Occurrence of Atta robusta Borgmeier (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the north of Espírito Santo State, Brazil

Ocorrência de Atta robusta Borgmeier (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) no norte do Espírito Santo

SCIENTIFIC NOTE

Occurrence of Atta robusta Borgmeier (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the north of Espírito Santo State, Brazil

Ocorrência de Atta robusta Borgmeier (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) no norte do Espírito Santo

Marcos C. Teixeira^I; José H. Schoereder^II; Júlio N.C. Louzada^III

^IDepto. Biologia Animal

^IIDepto. Biologia Geral. Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36571-000, Viçosa, MG

^IIIDepto. Biologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, C. postal 37, 37200-000, Lavras, MG

ABSTRACT

Atta robusta Borgmeier has been described as an endemic species from the lowlands of Rio de Janeiro State. However, the scarce studies carried out with species disagree in relation to its geographic distribution. In this note we describe the occurrence of A. robusta in the "restingas" of Guriri Island, north of Espírito Santo State. This occurrence makes clear that A. robusta is not endemic from Rio de Janeiro State, being distributed at least in "restingas" in Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo states.

Key words: Leaf-cutting ant, endemism, coastal ecosystem

RESUMO

Atta robusta Borgmeier foi descrita como endêmica da Baixada Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro. No entanto, os poucos estudos sobre a espécie não são concordantes quanto a sua distribuição geográfica. A presente nota comunica a ocorrência de A. robusta nas restingas da Ilha de Guriri, norte do Espírito Santo. Esse novo dado permite afirmar que A. robusta não é endêmica da Baixada Fluminense, estando distribuída pelo menos nas restingas dos estados do Rio de Janeiro e Espírito Santo.

Palavras - chave: Saúva, endemismo, restinga

Ant species of the genus Atta, known as leaf-cutting ants, occur in the Americas from the South of the United States (parallel 33ºN) to Argentina (parallel 33ºS) (Mariconi 1970). Within this range the higher species concentration occurs in the subtropical region (Fowler & Claver 1991), where some species are restricted to some geographic areas. This seems to occur with the species Atta robusta Borgmeier (1939), which has been described as endemic in the Rio de Janeiro state lowlands. However, the scarce studies on this genus diverge in relation to its geographical distribution. According to Mariconi (1970) this species occurs near the Brazilian coast, whereas Gonçalves & Nunes (1984) indicate its occurrence in Rio de Janeiro littoral, from São João da Barra (21ºS, 41º W) to "Restinga da Marambaia" (23ºS, 44ºW). Recent studies by Fowler (1995) and Fowler et al. (1996) reaffirm A. robusta endemism, suggesting that this species is at extinction due to human-made disturbances. This note gives new data on A. robusta distribution, communicating its occurrence in Guriri Island, North of Espírito Santo state.

The occurrence of A. robusta was noticed in a study of ant communities in the restinga vegetation (to be published elsewhere), a vegetation type that occurs along most Brazilian coast. Thirty nests of this leaf-cutting ant species were found inside the Municipal Protection Area of Conceição da Barra (18º25'S, 39º42'W), all in the restinga vegetation known as Myrtaceae thicket (Henriques et al. 1984). This vegetation is easily differentiated from the other physiognomies composing restinga vegetation because its has a higher plant cover, made up by trees up to 20 m high, most of them of the family Myrtaceae (Araújo & Henriques 1984).

We collected major workers in all the 30 nests for identification according to Mariconi (1970), and the identification was confirmed by three specialists not involved in the present study. After this confirmation, specimens were deposited in the following collections: Museu de Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa (Viçosa, Minas Gerais); Centro de Pesquisas do Cacau (CEPLAC, Ilhéus, Bahia); Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo (São Paulo, São Paulo); Museu Nacional (Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro).

The observed nests presented the same external characteristics described by Fowler (1995) and Fowler et al. (1996), being superficial and more spread than the nests of other Atta species.

It is possible that A. robusta has a larger distribution in Brazilian restingas, and its distribution is ignored due to the lack of entomological studies in such environments. The ambiguity of available data in the literature and the insufficient knowledge about this species justify the importance of newIt is possible that A. robusta has a larger distribution in Brazilian restingas, and its distribution is ignored due to the lack of entomological studies in such environments. The ambiguity of available data in the literature and the insufficient knowledge about this species justify the importance of new studies on its relation with restinga systems. Other studies, on geographic distribution and the processes conditioning A. robusta local distribution, are presently being carried out by the authors.

Acknowledgments

This paper is part of the M.Sc. thesis of the first author. The specimens identifications were kindly confirmed by Antônio J. Mayhé-Nunes, Jacques H. C. Delabie and C. Roberto F. Brandão. Ana Paula Agizzio and Carlos Alberto Doná helped at the fieldwork. Antônio J. Mayhé-Nunes and Marcelo N. Schlindwein gave important suggestions to draft versions. MCT and JHS are supported by CNPq grants.

Literature Cited

Received 07/10/02.

Accepted 10/02/04.

• Araújo, D.S.D. & R.P.B. Henriques. 1984. Análise florística das restingas do Rio de Janeiro. In L.D.L. Lacerda, D.S.D. Araújo, R. Cerqueira & B. Turcq (eds.), Restingas: Origem, estruturas e processos. Universidade Federal Fluminense, 475p.
• Borgmeier, T. 1939. Nova contribuição para o conhecimento das formigas neotropicais. Rev. Entomol. 10: 403-428.
• Fowler, H.G. & S. Claver. 1991. Leaf-cutter ant assemblies: Effects of latitude, vegetation, in behavior, p 59-64. In C.R. Huxley & D.F. Cutler (eds.), Ant-Plant interaction. Oxford University Press, 624p.
• Fowler, H.G. 1995. The population status of the endangered Brazilian endemic leaf-cutting ant Atta robusta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Biol. Conserv. 74: 147-150.
• Fowler, H.G., J.H.C. Delabie & M.N. Schlindwein. 1996. The endemic Brazilian leaf-cutting ants, Atta silvai and Atta robusta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Population status. Rev. Bras. Entomol. 40: 111-112.
• Gonçalves, C.R. & A.M. Nunes. 1984. Formigas das praias e restingas do Brasil, p. 373-377. In L.D. de Lacerda, D.S.D. Araújo, R. Cerqueira & B. Turq (eds.), Restingas: Origem, estrutura e funções. Rio de Janeiro, Universidade Federal Fluminense, 450p.
• Henriques, R.P.B., D.S.D. Araújo & J.D. Hay. 1984. Descrição e classificação dos tipos de vegetação da restinga de Carapebus, Rio de Janeiro. Rev. Bras. Bot. 9: 173-189.
• Mariconi, F.A.M. 1970. As saúvas. São Paulo. Ed. Agronômica Ceres, 167p.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  14 July 2004
• Date of issue
  Apr 2004

History

• Accepted
  10 Feb 2004
• Received
  07 Oct 2002