Open access journal: http://periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology ISSN: 0361-6525 DOI: 10.13102/sociobiology.v69i3.7878Sociobiology 69(3): e7878 (September, 2022) Introduction Habitat transformation and the consequent increase in species extinction rates bring enormous damage to biodiversity knowledge (Tedesco et al., 2014). Furthermore, Abstract Habitat transformation and species loss bring enormous environmental damage, whereas establishing protected areas promotes more sustainable use of environmental resources through biodiversity conservation. In this study, we aimed to point out gaps in ant knowledge and provide a species checklist that contributes to biodiversity conservation in the transition areas between Cerrado and Caatinga biomes, constantly threatened by land use changes. This checklist integrates data from previous studies developed at “Área de Proteção Ambiental do Rio Pandeiros” (APA Pandeiros), Minas Gerais, Brazil, involving ant diversity and their contribution to ecological processes accessed and described in the studies. We showed and discussed how authors managed and provided information regarding methodologies and habitats sampled. We listed 143 ant species formally named. Pheidole, Camponotus and Cephalotes were the most speciose genera, with more than ten species each. Among ants involved in ecological processes, 40 are linked to diaspore removal (part of seed dispersal) and 30 to carcass interaction (part of the decomposition process). Unbaited pitfall traps, epigeic stratum and Cerrado sensu stricto, were the top sampling method, stratum, and habitats among ant studies. We presented proposals for the best management and integration of data from surveys in APA Pandeiros (e.g., sharing the results of the studies with the APA managers, creating a database, and the local community). These surveys are fundamental for understanding biodiversity and ecological processes and provide valuable information to conservation biology. Therefore, neglecting the importance of the Cerrado-Caatinga transition can lead to irreparable setbacks for scientific knowledge and biodiversity. Sociobiology An international journal on social insects Antônio César M. Queiroz1, Lívia P. Prado2,3, Rafael A. Casarino1, Graziele S. Santiago1,4 Cynthia V. Oliveira1,5, Mariana A. Rabelo1,6, Carla R. Ribas1,7 Article History Edited by Eduardo Soares Calixto, University of Florida, USA Received 13 March 2022 Initial acceptance 19 March 2022 Final acceptance 29 July 2022 Publication date 12 September 2022 Keywords Ant inventories, Ecological role, Open vegetations, Neotropical savannas, Tropical Dry Forest. Corresponding author Antonio C. M. Queiroz Laboratório de Ecologia de Formigas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal de Lavras – UFLA Campus Universitário, CEP: 37200-900 Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brasil. E-Mail: queirozacm@gmail.com recent studies show that species loss exceeds early estimates (Barlow et al., 2016). On the other hand, public policies such as creating protected areas are adopted to minimize biodiversity losses and conserve the ecosystems (Assad et al., 2017; Venter et al., 2017). 1 - Laboratório de Ecologia de Formigas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal de Lavras – UFLA, Campus Universitário, Lavras-MG, Brazil 2 - Laboratório de Morfologia e Ecologia Funcional de Formigas – AntMor, Coordenação de Ciências da Terra e Ecologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi/MCTIC, Belém-PA, Brazil 3 - Laboratório de Hymenoptera, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo-SP, Brazil 4 - Instituto Federal do Norte de Minas Gerais – IFNMG, Campus Pirapora, Pirapora-MG, Brazil 5 - Laboratório de Ecologia Aplicada à Conservação – LEAC, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz – UESC, Ilhéus-BA, Brazil 6 - Fundação Jardim Botânico de Poços de Caldas, Poços de Caldas-MG, Brazil 7 - Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK RESEARCH ARTICLE - ANTS Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of APA Pandeiros: A Perspective from a Decade of Research in an Environmental Protection Area in the Cerrado-Caatinga Transition ID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7434-9796 Antônio C. M. Queiroz et al. – Ants of APA Pandeiros: A Decade of Research2 In Brazil, most protected areas occur in the Amazon biome (~70%) (Vieira et al., 2019). Therefore, there is a need to increase protection in non-forest environments, neglected in protection policies in recent years. Two of these neglected non-forest biomes, Cerrado and Caatinga, have less than 10% of protected areas each (Vieira et al., 2019) and are increasingly threatened by changes in land use (e.g., conversion of habitats for production of agricultural commodities) (Overbeck et al., 2015). The Cerrado is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, as it has many endemic species and high anthropogenic pressure (Myers et al., 2000). The Cerrado biome, also known as Brazilian Savanna, has a rich myrmecofauna (Vasconcelos et al., 2018) due to its great diversity of habitats, edaphic and climatic conditions (Oliveira & Marquis, 2002). In the Cerrado, ants forage and/or nest in different strata and have an intimate relationship with many plant species, so we find a great diversity of these insects, whether in the ground or vegetation. The Caatinga, an arid environment and the only uniquely Brazilian biome, is a center of plant species diversity (Overbeck et al., 2015). However, the ant fauna in the Caatinga is not as diverse as in Cerrado (Leal et al., 2018). Endemic ant species are rarely found in Caatinga, which helps to characterize this group as an impoverished Formicidae fauna of Cerrado (Leal et al., 2017). Since knowledge about the diversity of ants in the Caatinga is incipient, it is expected that the same occurs with ant-plant interactions, which are present in this biome (Câmara et al., 2018; Leal et al., 2018; Oliveira et al., 2019). Cerrado and Caatinga are rich in terrestrial invertebrates, but there is a discrepancy in knowledge about terrestrial invertebrate species in these