Synecology of wasmannia auropunctata, an invasive ant species (hymenoptera: Formicidae), continuous and fragmented areas in the brazilian atlantic forest

Abstract

Ants have been considered as particularly important indicators of biodiversity (Alonso 2000; Bisevac & Majer 2002, Majer et al. 2004), disturbance (Brown 1997a, b; Andersen et al. 2002), and of rehabilitation or successional stages in ecosystems (Majer 1983, 1990; Majer & Nichols 1998). Ant communities are of key importance for regulating the abundance and composition of other arthropod communities, and even plants, in the ecosystems (Hölldobler & Wilson 1990; Davidson 1997; Davidson et al. 2003). However, there is also evidence that plant community structure influences ant distribution and occurrence. Certain humanmade modifications inflict a persisting and remarkable effect on ant communities (Morais and Benson 1988; Schoereder & Coutinho 1990), qualifying ants to be intensively used in several studies as indicators of environmental conditions (Silva & Brandão 2000). The reasons for this ample utilization are: (i) ants are cosmopolitan, (ii) extremely abundant and diverse locally, (iii) ecologically important, (iv) taxonomically treatable, and (v) easily sampled. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008.