The Importance of Poneromorph Ants for Seed Dispersal in Altered Environments

Changes in species composition and an increase in the probability of local or regional extinctions alone are considered alarming consequences of human disturbances. However, these changes bring other damages that have passed unnoticed by scientists, such as the loss of ecological interactions. In th...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Fabio Souto Almeida, Antonio José Mayhe-Nunes, Jarbas M Queiroz
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana 2013
Materias:	biodiversity communities diaspores myrmecochory human disturbances Zoology QL1-991 Ecology QH540-549.5 Natural history (General) QH1-278.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/24101d2e497043d08c71e2b2a9391bc1
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:24101d2e497043d08c71e2b2a9391bc1
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:24101d2e497043d08c71e2b2a9391bc12021-12-02T12:27:39ZThe Importance of Poneromorph Ants for Seed Dispersal in Altered Environments0361-652510.13102/sociobiology.v60i3.229-235https://doaj.org/article/24101d2e497043d08c71e2b2a9391bc12013-11-01T00:00:00Zhttp://periodicos.uefs.br/ojs/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/172https://doaj.org/toc/0361-6525Changes in species composition and an increase in the probability of local or regional extinctions alone are considered alarming consequences of human disturbances. However, these changes bring other damages that have passed unnoticed by scientists, such as the loss of ecological interactions. In the present study, we assessed fragments of secondary forest and pastures focusing on two aspects of the seed dispersal process: removal rate and dispersal distance. We collected data in forest fragments named Forest 1 (6 ha), Forest 2 (36 ha), and Forest 3 (780 ha), and in a pasture in the municipality of Vassouras, Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. In each site, we established 40 observation stations containing six seeds of <em>Carica papaya</em> L. (papaya) and monitored seed removal for 2 h at each station. Seventeen ant species removed a total of 316 seeds (32.92% of the seeds). The species that removed the highest number of seeds was <em>Pachycondyla striata</em> Fr. Smith, followed by <em>Odontomachus chelifer</em> (Latreille). The seed removal rate was significantly higher (P < 0.05, Tukey test) in the forest fragment where larger species were more frequent. The average removal distance was significantly longer in two out of three forest fragments (P < 0.05, Tukey test). Larger ants removed more seeds and for longer distances. Hence, seed dispersal was increased by the presence of large-bodied ant species and their high frequency in forest fragments seed dispersal.Fabio Souto AlmeidaAntonio José Mayhe-NunesJarbas M QueirozUniversidade Estadual de Feira de Santanaarticlebiodiversitycommunitiesdiasporesmyrmecochoryhuman disturbancesZoologyQL1-991EcologyQH540-549.5Natural history (General)QH1-278.5ENSociobiology, Vol 60, Iss 3, Pp 229-235 (2013)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	biodiversity communities diaspores myrmecochory human disturbances Zoology QL1-991 Ecology QH540-549.5 Natural history (General) QH1-278.5
spellingShingle	biodiversity communities diaspores myrmecochory human disturbances Zoology QL1-991 Ecology QH540-549.5 Natural history (General) QH1-278.5 Fabio Souto Almeida Antonio José Mayhe-Nunes Jarbas M Queiroz The Importance of Poneromorph Ants for Seed Dispersal in Altered Environments
description	Changes in species composition and an increase in the probability of local or regional extinctions alone are considered alarming consequences of human disturbances. However, these changes bring other damages that have passed unnoticed by scientists, such as the loss of ecological interactions. In the present study, we assessed fragments of secondary forest and pastures focusing on two aspects of the seed dispersal process: removal rate and dispersal distance. We collected data in forest fragments named Forest 1 (6 ha), Forest 2 (36 ha), and Forest 3 (780 ha), and in a pasture in the municipality of Vassouras, Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. In each site, we established 40 observation stations containing six seeds of <em>Carica papaya</em> L. (papaya) and monitored seed removal for 2 h at each station. Seventeen ant species removed a total of 316 seeds (32.92% of the seeds). The species that removed the highest number of seeds was <em>Pachycondyla striata</em> Fr. Smith, followed by <em>Odontomachus chelifer</em> (Latreille). The seed removal rate was significantly higher (P < 0.05, Tukey test) in the forest fragment where larger species were more frequent. The average removal distance was significantly longer in two out of three forest fragments (P < 0.05, Tukey test). Larger ants removed more seeds and for longer distances. Hence, seed dispersal was increased by the presence of large-bodied ant species and their high frequency in forest fragments seed dispersal.
format	article
author	Fabio Souto Almeida Antonio José Mayhe-Nunes Jarbas M Queiroz
author_facet	Fabio Souto Almeida Antonio José Mayhe-Nunes Jarbas M Queiroz
author_sort	Fabio Souto Almeida
title	The Importance of Poneromorph Ants for Seed Dispersal in Altered Environments
title_short	The Importance of Poneromorph Ants for Seed Dispersal in Altered Environments
title_full	The Importance of Poneromorph Ants for Seed Dispersal in Altered Environments
title_fullStr	The Importance of Poneromorph Ants for Seed Dispersal in Altered Environments
title_full_unstemmed	The Importance of Poneromorph Ants for Seed Dispersal in Altered Environments
title_sort	importance of poneromorph ants for seed dispersal in altered environments
publisher	Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
publishDate	2013
url	https://doaj.org/article/24101d2e497043d08c71e2b2a9391bc1
work_keys_str_mv	AT fabiosoutoalmeida theimportanceofponeromorphantsforseeddispersalinalteredenvironments AT antoniojosemayhenunes theimportanceofponeromorphantsforseeddispersalinalteredenvironments AT jarbasmqueiroz theimportanceofponeromorphantsforseeddispersalinalteredenvironments AT fabiosoutoalmeida importanceofponeromorphantsforseeddispersalinalteredenvironments AT antoniojosemayhenunes importanceofponeromorphantsforseeddispersalinalteredenvironments AT jarbasmqueiroz importanceofponeromorphantsforseeddispersalinalteredenvironments
_version_	1718394443075158016

The Importance of Poneromorph Ants for Seed Dispersal in Altered Environments

Ejemplares similares