biomes. If, on the one hand, studies in the Cerrado are growing increasingly (Borges et al., 2015), on the other hand, we know very little about the Caatinga (Lewinsohn et al., 2005; Ganem et al., 2017), a pattern that repeats itself if we consider only ants (Divieso et al., 2020). Thus, more studies on non-forest biomes are essential for discovering and describing new species, their interactions and ecological functions in Brazil, a center of neotropical ant diversity (Fernández et al., 2021; Feitosa et al., 2022; Schmidt et al., 2022). The Rio Pandeiros Environmental Protection Area (Área de Proteção Ambiental do Rio Pandeiros – APA Pandeiros) is the largest protected area in Minas Gerais state and one of the protected areas that cover the transition of the Cerrado- Caatinga biomes with vegetation types of both biomes. “APA” is one of the categories of conservation units (UCs) existing in Brazil (IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature – Category V). As a sustainable use conservation unit, the APA Pandeiros presents fewer restrictions, allowing human occupation, scientific research, and sustainable use of natural resources (Brasil, 2000). Located north of Minas Gerais state, this area covers the entire Pandeiros river basin, an important tributary of the São Francisco River, and is present in the municipalities of Bonito de Minas, Januária and Cônego Marinho (Nunes et al., 2009; IEF-MG, 2022). Queiroz-Dantas et al. (2011) published the first study on ant diversity regarding APA Pandeiros. It showed ant richness differences across habitats and strata. Ant diversity varies across habitats, vegetation types, strata, and disturbances (Philpott et al., 2010; Queiroz et al., 2020). Since then, different research groups have performed studies with distinct aims and methodologies evaluating ant diversity and their contribution to ecological processes in the Pandeiros region. Almost ten years later, Santiago et al. (2020) reported ants removing diaspores in APA Pandeiros. Ants act by influencing plant distribution and environment structure dispersing plant seeds that facilitate their establishment. These insects also play essential roles in nutrient cycling via decomposition through environments by removing organic matter or altering the microbial community (Del-Toro et al., 2012). Furthermore, ants participate in several other vital processes for ecosystem functioning (e.g., nutrient cycling, pollination, bioturbation, and biological control) (Elizalde et al., 2020). However, despite many studies in this region, we still did not have a study that compiled information about the species in this conservation unit. In this study, we aimed to integrate previous studies involving ants at APA Pandeiros to formulate a species checklist and discuss their novelties and inconsistencies. This list demonstrates a compilation of original and published data from studies that tried to understand ant assemblages and their contribution to ecological processes. These studies described and accessed the ecological processes: diaspore removal (part of seed dispersal) and carcass interaction (part of the decomposition process). In addition, we point out which are the most common habitats, methods, and strata in samplings. Finally, we identify, fill, and point out gaps in ant knowledge that contribute to biodiversity conservation in the transition areas between Cerrado and Caatinga biomes. Material and methods The Ants of APA Pandeiros The “Área de Proteção Ambiental do Rio Pandeiros” (APA Pandeiros), northern Minas Gerais State, Brazil (Fig 1) is a conservation unit with 396,060.407 hectares (IEF-MG, 2022) and is in the transition between Cerrado and Caatinga biomes (Rizzini, 1997). This ecotonal region is semiarid, with a mean temperature ranging from 21 to 24ºC and two well- defined seasons: a dry winter, from April to September, and rainy summer, from October to March. The area is under many environmental pressures involving anthropogenic activities, such as vegetation loss, fire, monocultures (Eucalyptus spp.), pasture, and charcoal production (Nunes et al., 2009). We compiled original and published data from studies focused on understanding ant assemblages and their contribution to processes such as diaspore removal and carcass interaction (e.g., Neves et al., 2013; Santiago et al., 2020; Rabelo et al., 2021). Once we aimed to provide a broad inventory of Sociobiology 69(3): e7878 (September, 2022) 3 the ant fauna by compiling records from the datasets, we detailed the projects implemented at APA Pandeiros since 2008, regarding references, sampling methods used, habitats, and location. Ant diversity samplings were performed with pitfall traps (baited or not) (Table 1). Diaspore removal was evaluated using artificial diaspores with beads and attractive paste (made with sugars, protein and fat), and the interaction with the carcass was collected through the installation of the decaying carcass (chicken feet). Details on species identification were extracted from studies or interviews with researchers. All specimens collected during research are deposited at Centro de Coleções, Biodiversidade e Patrimônio Genético (ICN-UFLA), Coleção Zoológica da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU), Coleção Entomológica Padre Jesus Santiago Moure da Universidade Federal do Paraná (DZUP-UFPR), and Coleção de Formicidae do Centro de Pesquisas do Cacau (UESC-CEPLAC). All occurrences in the literature and original data were compiled and classified in a table (with data on the study area, habitat, collection method, and sampled stratum). We estimated the number of redundant species by counting the minimum and the maximum number of species that could occur if we had the identification of all morphospecies from the databases. For example, if we had found three Camponotus sp.1 in three different databases, we considered these works showed a minimum of one species not formally named and a maximum of three Camponotus sp.1 species. However, suppose we found two Camponotus sp.1 in two databases and just one Camponotus rufipes (Fabricius, 1775) in the other. In this case, we considered a minimum of zero