Intera??es entre for?deos parasit?ides (Diptera: Phoridae) e Acromyrmex niger Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) em uma paisagem fragmentada da Mata Atl?ntica, RJ

• Main Author: BARRERA, Corina Anah?
• Other Authors: Queiroz, Jarbas Mar?al de
• Format: Others
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro 2017
• Subjects: Biological control; forest fragmentation; leaf-cutting ants; Controle biol?gico; Fragmenta??o florestal; Formigas cortadeiras; Conserva??o da Natureza
• Online Access: https://tede.ufrrj.br/jspui/handle/jspui/1674

Submitted by Jorge Silva ([e-mail]) on 2017-05-19T18:08:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2016 - Corina Anah? Barrera.pdf: 2798404 bytes, checksum: 56ddd89ceb87a772a2bc0299c858947e (MD5) === Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-19T18:08:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2016 - Corina Anah? Barrera.pdf: 2798404 bytes, checksum: 56ddd89ceb87a772a2bc0299c858947e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-24 === CNPq === Habitat loss is one of the main threats to global biodiversity. In fragmented habitats, species have more limited capacity for dispersal and as a result are at higher risk of extinction. However, different species respond differently to this kind of disturbance. Therefore, community structure, interspecific interactions, and ecological functions become altered, and the magnitude and direction of the changes are unpredictable. Host-parasitoid interactions are an example of interactions that can be highly impacted, and in the tropics, interactions between parasitoids and ants are among the most relevant. In the Neotropics, leaf-cutting ants are considered dominant herbivores and play a key role in ecosystem functioning. These ants can also become agricultural pests, and therefore their biological control is of high economic importance. An important group of natural enemies of leaf-cutting ants are the dipteran parasitoids of the family Phoridae. Interactions between phorid parasitoids and leaf-cutting ants in a fragmented region of the Atlantic Forest of Southeastern Brazil comprise a promising model system to study the impacts of habitat fragmentation, since phorids are the most important parasitoids of these ants and show a high degree of specialization for host ant species. The overall goal of this work was to study the effects of reduction in forest cover, one of the most important negative impacts of fragmentation, upon phorid parasitoids of the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex niger, a common species in the Southeastern Atlantic Forest. This work was conducted at the Guapia?u Ecological Reserve (REGUA) and surrounding areas in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Ten forest fragments of different sizes (five large >80 ha and five small <20 ha) were sampled, as well as three regions of continuous forest (>1000 ha). One to five colonies of A. niger were marked in the interior of each fragment and continuous forest location. At each nest, all of the phorids in interaction with the worker ants were collected for a period of 15 minutes and later identified in the laboratory. Additionally, approximately 200 worker ants were collected from each colony and maintained in the laboratory for the rearing of parasitoids. For the data analysis were made analysis of variance and simple regression. Were identified three genus of phorids: Myrmosicarius, Apocephalus and Neodohrniphora both observed in the field in interactions with the workers as reared in the laboratory from workers collected in the field. The total phorid abundance, total parasitism percentage, and genus richness of immature phorids were significantly greater in continuous forest sites than forest fragments, while there were no significant differences between large and small fragments. The abundance of Apocephalus and the parasitism percentage of Myrmosicarius were also greater in the continuous forest sites, but the difference was only significant in comparison to small forest fragments. These results have provided the first evidence about the effects of habitat size on the phorid-Acromyrmex system in tropical rain forest, through an evaluation of the abundance and richness of parasitoids as adults in the field and the reared of immature phorids in the laboratory. === A perda de habitats ? uma das principais amea?as para a biodiversidade global. Em ambientes fragmentados as esp?cies ficam com menor capacidade de dispers?o e suas intera??es s?o mais propensas ? extin??o. Todavia, as esp?cies s?o afetadas de maneira diferente por este tipo de perturba??o. Desta forma, a estrutura da comunidade, as intera??es interespec?ficas e as fun??es ecol?gicas s?o alteradas e a magnitude e dire??o das mudan?as s?o imprevis?veis. As intera??es parasit?ide-hospedeiro s?o um exemplo das que podem ser muito afetadas. Dentre elas, as intera??es entre parasit?ides e formigas est?o entre as mais relevantes. Certos grupos de formigas, como as cortadeiras, podem se tornar pragas agr?colas, portanto seu controle biol?gico ? de suma import?ncia. Essas formigas possuem um papel chave nos ecossistemas, pois s?o consideradas os herb?voros dominantes da regi?o Neotropical. Um grupo importante de inimigos naturais de formigas cortadeiras s?o os d?pteros parasit?ides da fam?lia Phoridae. Intera??es entre for?deos parasit?ides e formigas cortadeiras em uma regi?o fragmentada da Mata Atl?ntica comp?em um modelo bastante promissor para sua investiga??o como indicador dos impactos causados pela fragmenta??o de habitats, pois os for?deos s?o os parasit?ides mais importantes dessas formigas e possuem uma forte especializa??o nas mesmas. O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi estudar os efeitos da perda da superf?cie florestal sobre os for?deos parasit?ides da formiga cortadeira Acromyrmex niger, uma esp?cie comum na Mata Atl?ntica. Este trabalho foi realizado na Reserva Ecol?gica de Guapia?u (REGUA) e arredores no Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Foram amostrados dez fragmentos florestais de diferentes tamanhos (cinco grandes >80 ha e cinco pequenos <20 ha) e tr?s regi?es de floresta cont?nua (>1000 ha). Uma a cinco col?nias de A. niger foram marcadas no interior de cada fragmento e local de mata cont?nua. Sobre cada ninho, durante 15 minutos, todos os for?deos em intera??o com as oper?rias foram coletados e depois identificados. Tamb?m, em cada col?nia amostrada, foram coletadas aproximadamente 200 oper?rias e mantidas para cria??o dos parasit?ides. Para a an?lise de dados foram feitas an?lises de vari?ncia e regress?es simples. Foram identificados tr?s g?neros de for?deos: Myrmosicarius, Apocephalus e Neodohrniphora, tanto observados no campo em intera??es com as oper?rias quanto criados em laborat?rio a partir de oper?rias coletadas no campo. A abund?ncia total, a porcentagem de parasitoidismo total, a riqueza de g?neros de for?deos adultos observados no campo e a riqueza de g?neros de for?deos imaturos, foram significativamente maiores nos locais de floresta cont?nua sem diferen?as significativas entre fragmentos grandes e pequenos. A abund?ncia de Apocephalus e a porcentagem de parasitoidismo de Myrmosicarius tamb?m foram maiores em locais de mata cont?nua, mas com diferencias significativas s? em rela??o aos fragmentos pequenos. Os resultados ofereceram a primeira evidencia dos efeitos do tamanho do habitat sobre o sistema for?deo-Acromyrmex em floresta tropical ?mida, avaliando em conjunto a presen?a de for?deos adultos no campo e a porcentagem de parasitoidismo determinada atrav?s de m?todos experimentais no campo e no laborat?rio.