Spatial Distribution of Acromyrmex balzani (Emery) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Attini) Nests Using Two Sampling Methods

<p>The spatial distribution (SD) of organisms is a key parameter in studies of population ecology. Among the methods to describe the SD of sessile organisms, sampling by way of plots and transects are widely used. The measurement of the distance between individuals (“nearest neighbor”) is a si...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Leandro Sousa-Souto, Arleu Barbosa Viana Junior, Eduardo Silva Nascimento
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana 2013
Materias:	population ecology leaf-cutting ants nest density nearest neighbor Zoology QL1-991 Ecology QH540-549.5 Natural history (General) QH1-278.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/cd82a184559d4072980adb965ec7471f
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:cd82a184559d4072980adb965ec7471f
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:cd82a184559d4072980adb965ec7471f2021-12-02T12:39:32ZSpatial Distribution of Acromyrmex balzani (Emery) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Attini) Nests Using Two Sampling Methods0361-652510.13102/sociobiology.v60i2.162-168https://doaj.org/article/cd82a184559d4072980adb965ec7471f2013-07-01T00:00:00Zhttp://periodicos.uefs.br/ojs/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/141https://doaj.org/toc/0361-6525<p>The spatial distribution (SD) of organisms is a key parameter in studies of population ecology. Among the methods to describe the SD of sessile organisms, sampling by way of plots and transects are widely used. The measurement of the distance between individuals (“nearest neighbor”) is a simple method that has not been employed in population studies with ants. This study aimed to evaluate the SD of ant mounds of <em>Acromyrmex balzani</em> (Emery, 1890), using both plot sampling and nearest neighbor methods in order to evaluate which method is more appropriate for determining SD of this species. In January 2013 we established 359 plots of 10 m<sup>2</sup> on a fragment of grassland in Sergipe, Brazil. In the same study area 25 colonies were randomly selected and the distance of the closest neighbor colony was determined. In total, 153 ant mounds were sampled (plots) and the density was estimated in 975 × colonies ha<sup>-1</sup>. Colonies were clumped in the environment either by plot sampling (χ2 = 453.93; <em>p </em>< 0.05) as well as by the method of nearest neighbor (A<sub>x</sub>= 0.67, t = -1.72, p < 0.05). The aggregation of A. balzani colonies found in this study may be due to habitat heterogeneity or relate to the strategy of colony foundation. We conclude that the use of the nearest neighbor method was as accurate as the plot sampling method, providing the same results with much lower sampling effort.</p>Leandro Sousa-SoutoArleu Barbosa Viana JuniorEduardo Silva NascimentoUniversidade Estadual de Feira de Santanaarticlepopulation ecologyleaf-cutting antsnest densitynearest neighborZoologyQL1-991EcologyQH540-549.5Natural history (General)QH1-278.5ENSociobiology, Vol 60, Iss 2, Pp 162-168 (2013)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	population ecology leaf-cutting ants nest density nearest neighbor Zoology QL1-991 Ecology QH540-549.5 Natural history (General) QH1-278.5
spellingShingle	population ecology leaf-cutting ants nest density nearest neighbor Zoology QL1-991 Ecology QH540-549.5 Natural history (General) QH1-278.5 Leandro Sousa-Souto Arleu Barbosa Viana Junior Eduardo Silva Nascimento Spatial Distribution of Acromyrmex balzani (Emery) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Attini) Nests Using Two Sampling Methods
description	<p>The spatial distribution (SD) of organisms is a key parameter in studies of population ecology. Among the methods to describe the SD of sessile organisms, sampling by way of plots and transects are widely used. The measurement of the distance between individuals (“nearest neighbor”) is a simple method that has not been employed in population studies with ants. This study aimed to evaluate the SD of ant mounds of <em>Acromyrmex balzani</em> (Emery, 1890), using both plot sampling and nearest neighbor methods in order to evaluate which method is more appropriate for determining SD of this species. In January 2013 we established 359 plots of 10 m<sup>2</sup> on a fragment of grassland in Sergipe, Brazil. In the same study area 25 colonies were randomly selected and the distance of the closest neighbor colony was determined. In total, 153 ant mounds were sampled (plots) and the density was estimated in 975 × colonies ha<sup>-1</sup>. Colonies were clumped in the environment either by plot sampling (χ2 = 453.93; <em>p </em>< 0.05) as well as by the method of nearest neighbor (A<sub>x</sub>= 0.67, t = -1.72, p < 0.05). The aggregation of A. balzani colonies found in this study may be due to habitat heterogeneity or relate to the strategy of colony foundation. We conclude that the use of the nearest neighbor method was as accurate as the plot sampling method, providing the same results with much lower sampling effort.</p>
format	article
author	Leandro Sousa-Souto Arleu Barbosa Viana Junior Eduardo Silva Nascimento
author_facet	Leandro Sousa-Souto Arleu Barbosa Viana Junior Eduardo Silva Nascimento
author_sort	Leandro Sousa-Souto
title	Spatial Distribution of Acromyrmex balzani (Emery) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Attini) Nests Using Two Sampling Methods
title_short	Spatial Distribution of Acromyrmex balzani (Emery) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Attini) Nests Using Two Sampling Methods
title_full	Spatial Distribution of Acromyrmex balzani (Emery) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Attini) Nests Using Two Sampling Methods
title_fullStr	Spatial Distribution of Acromyrmex balzani (Emery) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Attini) Nests Using Two Sampling Methods
title_full_unstemmed	Spatial Distribution of Acromyrmex balzani (Emery) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Attini) Nests Using Two Sampling Methods
title_sort	spatial distribution of acromyrmex balzani (emery) (hymenoptera: formicidae: attini) nests using two sampling methods
publisher	Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
publishDate	2013
url	https://doaj.org/article/cd82a184559d4072980adb965ec7471f
work_keys_str_mv	AT leandrosousasouto spatialdistributionofacromyrmexbalzaniemeryhymenopteraformicidaeattininestsusingtwosamplingmethods AT arleubarbosavianajunior spatialdistributionofacromyrmexbalzaniemeryhymenopteraformicidaeattininestsusingtwosamplingmethods AT eduardosilvanascimento spatialdistributionofacromyrmexbalzaniemeryhymenopteraformicidaeattininestsusingtwosamplingmethods
_version_	1718393828239474688

Spatial Distribution of Acromyrmex balzani (Emery) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Attini) Nests Using Two Sampling Methods

Ejemplares similares