new species (among these morphospecies, once the morphospecies could be C. rufipes) and a maximum of two. We adopted this method because we do not have the compatibility of morphospecies among the studies. Table 1. References, species and morphospecies richness, sampling methods, strata, habitats and geographic coordinates related to datasets (Ds). A and B are parts of the same datasets published or considered separately: (D1) PCT-Hidro “Dinâmicas de organismos associados aos ambientes de matas ciliares, cerrado e floresta estacional decidual, no médio São Francisco, Norte de Minas Gerais”. (CNPq grant ED. 35/2006, no. 555978/2006-0); (D2) “Rede de Pesquisa Biota do Cerrado – Isoptera e Hymenoptera” (CNPq grant 457407/2012-3) and (FAPDF, Projeto PRONEX 563/2009); (D3, D4, D5) “Desenvolvimento de ferramenta para priorização de descomissionamento de Pequenas Centrais Hidrelétricas (PHC) no estado de Minas Gerais e estudo de caso para a PCH Pandeiros” (FAPEMIG APQ-03593-12). CSS = Cerrado sensu stricto,TDF = Tropical Dry Forest, RIF = Riparian Forest, ANT = Anthropogenic habitats. Data References Species and Morphospecies Richness Sampling Method Strata Habitats Coordinates D1 Queiroz-Dantas et al., 2011; Neves et al., 2013 73; 113 Baited pitfalls; Baited pitfalls, Beating Hypogeic, Epigeic, Arboreal; Hypogeic, Epigeic, Arboreal, Canopy CSS, TDF, RIF 15°30’26.2” S, 44°45’21.3” W D2 Vasconcelos et al., 2018 (Pandeiros) 102 Baited and unbaited pitfalls Epigeic, Arboreal CSS 15º29’54” S, 44º42’29” W D3 Rabelo et al., 2021 11 Hand collecting (diaspores removal) Epigeic CSS 15º26’00” S, 44º49’19” W D4 Santiago, unpublished data; Santiago et al., 2020 174; 37 Unbaited pitfalls, Hand collecting (diaspores removal); Hand collecting (diaspores removal) Epigeic CSS, TDF, ANT; CSS 15º29’18.3” S, 44º45’30.5” W 15°30’24.5” S, 44°45’30.5” W 15°30’47.5” S, 44°45’12.6” W; 15º29’18.3” S, 44º45’30.5” W D5 Santiago, unpublished data 251 Unbaited pitfalls, Hand collecting (diaspores removal and carcass interaction) Epigeic CSS 15°28’2.1” S, 44°49’53.2” W 15°41’25.1” S, 44°34’18.8” W Results Ant samplings at APA Pandeiros are concentrated to the south, in or surrounding the State Wildlife Refuge of Pandeiros River (REVS do Rio Pandeiros) (Fig 1). We obtained a list with 470 ant species records from 66 genera and eight subfamilies. This list can present ~120 redundant records based on the number of morphospecies due to differences in specimen identification in the projects. In this way, we estimate that the sampled richness was of at least 350 species. In total, 143 species (from 470: 30.4%; from 350: 40.9%) were formally named (Table 2). Myrmicinae was the most speciose subfamily, with 51% identified species, followed by Formicinae (15.4%) and Pseudomyrmecinae (7%). Antônio C. M. Queiroz et al. – Ants of APA Pandeiros: A Decade of Research4 The most speciose of the 51 genera were Pheidole (22), Camponotus (17), and Cephalotes (11). On the other hand, the highest richness among the morphospecies without confirmed identification is from the subfamilies: Myrmicinae (46.6%), Formicinae (9.8%), and Dolichoderinae (7.2%) (Table 3). Among genera, Pheidole (24.7%), Camponotus (6.6%), and Solenopsis (4.9%) dominated the group of morphospecies that need a description or confirmation of identification. Ectatomma edentatum Roger, 1863 was sampled in all datasets, areas, strata, with all sampling methods and Fig 1. Map of Minas Gerais state (gray), in Brazil, with Área de Proteção Ambiental do Rio Pandeiros – APA Pandeiros (red) (A). Map of APA Pandeiros in (red) and REVS do Rio Pandeiros (pink), Riparian Forest (RIF, represented by green triangles), Anthropogenic habitats (ANT, represented by white dots), Tropical Dry Forest (TDF, represented by blue pentagons), and Cerrado sensu stricto (CSS, represented by yellow diamonds) sampled areas (B). performing both processes (diaspore removal and carcass interaction). In total, ten species belonging to three genera (Camponotus, Pheidole and Strumigenys) and two subfamilies (Formicinae and Myrmicinae) were recorded for the first time in Minas Gerais (see Table 2). Among these, one species was also a new record for Brazil (P. gigaflavens Wilson, 2003) and another species was recorded for the first time for South America (P. caribbaea Wheeler, 1911). We have two different ant profiles among the ants that performed diaspore removal and interacted with the carcass. Sociobiology 69(3): e7878 (September, 2022) 5 From 40 ant species that interacted with diaspores, Pheidole (35%), Camponotus (15%), and Ectatomma (12.5%) dominate. Among the species, 87.5% interacted positively by removing the diaspores (e.g., E. permagnum Forel, 1908 and Odontomachus bauri Emery, 1892), 45% partially consumed the diaspores (e.g., Forelius brasiliensis (Forel, 1908) and Linepithema cerradense Wild, 2007), and 32.5% interacted from both ways (e.g., C. blandus (Smith, F. 1858) and E. edentatum Roger, 1863). Regarding 30 ant species interacting with the carcass, Camponotus and Pheidole genera represented 50% of the total. As examples of ants captured interacting with the carcass, we have Nomamyrmex esenbeckii (Westwood, 1842) and Sericomyrmex sp.1. When we considered just species formally named, among sampling methods, unbaited pitfall traps captured more species and a higher number of exclusive species, followed by baited pitfall traps, hand collection, and beating (that did not present exclusive species) (Fig 2A). Pitfall and hand collection seem to be the best complementary sampling methods (Fig 3A). The highest richness is in the epigeic, followed by arboreal, canopies and the hypogeic stratum, respectively (Fig 2B). Canopy does not present a specific fauna and the hypogeic stratum presents only one exclusive species (Fig 3B). The Cerrado sensu stricto (CSS) is, by far, the vegetation type with the highest number of identified species, followed by Tropical Dry Forest (TDF), Anthropogenic habitats (ANT), and the Riparian Forest (RIF) (Fig 2C). The RIF does not present a specific fauna, sharing almost the total species richness with TDF and CSS (Fig 3C). Fig 3. Diagrams representing the number of