A. E., Pierobom, C. R., Gusmão, L. G. D., & Afonso, A. P. (2004). Growth of symbiont fungi of some higher attine ants in mineral medium. Ciência Rural, 34, 79-82.
Martins, D., Chaves, C. L., Bortoluzzi, R. D. C. L., & Mantovani, A. (2011). Florística de floresta ombrófila mista altomontana e de campos em Urupema, Santa Catarina, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Biociências, 9(2).
Klein, R. M. (1984). Aspectos dinâmicos da vegetação do sul do Brasil. Sellowia, 36, 5-54.
Matrangolo, C. A. R., Castro, R. V. O., Lucia, T. M. C. D., Lucia, R. M. D., Mendes, A. F. N., Costa, J. M. F. N., & Leite, H. G. (2010). Crescimento de eucalipto sob efeito de desfolhamento artificial. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira, 45, 952-957.
Perin, M. A. A., & Guimarães, J. F. (2012). Efeitos dos ninhos de Atta laevigata (Fr. Smith, 1858) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) sobre a vegetação do cerrado. Revista Árvore, 36, 463-470.
Peternelli, E. F., Della Lucia, T. M., Peternelli, L. A., & Moreira, N. C. (2009). Seed transport and removal of the elaiosome of Mabea fistulifera by workers of Atta sexdens rubropilosa (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology, 53, 275-290.
Rabeling, C., Cover, S. P., Johnson, R. A., & Mueller, U. G. (2007). A review of the North American species of the fungus-gardening ant genus Trachymyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa, 1664, 1-53.
Radaeski, J. N., Bauermann, S. G., Evaldt, A. C. P., & de Lima, G. L. (2011). Grãos de pólen das formações campestres sul-brasileiras. Revista de Iniciação Científica da ULBRA, 1(9).
Rousk, J., Brookes, P. C., & Bååth, E. (2009). Contrasting soil pH effects on fungal and bacterial growth suggest functional redundancy in carbon mineralization. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 75, 1589-1596.
Vasconcelos, H. L., Vieira‐Neto, E. H., Mundim, F. M., & Bruna, E. M. (2006). Roads Alter the Colonization Dynamics of a Keystone Herbivore in Neotropical Savannas 1. Biotropica, 38, 661-665.
Verza, S. S., Gervásio, R. C. R. G., e Silva, O. A., Gomes, M. O., Souza, S. A., & Mussury, R. M. (2020). Nest structure engineering of the leaf-cutting ant, Acromyrmex landolti, in the semiarid Caatinga biome. Insectes Sociaux, 67, 147-153.
Wells, R. L., Murphy, S. K., & Moran, M. D. (2017). Habitat Modification by the Leaf-Cutter Ant, Atta cephalotes, and Patterns of Leaf-Litter Arthropod Communities. Environmental Entomology, 46, 1264–1274.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Alexandre Giesel; Pedro Boff; Mari Inês Carissimi Boff; Patricia Fernandes
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
1) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
3) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
