ANT ASSEMBLAGES (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) ASSOCIATED TO ENVIRONMENTS OF A RURAL PROPERTY IN THE EXTREME WESTERN REGION OF THE STATE OF SANTA CATARINA

The conversion of natural environments into agricultural areas has led to habitat fragmentation and caused impacts on biological communities. This study evaluated the richness and abundance of ant assemblages from different environments within a small rural property. The study was conducted in December 2015 in the Palma Sola municipality, extreme western region of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The sampled environments included a permanent preservation area, a forest fragment, a corn crop, a tobacco crop and a pine reforestation. Pitfall traps and manual collections were used. The observed richness totaled 69 species. Only two species, Camponotus rufipes and Pheidole lignicola, occurred in the five environments sampled. Overall, 65.3% of the variation in ants’ occurrence, according to the sampled environments, was explained by the principal component analysis (PCA) components. This study presents new results on the ant diversity from rural areas, and may provide potential subsidies for management and conservation plans.