shared and exclusive species according to: (A) sampling methods, (B) strata and (C) habitats. Different colors represent different methods, strata, and habitats. BT = Beating, HC = Hand collection, BP = Baited pitfall traps, UP = Unbaited pitfall traps, RIF = Riparian Forest, ANT = Anthropogenic habitats, TDF = Tropical Dry Forest, CSS = Cerrado sensu stricto. X represents that is no occurrence of ants in the intersection. Fig 2. Graphs representing the number of exclusive (grey) and total (black) species according to: (A) sampling methods, (B) strata, and (C) habitats. BT = Beating, HC = Hand collection, BP = Baited pitfall traps, UP = Unbaited pitfall traps, RIF = Riparian Forest, ANT = Anthropogenic habitats, TDF = Tropical Dry Forest, CSS = Cerrado sensu stricto. Antônio C. M. Queiroz et al. – Ants of APA Pandeiros: A Decade of Research6 Discussion We obtained a list of 470 species and morphospecies of ants by compiling species records from published and unpublished sources that used different sampling methods in different habitats and strata. Our checklist provides the basis for talking about state of the art and the challenges and opportunities related to a decade of studies at APA Pandeiros that will contribute to biodiversity conservation in the transition areas between Cerrado and Caatinga biomes. Protected areas are essential to limit the loss of biodiversity, as they prevent the increase in deforestation and maintain high levels of biodiversity and endemism (Oliveira et al., 2017). Although inventories in protected areas are considered a priority for understanding and preserving biodiversity, recently published works have drawn attention to the scarcity of records of ants in protected areas (e.g., Prado et al., 2019; Divieso et al., 2020). Our survey points to an expressive ant richness in this protected area, at the transition between Cerrado and Caatinga biomes, compared to other surveys (Ulysséa & Brandão, 2011; Camacho & Vasconcelos, 2015; Costa et al., 2015; Leal et al., 2017). APA Pandeiros was created in 1995 (IEF-MG, 2022), and the diversity of Formicidae at the site only started to be investigated over a decade later. Regardless of whether research on ant diversity was carried out before the publication of the “REVS do Rio Pandeiros” management plan (IEF-MG, 2019), there is just one mention of ant studies in the document. This neglect contrasts with ants’ ecological and cultural importance, which play vital roles in different environments (Del-Toro et al., 2012), arousing curiosity and getting people’s attention (Queiroz et al., 2021). Profile of ant species and morphospecies diversity The richness distribution between genera and subfamilies in APA Pandeiros follows the proportion expected for these groups of ants in Brazil, with Camponotus, Pheidole and Solenopsis belonging to the subfamilies Formicinae and Myrmicinae, as the most recurrent (Baccaro et al., 2015). Despite efforts to identify challenging genera, these three still dominate the list of morphospecies in our checklist. Sixty years ago, Kempf (1961) already drew attention to the difficulty of identifying part of these genera, indicating the complexity of these groups and the need to advance in their taxonomy. The study of these morphospecies will contribute to understanding their biodiversity and role in the environment, increasing the number of new occurrences, and may lead to the discovery of new species. Another 41 genera had species not identified at a specific level. Although Minas Gerais is one of the best-sampled states concerning ants (Schmidt et al., 2022; Silva et al., 2022), further efforts and investments are needed to identify and describe possible new species (Camacho & Vasconcelos, 2015). The new distribution records revealed in APA Pandeiros belong to Camponotus, Pheidole and Strumigenys. These genera are highly diverse and taxonomically challenging, with many described (over 800 species) and undescribed species (Baccaro et al., 2015). In this sense, our checklist helps to fill gaps in species distribution. We found both widely distributed species in South America (P. exigua) and surprising records (P. caribbaea), which, until then, was only known from a few specimens from Jamaica (Janicki et al., 2016). In addition, we highlight the species E. edentatum, from the subfamily Ectatomminae, also widely distributed in Brazil (see Baccaro et al., 2015; Delabie et al., 2015), as the most common species in studies carried out at APA Pandeiros. This species has reasonably deep nests in the ground, with trash disposal that favors better seed germination (Delabie et al., 2007). In the Cerrado, E. edentatum is also frequently found consuming nectar or honeydew provided by homopterans, acting in plant defense (Marques et al., 2015). Furthermore, this species may play a fundamental role in biological control (Delabie et al., 2007). Profile of ants that contribute to ecological functions The diaspore removal, part of the secondary seed dispersal by ants, was carried out in APA Pandeiros mainly by species of the most common genera, more prominently in Poneromorphic species, such as E. edentatum, E. permagnum and Odontomachus bauri. Poneromorphs play a crucial role in seed dispersal in the Cerrado and Caatinga (Christianini, 2015). These ants, considered high-quality dispersers, remove many seeds and disperse them over greater distances (Magalhães et al., 2018), in contrast to species of the genus Pheidole, considered low-quality dispersers (Leal et al., 2014), who mainly clean the seeds, which can sometimes reduce fungal infections and favor germination and survival. Dolichoderinae from open habitats in the Cerrado and Caatinga, such as Forelius brasiliensis and Linepithema cerradense (Wild, 2007; Leal et al., 2017), present in APA Pandeiros, can also be considered poor quality dispersers. Such species have generalist habits and remove particles from diaspores without carrying them (Padilha, 2013). Therefore, due to the large proportion of ants that remove and clean diaspores (70%), we saw that the contribution of these ants to the restoration of degraded areas by dispersing seeds could be high, especially