Efeitos de borda na composição e abundância de espécies de formigas em uma floresta Amazônica

Abstract

Deforestation is one of the main causes of biodiversity loss, responsible for changes such as the edge effect, which alters environmental conditions at the forest's edges. These effects directly impact local fauna, including ants, which are bioindicators sensitive to environmental changes. This study, conducted in the Purus-Madeira interfluvium (AM), investigated how the distance from deforested areas affects the species richness and composition of ant species, in addition to other environmental variables such as the water table and granulometry (sand and clay). Thirty plots were sampled with pitfall traps, and 154 species/morphospecies were identified, classified into functional groups. The results show that both the water table and proximity to deforestation influence community composition. The highest species richness was observed in areas close to deforestation, with an inflection point at 2.5 km, followed by a gradual decline up to 6 km. Although there was a species turnover in relation to the water table, richness was not influenced. However, functional groups did not significantly respond to these gradients. The study highlights the importance of research aimed at understanding the response of assemblage to the edge effect in the Amazon