Diurnal flight periodicity of a Neotropical ant assemblage (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the Atlantic Forest
ABSTRACT In this study we document for the first time flight patterns along a 24 h time range for an ant assemblage in one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Malaise traps were used to analyze the diurnal nuptial flights of a Neotropical ant assemblage during fiv...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia
2016-09-01
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| Series: | Revista Brasileira de Entomologia |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0085-56262016000300241&lng=en&tlng=en |
| _version_ | 1819055077150687232 |
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| author | Rodrigo M. Feitosa Rogério R. da Silva Alexandre P. Aguiar |
| author_facet | Rodrigo M. Feitosa Rogério R. da Silva Alexandre P. Aguiar |
| author_sort | Rodrigo M. Feitosa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT In this study we document for the first time flight patterns along a 24 h time range for an ant assemblage in one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Malaise traps were used to analyze the diurnal nuptial flights of a Neotropical ant assemblage during five days. Traps captured 802 individuals, revealing a remarkably high diversity (42 ant species), with samples strongly male biased (1:22). Contrariwise to similar studies, we found only a small proportion of species engaged in nocturnal nuptial flights, with diurnal flights accounting for an impressive 95% of all ant flight activity recorded. For the 18 most common species, three ant groups could be identified regarding flight period: sunrise, sunset, and continuous flight activity. Similarity analyses, however, suggest that closely related time ranges of flight activity may actually not be continuous. Further, three species showed pulsed flight activity, at varied hours of the day. Two species of Hypoponera showed flight activity at different periods of the day, suggesting congeneric staggered nuptial flights. Our results match long-term studies of ant assemblages showing high diversity of flight phenologies in hyperdiverse tropical ant assemblages and provide the first data on the reproductive phenology for several Neotropical ant species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T13:01:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5655444715144e5f9e842191e53d7dbf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1806-9665 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T13:01:47Z |
| publishDate | 2016-09-01 |
| publisher | Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista Brasileira de Entomologia |
| spelling | doaj.art-5655444715144e5f9e842191e53d7dbf2022-12-21T19:03:10ZengSociedade Brasileira de EntomologiaRevista Brasileira de Entomologia1806-96652016-09-0160324124710.1016/j.rbe.2016.05.006S0085-56262016000300241Diurnal flight periodicity of a Neotropical ant assemblage (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the Atlantic ForestRodrigo M. FeitosaRogério R. da SilvaAlexandre P. AguiarABSTRACT In this study we document for the first time flight patterns along a 24 h time range for an ant assemblage in one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Malaise traps were used to analyze the diurnal nuptial flights of a Neotropical ant assemblage during five days. Traps captured 802 individuals, revealing a remarkably high diversity (42 ant species), with samples strongly male biased (1:22). Contrariwise to similar studies, we found only a small proportion of species engaged in nocturnal nuptial flights, with diurnal flights accounting for an impressive 95% of all ant flight activity recorded. For the 18 most common species, three ant groups could be identified regarding flight period: sunrise, sunset, and continuous flight activity. Similarity analyses, however, suggest that closely related time ranges of flight activity may actually not be continuous. Further, three species showed pulsed flight activity, at varied hours of the day. Two species of Hypoponera showed flight activity at different periods of the day, suggesting congeneric staggered nuptial flights. Our results match long-term studies of ant assemblages showing high diversity of flight phenologies in hyperdiverse tropical ant assemblages and provide the first data on the reproductive phenology for several Neotropical ant species.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0085-56262016000300241&lng=en&tlng=enMalaisePhenologyReproductionSummertimeSwarm |
| spellingShingle | Rodrigo M. Feitosa Rogério R. da Silva Alexandre P. Aguiar Diurnal flight periodicity of a Neotropical ant assemblage (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the Atlantic Forest Revista Brasileira de Entomologia Malaise Phenology Reproduction Summertime Swarm |
| title | Diurnal flight periodicity of a Neotropical ant assemblage (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the Atlantic Forest |
| title_full | Diurnal flight periodicity of a Neotropical ant assemblage (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the Atlantic Forest |
| title_fullStr | Diurnal flight periodicity of a Neotropical ant assemblage (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the Atlantic Forest |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diurnal flight periodicity of a Neotropical ant assemblage (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the Atlantic Forest |
| title_short | Diurnal flight periodicity of a Neotropical ant assemblage (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the Atlantic Forest |
| title_sort | diurnal flight periodicity of a neotropical ant assemblage hymenoptera formicidae in the atlantic forest |
| topic | Malaise Phenology Reproduction Summertime Swarm |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0085-56262016000300241&lng=en&tlng=en |
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