in Pandeiros that presented many abandoned sites that recovered to Cerrado in the last years (Guimarães-Silva, 2019). Despite the contribution of ants to decomposition (Del-Toro et al., 2012), studies on this process are still unusual. In this study, we saw that most of the species that contributed to the process were Camponotus and Pheidole. The ants participating in decomposition are mostly generalists (Tabor et al., 2005). However, Nomamyrmex esenbeckii and Sericomyrmex sp.1 were found exclusively interacting with the carcass. Nomamyrmex often follows and attacks other ant species (Baccaro et al., 2015). In experiments, this ant may have been collected occasionally. Sericomyrmex genus is a fungus-growing ant whose biology is not well known (Baccaro Sociobiology 69(3): e7878 (September, 2022) 7 et al., 2015). The fact that this species is removing putrefying organic matter indicates that the sources for the fungus may be broader than previously documented. Therefore, these records reinforce the need to know the species’ biology that acts in each process. Methodologies, strata and habitats sampled focusing on ants in APA Pandeiros The differences found in species richness, especially between sampling methods and studies, are directly related to the sampling effort (e.g., exposure time, number of samples, habitats and microhabitats sampled) and the capture approach (e.g., micro-habitat to be sampled). It is natural that the studies that used manual collections to evaluate processes presented lower richness than the capture of ants with pitfall traps. Still, we found more exclusive species captured through unbaited pitfall traps. Since ground pitfalls capture larger numbers of ants per sampling point (Agosti & Alonso, 2000; Wang et al., 2001) it is not surprising that this technique sampled the highest proportion of species. However, in this study, we saw that adding baits helps to capture more ants in other strata, such as the arboreal (10 arboreal ants exclusively sampled with baited pitfalls). It is also possible that pitfall trapping is the most efficient technique for capturing insects in more open environments with fewer litter cover. For instance, the vegetation types of non-forest environments such as the Cerrado and Caatinga. Finally, we found that the beating adds a small number of species, but we emphasize that the methods used are, in a way, complementary and the use of one or more methods depends on the need and objectives of the study. The greatest ant richness was found in the Cerrado sensu stricto and in the epigeic stratum, the best-sampled vegetation type and stratum present in all studies. In Neves et al. (2013), the Cerrado sensu stricto showed similar richness compared to other vegetation types, but the epigeic stratum had the highest ant richness, composed mainly by species of the genera Camponotus and Pheidole (Neves et al., 2013; Schmidt et al., 2013). However, we emphasize that the Caatinga of northern Minas Gerais is still a poorly studied area (Lessa et al., 2019), and ants’ studies in Tropical Dry Forests of the region (e.g., Marques & Schöereder, 2013) can bring valuable new information. As seen in the map (Fig 1B), the areas sampled and mentioned above are concentrated to the south of the APA. Probably, researchers focused their work on these areas for logistical reasons. Thus, it is necessary to point out that sampling ants in other APA Pandeiros regions and habitats can present us with many other novelties concerning ant diversity. Recommendations and conclusions In this study, we provided a list of 143 ant species. With this list, we can reinforce the importance of Poneromorph ants to the seed dispersal process that helps seedling establishment and growth and, consequently, the increment in plant cover (Christianini, 2015). Still, we need to know how low-quality diaspore dispersers can contribute to ecological restoration in APA Pandeiros. We also found that little is known about the ecology and biology of ants involved in the decomposition process. Furthermore, the collection of the highest number of species in the Cerrado sensu stricto, epigeic stratum, and unbaited pitfall traps is due to the number of samples and studies with these characteristics. Based on the information compiled here, we propose in the short term: 1) sharing studies products and creating a database to strengthen the dialogue among academia, APA managers and the local community, at the most appropriate time, highlighting positive aspects of ants (Queiroz et al., 2021). 2) Use the information presented here to suggest priority areas for conservation in the region (places with high species diversity, endemic species, endangered species and species that are essential to ecological processes). 3) The publication and permanent updating of The APA Pandeiros Ant Species Database in repositories, at least from projects of the same groups. Some actions have been incorporated and improved on recent projects in APA Pandeiros (e.g., activities with children’s books and presentations in local primary schools). In the long term, we also recommend that future studies with ants at APA Pandeiros implement standardized approaches in other areas of the APA for further excellent knowledge of diversity in the conservation unit. Preferably, at the north of “REVS do Rio Pandeiros”. Insects’ surveys, especially ants, in protected areas are fundamental for understanding biodiversity and ecological functions. This type of survey can contribute to the management and monitoring of areas by using ants as bioindicators of environmental quality and ecosystem services. However, the decrease in funding for studies in Brazil, provided mainly by public agencies (McManus & Neves, 2021) in little-known regions, such as the Cerrado-Caatinga transition areas, can lead to irreparable setbacks for scientific knowledge and its biodiversity (Overbeck et al., 2018; Feitosa et al., 2022). If not, we will observe the advance of new agricultural frontiers, mining, dam and reservoir projects in these regions with rapid habitat transformation and consequent species loss, many before they are formally described. Acknowledgements