RICHNESS AND SPECIES COMPOSITION OF ANTS IN THE RECOVERY PROCESS OF A GULLY EROSION

Abstract

This study aimed to determine how the richness and composition of ant species behaves with changes in the recovery process of a gully erosion. The study area has 0.9 hectares subdivided into three sections called sector: “A”, “B” and “C”. For the definition of the sectors, erosive and natural restoring were taken as the base level of activity. Four transects were laid systematically throughout the area and surrounding compound with forest and grassland. Each transect had three “pitfall trap” ten meters apart from each other, with catches of ants were held in rainy and dry seasons. Analysis of variance was applied to compare the number of ant species per plot captured and Scott-Knott test 5% for comparison of means. To verify the similarity of species between environments it was performed an analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) and ordering of environments a “Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling” (NMDS). We captured 74 species of ants inside and around the gully erosion. The more degraded environment and initial stage of regeneration, showed greater richness of ant species. The composition of ant species was different between the recovery environments and around. The parameters of ant communities analyzed, richness and composition species were influenced by the regeneration of the area, indicating that ants can be used as bioindicators of gullies recovery.