Distribuição temporal de formigas do gênero Crematogaster atraídas por iscas de sardinha em um plantio de jacareúba (Calliphorum brasiliensis) na Amazônia Central

Abstract

Ants are one of the most numerous and diverse insect groups in tropical regions (Fittkau & Klinge 1973) and the Brazilian myrmecological fauna is one of the richest in the world (Wilson 1971). They have a wide variability of habits and habitats and a high capacity for adaptation, some of them being cosmopolitan. In this paper we intend to show the spatial and temporal distribution of Crematogaster species in a plantation area. The ants were collected in a twenty-year-old plantation of jacareúba (Calliphorum brasiliensis), located in the Experimental Station of Tropical Forestry (EEST) of the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA), 45 km north of Manaus-AM. The study area has 49m2 and was subdivided into 7 transects of 70m, 10m apart, where 49 points were established. At each point, sardine lures were placed on litter and vegetation (about 1 meter from the ground), which were removed 30 minutes after being placed. The material was sorted and identified to the morphospecies level. Six species of the genus Crematogaster were found during the study period (1990-1993). The annual frequency of the species was significant only for the dry period (Ks=9.14; p<0.05). The species showed higher abundance during the dry season, except for the year 1992, when it was higher during the rainy season. The most abundant species with the greatest temporal distribution were Crematogaster sp3 and sp4 throughout the period studied. All species were more abundant during 1992. However, in the year 1993 there was a significant difference in abundance (x=0.0065) during the rainy season. The species Crematogaster sp6 occurred with the highest abundance in 1992 and disappeared in the year 1993. The species Crematogaster spl, sp2 and sp5 were more frequent in the dry season, mainly in the years 1992 and 1993. An oscillation in the abundance and spatio-temporal distribution of the species was shown, so the species Crematogaster sp3 had a decrease in abundance in August/1992 and November/1992 and 1993, and the species Crematogaster sp4 was more abundant in May/1992 and November/1993. Through this work we can conclude that the temporal distribution of ants of the genus Crematogaster attracted by sardine baits in a jacareúba plantation Crematogaster sp3 and sp4 occurred with higher frequency and dominance throughout the study period, while the species Crematogaster sp6 did not occur in the year 1993 and the highest abundance of all species was in the year 1992.