Especies de hormigas del suelo en el Parque Nacional Natural Gorgona, Pacífico Colombiano

Abstract

*[This study compiles information on ant species from published (1991) & unpublished (2006) studies & provides new records for ant species collected in 2010. Ants were sampled & information was obtained from 15 sites in Gorgona island (13.82km2), including the Gorgonilla atoll (0.49km2). Collecting methods included pitfall traps, tuna baits, mini-Winkler extraction of leaf litter, Malaise traps, entomological nets, & direct search. The soil and understory ant inventory resulted in 107 ant species & morphospecies, in 46 genera in 12 subfamilies. Myrmicinae held the highest species richness (37 species), followed by Ponerinae (27); Formicinae (12). The richest genera were Pachycondyla (15 species), Camponotus (9), & Pheidole (8), while 30 genera were represented by a single species. Twelve species were very common (both in distribution & time): Azteca sp., Atta cephalotes, Camponotus sericeiventris, Eciton vagans, Ectatomma goninion, Gnamptogenys annulata, Odontomachus bauri, Pachycondyla bugabensis, P. harpax, P. verenae, Paraponera clavata, & Wasmannia auropunctata. Direct search was the most efficient method to collect diferent species & was responsible for 52% of the total species found. Compared to other Neotropical islands, Gorgona holds a suprisingly high number of ant species, none of them invasive. The invasive Monomorium floricola, which was collected 20 years ago, was not found in 2010. The evidence suggest that ecological mechanisms & natural recovery processes in the ecosystem have generated microhabitats allowing their coexistence.]