We thank R.M. Feitosa, J.H.C. Delabie, A.C. Ferreira, G. Camacho, F. Fernández, T. Schultz, J. Sosa-Cavo, A. Jesovnik, F.S. Neves, H. Vasconcelos and many myrmecologists involved in these ant identifications and surveys. This study was funded by CEMIG/Programa de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento da ANEEL P&D GT 611 – Descomissionamento da PCH Pandeiros: uma experiência inédita na América do Sul. ACMQ has a postdoctoral fellowship from CEMIG/Programa de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento da ANEEL P&D GT 611 “Descomissionamento da PCH Pandeiros: Uma experiência inédita na América do Sul”. LPP was funded by São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) grant #2022/01974-8. Antônio C. M. Queiroz et al. – Ants of APA Pandeiros: A Decade of Research8 Subfamilies Genus/Species Habitats Amblyoponinae Fulakora Fulakora armigera (Mayr, 1887)2 CSS Prionopelta Prionopelta punctulata Mayr, 18665 CSS Dolichoderinae Azteca Azteca instabilis (Smith, 1862)1 CSS, RIF Dolichoderus Dolichoderus bispinosus (Olivier, 1792)1,4 ANT, RIF Dolichoderus diversus Emery, 18941,2 CSS, RIF, TDF Dolichoderus lamellosus (Mayr, 1870)2 CSS Dorymyrmex Dorymyrmex brunneus Forel, 19082,3,4,5 ANT, CSS, TDF Dorymyrmex goeldii Forel, 19042 CSS Forelius Forelius brasiliensis (Forel, 1908)3 CSS Gracilidris Gracilidris pombero Wild & Cuezzo, 20061,2,4,5 ANT, CSS, RIF Linepithema Linepithema cerradense Wild, 20072,3 CSS Dorylinae Acanthostichus Acanthostichus serratulus (Smith, 1858)1 TDF Labidus Labidus coecus (Latreille, 1802)1,2,4,5 ANT, CSS, RIF Labidus mars (Forel, 1912)1 CSS Labidus praedator (Smith, 1858)1,4,5 CSS, TDF Neivamyrmex Neivamyrmex minensis (Borgmeier, 1928)4,5 CSS, TDF Neivamyrmex pseudops (Forel, 1909)2,4,5 ANT, CSS Nomamyrmex Nomamyrmex esenbeckii (Westwood, 1842)5 CSS Ectatomminae Acanthoponera Acanthoponera goeldii Forel, 19125 CSS Acanthoponera mucronata (Roger, 1860)1 CSS Ectatomma Ectatomma brunneum Smith, 18583,4,5 ANT, CSS Ectatomma edentatum Roger, 18631,2, 3,4 ANT, CSS, RIF, TDF Ectatomma muticum Mayr, 18701,2 CSS, RIF, TDF Ectatomma opaciventre (Roger, 1861)1,2,3,4,5 CSS Ectatomma permagnum Forel, 19082,4,5 ANT, CSS Ectatomma planidens Borgmeier, 19393,4,5 ANT, CSS Ectatomma tuberculatum (Olivier, 1792)1,2,4,5 CSS Gnamptogenys Gnamptogenys sulcata (Smith, 1858)5 CSS Holcoponera Holcoponera striatula (Mayr, 1884) CSS Table 2. Taxa recorded for APA Pandeiros. Species indicated with an asterisk (*) represent new records for the state of Minas Gerais, two asterisks (**) represent new records for Brazil, and three asterisks (***) represent new records for South of America. The numbering provided after the species name represent different datasets: (1) Queiroz-Dantas et al., 2011 and Neves et al., 2013; (2) Vasconcelos et al., 2018; (3) Rabelo et al., 2021; (4) Santiago, unpublished data from Santiago 2015 and Santiago et al., 2020; (5) Santiago, unpublished data from Santiago 2019. Non-numbered species represent data included in this work. CSS = Cerrado sensu stricto, RIF = Riparian Forest, ANT = Anthropogenic habitats, TDF = Tropical Dry Forest. Sociobiology 69(3): e7878 (September, 2022) 9 Formicinae Acropyga Acropyga fuhrmanni (Forel, 1914)2 CSS Brachymyrmex Brachymyrmex heeri Forel, 18741 CSS, RIF, TDF Brachymyrmex patagonicus Mayr, 18681,2 CSS, RIF, TDF Camponotus Camponotus ager (Smith, 1858)4 CSS Camponotus arboreus (Smith, 1858)1,2,4,5 CSS, RIF, TDF Camponotus atriceps (Smith, 1858)1,2,4,5 CSS, TDF Camponotus blandus (Smith, 1858)2,3,4,5 ANT, CSS, TDF Camponotus bonariensis Mayr, 18682 CSS Camponotus cingulatus Mayr, 18621 CSS, RIF, TDF Camponotus crassus Mayr, 18623,4,5 CSS Camponotus fastigatus Roger, 18631,2,4,5 ANT, CSS, TDF Camponotus leydigi Forel, 18864,5 ANT, CSS Camponotus melanoticus Emery, 18941,2,4,5 ANT, CSS, RIF, TDF Camponotus mus Roger, 18634,5* CSS, TDF Camponotus novogranadensis Mayr, 18702 CSS Camponotus renggeri Emery, 18941,2,4,5 ANT, CSS, RIF, TDF Camponotus rufipes (Fabricius, 1775)1 CSS, RIF, TDF Camponotus senex (Smith, 1858)1,2 CSS, RIF, TDF Camponotus substitutus Emery, 18942 CSS Camponotus vittatus Forel, 19043 CSS Myrmelachista Myrmelachista nodigera Mayr, 18872 CSS Paratrechina Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille, 1802)4 ANT Myrmicinae Atta Atta laevigata (Smith, 1858)1,5 CSS, RIF Atta sexdens (Linnaeus, 1758)1,4,5 ANT, CSS, TDF Blepharidatta Blepharidatta conops Kempf, 19671,2,3,4,5 ANT, CSS, RIF, TDF Cardiocondyla Cardiocondyla emeryi Forel, 18814 ANT Carebara Carebara brevipilosa Fernández, 20044 CSS Carebara urichi (Wheeler, 1922)1 CSS, RIF Cephalotes Cephalotes atratus (Linnaeus, 1758)1,5 CSS, RIF, TDF Cephalotes betoi De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 19922 CSS Cephalotes clypeatus (Fabricius, 1804)2,5 CSS Cephalotes grandinosus (Smith, 1860)1 CSS, TDF Cephalotes maculatus (Smith, 1876)1 TDF Cephalotes minutus (Fabricius, 1804)1,2,5 CSS, TDF Cephalotes notatus (Mayr, 1866)1 CSS, RIF, TDF Cephalotes pallidoides De Andrade, 19992 CSS Cephalotes pavonii (Latreille, 1809)1 CSS, TDF Cephalotes persimilis De Andrade, 19992,5 CSS Cephalotes pusillus (Klug, 1824)1,2,4,5 CSS, RIF, TDF Crematogaster Subfamilies Genus/Species Habitats T ab le 2 . T ax a re co rd ed fo r A PA P an de ir os . ( C on tin ua tio n) Antônio C. M. Queiroz et al. – Ants of APA Pandeiros: A Decade of Research10 Myrmicinae Crematogaster abstinens Forel, 18991,5 CSS, RIF Crematogaster chodati Forel, 19215 CSS Crematogaster crinosa Mayr, 18621 CSS, RIF, TDF Crematogaster erecta Mayr, 18661 CSS, RIF, TDF Crematogaster obscurata Emery, 18954,5 CSS, TDF Crematogaster rochai Forel, 19035 CSS Crematogaster stollii Forel, 18853 CSS Cyatta Cyatta abscondita Sosa-Calvo et al., 20134 CSS Cyphomyrmex Cyphomyrmex transversus Emery, 18942 CSS Hylomyrma Hylomyrma reitteri (Mayr, 1887)4,5 CSS Kalathomyrmex Kalathomyrmex emeryi (Forel, 1907)4,5 ANT, CSS Megalomyrmex Megalomyrmex silvestrii Wheeler, 19094 ANT Monomorium Monomorium pharaonis (Linnaeus, 1758)4 ANT Mycetarotes Mycetarotes parallelus (Emery, 1906)4,5 ANT, CSS, TDF Mycetomoellerius Mycetomoellerius dichrous (Kempf, 1967)5 CSS Mycetomoellerius