14 documents found, page 1 of 2
Is the Rapoport effect widespread? Null models revisited
Ribas, Carla R.; Schoereder, José H.To test the Rapoport effect using null models and data sets taken from the literature. We propose an improvement on an existing method, testing the Rapoport effect in elevational and latitudinal distributions when distributions are restricted by sampling. First, we hypothesized that real range size distributions are similar to those expected by null assumptions (expected by only imposing boundaries to species d...
How predictable is the response of ant assemblages to natural forest recovery? ...
Schmidt, Fernando A.; Ribas, Carla R.; Schoereder, José H.Environmental indicators can be used to evaluate natural recovery processes. Although several studies have used ant assemblage metrics as environmental indicators, few try to explain the response of these insect assemblages to forest recovery. Thus, we carried out a vertical ant sampling design to verify the sensitivity of ant assemblages from different microhabitats (epigeic, arboreal and hypogeic) to natural ...
Ant nests and soil nutrient availability: the negative impact of fire
Sousa- Souto, Leandro; Schoereder, José H.; Schaefer, Carlos Ernesto G. R.; Silva, Washington L.Sauveiros modificam as propriedades físicas e químicas do solo, alterando a estrutura e fisionomia local. Entretanto, queimadas podem reduzir os efeitos dos formigueiros nesses ambientes como, por exemplo, pela diminuição do forrageamento das formigas e ,consequentemente, pela baixa incorporação de material orgânico ao solo. Este estudo testou o efeito do fogo sobre a concentração de nutrientes no solo de colôn...
Leaf-cutting ants, seasonal burning and nutrient distribution in Cerrado vegeta...
Sousa-Souto, Leandro; Schoereder, José H.; Schaefer, Carlos E. G. R.Fire and herbivory are known to modify plant community structure. Many studies have suggested that fire ashes may increase soil nutrients in dystrophic soils. Herbivores may also change plant community structure through direct effects of herbivory and affecting nutrient cycling. Leaf-cutting ants were traditionally viewed as herbivores, although their role may be more complex, because their nests affect both ch...
Biodiversity consequences of land-use change and forest disturbance in the Amaz...
Solar, Ricardo Ribeiro de Castro; Barlow, Jos; Andersen, Alan N.; Schoereder, José H.; Berenguer, Erika; Ferreira, Joice N.; Gardner, Toby AlanQuantifying and understanding the main drivers of biodiversity responses to human disturbances at multiple scales is key to foster effective conservation plans and management systems. Here we report on a detailed regional assessment of the response of ant communities to land-use change and forest disturbance in the Brazilian Amazon. We aimed to explore the effects of land-use intensification at both site and la...
Are all ant mosaics caused by competition?
Riba, Carla R.; Schoereder, José H.In this paper we tested the hypothesis that ant mosaics are generated and maintained by stochastic processes, against the general idea that deterministic processes, such as competition, are the main forces that structure these communities. We analysed 14 published ant mosaics, described for crops and natural forests, transforming their data in presence/absence matrices. These matrices were submitted to species ...
Similar alpha and beta diversity changes in tropical ant communities, comparing...
Schmidt, Fernando A.; Ribas, Carla R.; Sobrinho, Tathiana G.; Ubaidillah, Rosichon; Schoereder, José H.; Clough, Yann; Tscharntke, TejaLocal biodiversity can be expected to be similar worldwide if environmental conditions are similar. Here, we hypothesize that tropical ant communities with different types of regional species pools but at similar habitat types in Brazil and Indonesia show similar diversity patterns at multiple spatial scales, when comparing (1) the relative contribution of alpha and beta diversity to gamma diversity; (2) the nu...
Fire in the Amazon: impact of experimental fuel addition on responses of ants a...
Paolucci, Lucas N.; Maia, Maria L. B.; Solar, Ricardo R. C.; Campos, Ricardo I.; Schoereder, José H.; Andersen, Alan N.The widespread clearing of tropical forests causes lower tree cover, drier microclimate, and higher and drier fuel loads of forest edges, increasing the risk of fire occurrence and its intensity. We used a manipulative field experiment to investigate the influence of fire and fuel loads on ant communities and their interactions with myrmecochorous seeds in the southern Amazon, a region currently undergoing extr...
Why does Atta robusta (Formicidae) not change soil features around their nests ...
Madureira, Marcelo S.; Schoereder, José H.; Teixeira, Marcos C.; Sobrinho, Tathiana G.Based on recent papers studying the effect of leaf-cutting ants on soils, we hypothesized that Atta robusta nests modify chemical properties in oligotrophic Restinga soils. We tested if the nests (i) increase mineral nutrients, organic matter, cationic exchangeable capacity, pH, and (ii) decrease aluminum saturation. Such soil variables were determined at three depths from both active A. robusta nests and contr...
Ant community in natural fragments of the Brazilian wetland: species–area relat...
Schmidt, Fernando A.; Cuissi, Rafael G.; Lasmar, Chaim J.; Moretti, Tamara S.; Fernandes, Wedson D.; Falleiros, Andreia B.; Schoereder, José H.Biogeographic theory has been given much attention for its potential application to biodiversity conservation in areas fragmented through anthropic action. The objective of this study was to determine whether ant community structure established in natural woodland fragments immersed in a matrix of natural grasslands could be explained by this theory. We therefore investigated whether the relationship between sp...