Dynamics of Aneuretus simoni Emery, 1893 (Formicidae: Aneuretinae) nest density and the first ant inventory of Indikada Mukalana Forest Reserve in western Sri Lanka
Island-endemic Aneuretus simoni Emery, 1893 was discovered in a selected region of Indikada Mukalana Forest Reserve in 2015 and the survey conducted by quadrat method and pitfall trapping at two elevations was extended to February, May and July in 2016 to investigate the dynamics of its nest attribu...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Russian |
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Russian Academy of Science. Southern Scientific Centre. Federal Research Centre
2018-07-01
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| Series: | Кавказский энтомологический бюллетень |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ssc-ras.ru/ckfinder/userfiles/files/13_Udayakantha%20Dias.pdf |
| Summary: | Island-endemic Aneuretus simoni Emery, 1893 was discovered in a selected region of Indikada Mukalana Forest Reserve in 2015 and the survey conducted by quadrat method and pitfall trapping at two elevations was extended to February, May and July in 2016 to investigate the dynamics of its nest attributes and worker occurrence in dry and rainy months. In addition, soil sifting alone was also conducted at the same region in December, 2017. Selected environmental parameters were recorded to characterize the habitat of the species. The first, updated inventory of ant community in the region was prepared. Considerable mean nest density of A. simoni, 0.06, 0.24 and 0.08 m−2, with the rank of 4, 3 and 4 on three occasions and mean frequency of worker occurrence 15.8%, in the pitfall traps showed that it was locally-dominant at the Locality B of 291 m elevation. Significant differences were evident (p < 0.05) among the mean nest density of the species observed on the four occasions and a significantly higher value was observed in rainy months (p < 0.05) than that in the dry months. Twenty species in 18 genera of 5 subfamilies, Aneuretinae, Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, Myrmicinae and Ponerinae recorded in December, 2015 rose to 45 species, 27 genera in 7 subfamilies, with the addition of Dorylinae and Pseudomyrmecinae. The pooled list of ants can be considered an updated, first inventory of the selected region and the mean values at the habitat of A. simoni, 21.7 ± 1.9 °C and 24.7 ± 0.6 °C of soil and air temperature, 5.7 ± 0.77 cm of litter depth, 48.8 ± 22% of soil moisture and 18.8 ± 5.8% of soil organic matter were recorded as the favourable levels of environmental parameters. |
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| ISSN: | 1814-3326 1814-3326 |