urichii (Forel, 1893)1 RIF Mycetophylax Mycetophylax lectus (Forel, 1911)2 CSS Mycocepurus Mycocepurus goeldii (Forel, 1893)2,4,5 ANT, CSS Mycocepurus smithii (Forel, 1893)2,4,5 ANT, CSS Nesomyrmex Nesomyrmex costatus (Emery, 1896)1 CSS Nesomyrmex asper (Mayr, 1887)1 CSS, RIF, TDF Ochetomyrmex Ochetomyrmex semipolitus Mayr, 18782 CSS Paratrachymyrmex Paratrachymyrmex bugnioni (Forel, 1912)2 CSS Pheidole Pheidole aberrans Mayr, 18684,5 ANT, CSS Pheidole biconstricta Mayr, 18704,5 * CSS Pheidole capillata Emery, 19063 CSS Pheidole caribbaea Wheeler, 19114,5*** ANT, CSS Pheidole cyrtostela Wilson, 20032 CSS Pheidole exigua Mayr, 18844,5* ANT, CSS, TDF Pheidole fracticeps Wilson, 20032,4,5 ANT, CSS, TDF Pheidole gigaflavens Wilson, 20034** ANT Pheidole jelskii Mayr, 18844,5 CSS Pheidole microps Wilson, 20035* CSS Pheidole obscurithorax Naves, 19854,5 ANT, CSS, TDF Pheidole oxyops Forel, 19082,5 CSS Pheidole radoszkowskii Mayr, 18842 CSS Subfamilies Genus/Species Habitats T ab le 2 . T ax a re co rd ed fo r A PA P an de ir os . ( C on tin ua tio n) Sociobiology 69(3): e7878 (September, 2022) 11 Myrmicinae Pheidole rochai Forel, 19125* CSS Pheidole scapulata Santschi, 19234,5 CSS Pheidole schwarzmaieri Borgmeier, 19392 CSS Pheidole subarmata Mayr, 18845 CSS Pheidole susannae Forel, 18864 ANT, TDF Pheidole triconstricta Forel, 18862,4,5 ANT, CSS, TDF Pheidole valens Wilson, 20034 TDF Pheidole vallifica Forel, 19015* CSS Pheidole zelata Wilson, 20034** ANT, CSS Pogonomyrmex Pogonomyrmex naegelii Emery, 18781,5 CSS, RIF Solenopsis Solenopsis globularia (Smith, 1858)5 CSS Solenopsis invicta Buren, 19724 ANT, TDF Solenopsis substituta Santschi, 19252,4,5 CSS Solenopsis tridens Forel, 19113,4 ANT, CSS, TDF Strumigenys Strumigenys borgmeieri Brown, 19545* CSS Strumigenys grytava (Bolton, 2000)2 CSS Strumigenys infidelis Santschi, 19194,5 CSS Tetramorium Tetramorium simillimum (Smith, 1851)4 ANT Wasmannia Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger, 1863)2,4,5 CSS, TDF Wasmannia lutzi Forel, 19082 CSS Ponerinae Anochetus Anochetus inermis André, 18892 CSS Centromyrmex Centromyrmex brachycola (Roger, 1861)2 CSS Neoponera Neoponera laevigata (Smith, 1858)5 CSS Neoponera villosa (Fabricius, 1804)1,2,4 CSS, TDF Odontomachus Odontomachus bauri Emery, 18922,4,5 CSS, TDF Odontomachus brunneus (Patton, 1894)1 CSS, TDF Odontomachus chelifer (Latreille, 1802)4 CSS Odontomachus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1758)4 CSS Thaumatomyrmex Thaumatomyrmex mutilatus Mayr, 18871,4 ANT, RIF, TDF Pseudomyrmecinae Pseudomyrmex Pseudomyrmex curacaensis (Forel, 1912)2 CSS Pseudomyrmex elongatus (Mayr, 1870)1,2 CSS, RIF, TDF Pseudomyrmex gracilis (Fabricius, 1804)1,2,4,5 ANT, CSS, RIF, TDF Pseudomyrmex oculatus (Smith, 1855)1 RIF, TDF Pseudomyrmex schuppi (Forel, 1901)4 TDF Pseudomyrmex tenuis (Fabricius, 1804)1,4,5 CSS, RIF, TDF Pseudomyrmex tenuissimus (Emery, 1906)2 CSS Pseudomyrmex termitarius (Smith, 1855)4,5 CSS Pseudomyrmex unicolor (Smith, 1855)2,4 CSS Pseudomyrmex urbanus (Smith, 1877)2 CSS Subfamilies Genus/Species Habitats T ab le 2 . T ax a re co rd ed fo r A PA P an de ir os . ( C on tin ua tio n) Antônio C. M. Queiroz et al. – Ants of APA Pandeiros: A Decade of Research12 Number of morphospecies/Dataset Genus D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 Acromyrmex 2 1 Anochetus 1 Apterostigma 1 1 Atta 3 Azteca 1 1 Brachymyrmex 3 1 4 6 Camponotus 5 1 1 11 21 Cardiocondyla 1 Carebara 1 Cephalotes 1 Crematogaster 1 5 4 8 Cyphomyrmex 1 2 Dolichoderus 1 Dorymyrmex 1 2 5 9 Eciton 1 1 Ectatomma 1 2 4 Eurhopalothrix 1 Forelius 3 2 1 5 5 Gnamptogenis 3 Hypoponera 1 1 Labidus 1 Linepithema 1 2 2 Megalomyrmex 1 1 Mycetophylax 1 2 Mycetosoritis 1 Mycocepurus 1 Myrmicinae (Subfamily) 1 Myrmicocrypta 1 2 2 Neivamyrmex 2 3 3 Nesomyrmex 1 1 Nylanderia 2 1 1 1 Ochetomyrmex 1 1 Odontomachus 1 Oxyepoecus 1 5 Pheidole 23 13 1 34 64 Pseudomyrmex 2 4 2 Rogeria 2 Sericomyrmex 1 1 Solenopsis 7 5 9 11 Strumigenys 2 1 3 1 Tapinoma 1 1 3 Mycetomoellerius/Paratrachymyrmex 6 1 5 5 Wasmannia 3 3 6 Xenomyrmex 1 Morphospecies richness 65 41 6 108 181 Table 3. Morphospecies recorded for APA Pandeiros regarding publications or databases. The morphospecies follows the alphabetical order. The number in parentheses refers to the richness recorded. As the species recorded in the literature were not examined, the genus identified as “Trachymyrmex” was updated to Mycetomoellerius/Paratrachymyrmex. The morphospecies are not standardized among the datasets (Ds). Sociobiology 69(3): e7878 (September, 2022) 13 Authors’ Contribution ACMQ, RAC conceived and designed the research and wrote the first draft; ACMQ and LPP organized the data; GSS, MAR helped with non-published data, all authors contributed writing and editing the manuscript. References Agosti, D., Majer, J.D., Alonso, L.E. & Schultz, T.R. (2000). Ants: standard methods for measuring and monitoring biodiversity. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 280 p. Asaad, I., Lundquist, C.J., Erdmann, M.V. & Costello, M.J. (2017). Ecological criteria to identify areas for biodiversity conservation. Biological Conservation, 213: 309-316. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon. 2016.10.007 Baccaro, F.B., Feitosa, R.M., Fernández, F., Fernandes, I.O., Izzo, T.J., Souza, J.L.P. & Solar, R.R.C. (2015). Guia para gêneros de formigas do Brasil. Manaus: Ed. INPA, 338 p. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.32912 Barlow, J., Lennox, G.D., Ferreira, J., Berenguer, E., Lees, A.C., Nally, R.M., et al. (2016). Anthropogenic disturbance in tropical forests can double biodiversity loss from deforestation. Nature, 535: 144-147. doi: 10.1038/nature18326 Borges, P.P., de Andrade Oliveira, K.A.F., Machado, K.B., Vaz, U.L., da Cunha, H.F. & Nabout, J.C. (2015). Tendências e lacunas da literatura científica sobre o bioma Cerrado: uma análise cienciométrica. Neotropical Biology and Conservation, 10: 2-8. doi: 10.4013/nbc.2015.101.01 Brasil (2000). Lei nº 9.985, de 18 de julho de 2000. Institui o Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação – SNUC. Brasília: Diário oficial de 19/07/2000. , retrieved on 11 March 2022. Camacho, G.P. & Vasconcelos, H.L. (2015). Ants of the Panga Ecological Station, a Cerrado reserve in central Brazil. Sociobiology, 62: 281-295. doi: 10.13102/sociobiology.v62i2. 