Efeitos da sazonalidade na composição funcional de formigas em áreas de remanescente florestal, restauradas e antropizadas

Abstract

Ecosystem dynamics are profoundly affected by environmental degradation, making the restoration of impacted areas essential for the recovery of biodiversity and ecological processes. Because taxonomic diversity does not always fully capture organismal responses or the reestablishment of ecosystem functions, incorporating functional diversity into the monitoring of restoration projects has become increasingly important. Ants stand out as key recolonizing components of the soil macrofauna and are widely used as bioindicators due to their high taxonomic and functional diversity. In this study, we assessed the functional composition of ant communities in an area restored ten years ago, in comparison with a riparian forest remnant and an adjacent pasture area. Sampling was conducted during the dry and rainy seasons to capture potential seasonal variations associated with changes in resource availability throughout the year. Macroinvertebrates were collected using pitfall traps installed in six plots per land-use type, and ants were identified to the morphospecies level and classified into functional groups. Our results indicate that, although functional group richness remained stable and the pasture exhibited higher total ant abundance in both seasons, this land-use type also showed greater dominance and lower diversity compared to the restored area and the forest remnant. Functional diversity varied seasonally and among land-use types, being higher in the forest remnant and in the restored area, particularly during the rainy season. Functional composition differed among the three land-use types, with no significant influence of seasonality. Overall, the restored area can be characterized as a transitional system in which successional processes are still ongoing. This condition promotes increased heterogeneity and the emergence of distinct functional assemblages that diverge from the reference state while maintaining its functional structure.