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SEPG 2087 - Date Awarded 2003

Latitudinal pattern of arboreal ant species richness: testing the effect of productivity, heterogeneity, and Rapoport’s effect

Dr. José H. Schoereder & Carla R. Ribas

Abstract

This project aimed to test latitudinal gradient in species richness in arboreal ants in cerrado and to test if the gradient is caused by biological mechanisms, such as biomass, heterogeneity and Rapoport’s effect. We sampled in nine areas of cerrado in Brazil, between the latitudes 14º and 22º, estimating plant biomass, resource and structural heterogeneity. Rapoport’s effect was tested with null models. Our partial results showed that ant species richness did not respond to latitude, nor did the explanatory variables estimated. Ant species richness responded positively to resource heterogeneity (plant species richness). Range size of ant species differed from the expected by chance alone, but these ranges were smaller in all latitudes, excluding Rapoport’s effect. We attributed the absence of a latitudinal gradient to the small variation of latitude, which may give more importance to local processes as determinant of species richness. More consistent results may be produced, because we will add 7º of latitude in our samples, and will include the effect of spatial scales to explain species richness variations.

Full report: SEPG2087

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