Checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Solomon Islands and a new survey of Makira Island

The intent of this paper is to facilitate future research of the Solomon Islands ant fauna by providing the first comprehensively researched species inventory in over 75 years. The species list presented here includes the names of all ant species recorded from the islands that are available in the l...

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Main Authors: Eli Sarnat, Benjamin Blanchard, Benoit Guénard, John Fasi, Evan Economo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pensoft Publishers 2013-01-01
Series:ZooKeys
Online Access:http://zookeys.pensoft.net/lib/ajax_srv/article_elements_srv.php?action=download_pdf&item_id=3605
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author Eli Sarnat
Benjamin Blanchard
Benoit Guénard
John Fasi
Evan Economo
author_facet Eli Sarnat
Benjamin Blanchard
Benoit Guénard
John Fasi
Evan Economo
author_sort Eli Sarnat
collection DOAJ
description The intent of this paper is to facilitate future research of the Solomon Islands ant fauna by providing the first comprehensively researched species inventory in over 75 years. The species list presented here includes the names of all ant species recorded from the islands that are available in the literature together with specimen records from several museum collections and new records from our 2008 Makira field expedition. All the names of described species presented are valid in accordance with the most recent Formicidae classification. In total, the checklist is composed of 237 species and subspecies (including 30 morphospecies) in 59 genera representing nine subfamilies. We report that the recent field expedition added 67 new species records to Makira and 28 new species records to the Solomon Islands. Our research recovered species occurrence records for 32 individual islands and five island groups. The five islands with the highest number of recorded species are: Makira (142 spp.), Guadalcanal (107 spp.), Malaita (70 spp.), Santa Isabel (68 spp.), and Rennell (66 spp.). Based on our results, we discuss the taxonomic composition of the archipelago’s ant fauna, which islands are most in need of additional sampling, and the importance of establishing biodiversity baselines before environmental threats such as the invasive ant Wasmannia auropunctata cause irrevocable harm to the native biodiversity.
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spelling doaj.art-50c776e0f28c44a8b23dcc5fdbf8fac22022-12-22T02:45:06ZengPensoft PublishersZooKeys1313-29891313-29702013-01-012570478810.3897/zookeys.257.41563605Checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Solomon Islands and a new survey of Makira IslandEli SarnatBenjamin BlanchardBenoit GuénardJohn FasiEvan EconomoThe intent of this paper is to facilitate future research of the Solomon Islands ant fauna by providing the first comprehensively researched species inventory in over 75 years. The species list presented here includes the names of all ant species recorded from the islands that are available in the literature together with specimen records from several museum collections and new records from our 2008 Makira field expedition. All the names of described species presented are valid in accordance with the most recent Formicidae classification. In total, the checklist is composed of 237 species and subspecies (including 30 morphospecies) in 59 genera representing nine subfamilies. We report that the recent field expedition added 67 new species records to Makira and 28 new species records to the Solomon Islands. Our research recovered species occurrence records for 32 individual islands and five island groups. The five islands with the highest number of recorded species are: Makira (142 spp.), Guadalcanal (107 spp.), Malaita (70 spp.), Santa Isabel (68 spp.), and Rennell (66 spp.). Based on our results, we discuss the taxonomic composition of the archipelago’s ant fauna, which islands are most in need of additional sampling, and the importance of establishing biodiversity baselines before environmental threats such as the invasive ant Wasmannia auropunctata cause irrevocable harm to the native biodiversity.http://zookeys.pensoft.net/lib/ajax_srv/article_elements_srv.php?action=download_pdf&item_id=3605
spellingShingle Eli Sarnat
Benjamin Blanchard
Benoit Guénard
John Fasi
Evan Economo
Checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Solomon Islands and a new survey of Makira Island
ZooKeys
title Checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Solomon Islands and a new survey of Makira Island
title_full Checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Solomon Islands and a new survey of Makira Island
title_fullStr Checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Solomon Islands and a new survey of Makira Island
title_full_unstemmed Checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Solomon Islands and a new survey of Makira Island
title_short Checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Solomon Islands and a new survey of Makira Island
title_sort checklist of the ants hymenoptera formicidae of the solomon islands and a new survey of makira island
url http://zookeys.pensoft.net/lib/ajax_srv/article_elements_srv.php?action=download_pdf&item_id=3605
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AT benoitguenard checklistoftheantshymenopteraformicidaeofthesolomonislandsandanewsurveyofmakiraisland
AT johnfasi checklistoftheantshymenopteraformicidaeofthesolomonislandsandanewsurveyofmakiraisland
AT evaneconomo checklistoftheantshymenopteraformicidaeofthesolomonislandsandanewsurveyofmakiraisland