Ant assemblages (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from areas under the direct influence of two small hydropower plants in Brazil

Abstract

Current energy production has been the subject of studies on environmental impacts and the need to adequately understand that the relationship to biodiversity loss is growing. One of the ways of assessing environmental changes is the use of bioindicator species, and ants represent an alternative in this regard. This study aimed to evaluate ant assemblages occurring in different environments in areas under the direct influence of two small hydropower plants (SHPP). Sampling was carried out using pitfall traps in forest and agricultural fragments, as well as pasture areas, along the Andrada River, municipality of Cascavel, state of Paraná, in July 2016 and March 2017. The sampled ant assemblages were evaluated for richness, abundance, and composition. The rarefaction analysis was used to compare the richness sampled in the two areas under direct influence. Abundance was analyzed based on the number of occurrences. The nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) was applied to test whether the abundance and composition of ant assemblages differ at the same site when sampled in both seasons. In total, 63 species belonging to 23 genera and 6 subfamilies were identified. The subfamily Myrmicinae was the most speciesrich (S = 25), followed by the subfamily Formicinae (S = 21). The most species-rich genus was Camponotus (S = 15) followed by Pheidole (S =11). A total of 41.3% richness was registered concurrently in the two assemblages. The study contributes to the expansion of knowledge of the ant fauna occurring in the state of Paraná and serves as a basis for monitoring impacts caused by the implementation of SHPP and other developments.