281-295 Câmara, T., Leal, I.R., Blüthgen, N., Oliveira, F.M., Queiroz, R.T.D. & Arnan, X. (2018). Effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance and rainfall on the specialization of ant–plant mutualistic networks in the Caatinga, a Brazilian dry forest. Journal of Animal Ecology, 87: 1022-1033. doi: 10.1111/1365-26 56.12820 Christianini, A.V. (2015). Dispersão de sementes por ponero- morfas. In: Delabie, J.H.C., Feitosa, R.M., Serrão, J.E., Mariano, C.D.S.F. & Majer, J.D. (Eds.) As formigas poneromorfas do Brasil. Ilhéus: SciELO-Editus-Editora da UESC, p. 345-360. Costa, F.V., Mello, R., Lana, T.C. & Neves, F.S. (2015). Ant fauna in megadiverse mountains: a checklist for the rocky grasslands. Sociobiology, 62: 228-245. doi: 10.13102/ sociobiology.v62i2. 228-245 Delabie, J.H.C., Alves, H.S.R., Franca, V.C., Martins, T.D.A. & Nascimento, I.C. (2007). Biogeografia das formigas predadoras do gênero Ectatomma (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ectatomminae) no leste da Bahia e Regioes vizinhas. Agrotrópica (Brasil), 19: 13-20. Delabie, J.H.C., Feitosa, R.M., Serrão, J.E., Mariano, C.D.S.F. & Majer, J.D. (2015). As formigas poneromorfas do Brasil. SciELO-Editus-Editora da UESC, Ilhéus, 477 p. Del-Toro, I., Ribbons, R.R. & Pelini SL (2012). The little things that run the world revisited: a review of ant-mediated ecosystem services and disservices (Hym.: Formicidae). Myrmecological News, 17: 133-46. Divieso, R., Rorato, A., Feitosa, R.M., Meyer, A.L. & Pie, M.R. (2020). How to prioritize areas for new ant surveys? Integrating historical data on species occurrence records and habitat loss. Journal of Insect Conservation, 24: 901-911. doi: 10.1007/s 10841-020-00262-y Elizalde, L., Arbetman, M., Arnan, X., Eggleton, P., Leal, I.R., Lescano, M.N., et al. (2020). The ecosystem services provided by social insects: traits, management tools and knowledge gaps. Biological Reviews, 95: 1418-1441. doi: 10.1111/brv.12616 Feitosa, R.M., Camacho, G.P., Silva, T.S., Ulysséa, M.A., Ladino, N., Oliveira, A.M., et al. (2022). Ants of Brazil: an overview based on 50 years of diversity studies. Systematics and Biodiversity, 20: 2089268. doi: 10.1080/14772000.2022.2089268 Fernandez, F., Guerrero, R.J., Sanchez-Restrepo, A.F. (2021). Systematics and diversity of Neotropical ants. Revista Colombiana de Entomología, 47: e11082. doi: 10.25100/ socolen.v47i1.11082 Ganem, R.S. (2017). Caatinga: estratégias de conservação. Estudo Técnico. Consultoria Legislativa. Guimarães-Silva, R. (2019). Spatial strategies for Cerrado biome conservation: a multiscale approach. UFLA, 110 p. Thesis. IEF-MG. Instituto Estadual de Florestas de Minas Gerais (2019). Plano de Manejo do Refúgio Estadual de Vida Silvestre do Rio Pandeiros – REVSRP. IEF-MG. Instituto Estadual de Florestas de Minas Gerais (2022). APA Pandeiros , retrieved on 11 March 2022. Janicki, J., Narula, N., Ziegler, M., Guénard, B. & Economo, E.P. (2016). Visualizing and interacting with large-volume biodiversity data using client-server web-mapping applications: The design and implementation of ant maps.org. Ecological Informatics, 32: 185-193. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2016.02.006 Kempf, W.W. (1961). A survey of the ants of the soil fauna in Surinam (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Studia Entomologica, 4: 481-524. Leal, I.R., Lopes, A.V., Machado, I.C. & Tabarelli, M .(2018). Interações planta-animal na Caatinga: visão geral e perspectivas Antônio C. M. Queiroz et al. – Ants of APA Pandeiros: A Decade of Research14 futuras. Ciência e Cultura, 70: 35-40. doi: 10.21 800/2317- 66602018000400011 Leal, I.R., Ribeiro-Neto, J.D., Arnan, X., Oliveira, F.M., Arcoverde, G.B., Feitosa, R.M. & Andersen, A.N. (2017). Ants of the Caatinga: diversity, biogeography, and functional responses to anthropogenic disturbance and climate change. In: Silva, J.M.C., Leal, I.R. & Tabarelli, M. (Eds.) Caatinga. The largest tropical dry forest region in South America. Springer, p. 65-95. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-68339-3_3 Leal, L.C., Neto, M.C.L., de Oliveira, A.F.M., Andersen, A.N. & Leal, I.R. (2014). Myrmecochores can target high-quality disperser ants: variation in elaiosome traits and ant preferences for myrmecochorous Euphorbiaceae in Brazilian Caatinga. Oecologia, 174: 493-500. doi: 10.1007/s00442-013-2789-2 Lessa, T., Dos Santos, J.W., Correia, R.A., Ladle, R.J. & Malhado, A.C. (2019). Known unknowns: Filling the gaps in scientific knowledge production in the Caatinga. PlosOne, 14: e0219359. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219359 Lewinsohn, T.M., Freitas, A.V.L. & Prado, P.I. (2005). Conservação de invertebrados terrestres e seus habitats no Brasil. Megadiversidade, 1: 62-69. Magalhães, V.B., Espírito-Santo, N.B., Salles, L.F., Soares Jr., H. & Oliveira, O.S. (2018). Secondary seed dispersal by ants in Neotropical cerrado savanna: species-specific effects on seeds and seedlings of Siparuna guianensis (Siparunaceae). Ecological Entomology, 43: 665-674. doi: 10.1111/een.12640. Marques, T. & Schoereder, J.H. (2014). Ant diversity partitioning across spatial scales: Ecological processes and implications for conserving Tropical Dry Forests. Austral Ecology, 39: 72-82. doi: 10.1111/aec.12046 Marques, T.E.D., Castaño-Meneses, G., Mariano, C.S.F. & Delabie, J.H.C. (2015). Interações entre Poneromorfas e fontes de açúcar na vegetação. In: Delabie, J.H.C., Feitosa, R.M., Serrão, J.E., Mariano, C.D.S.F. & Majer, J.D. (Eds.) As formigas poneromorfas do Brasil. SciELO-Editus-Editora da UESC, Ilhéus, p. 361-374. McManus, C. & Baeta Neves, A.A. (2021). Production Profiles in Brazilian Science, with special attention to social sciences and humanities. Scientometrics, 126: 2413-2435. doi: 10.1007s11 192-020-03452-2 Myers, N., Mittermeier, R.A., Mittermeier, C.G., Da Fonseca, G.A., Kent, J. (2000). Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature, 403: 853-858. doi: 10.1038/35002501 Neves, F.S., Queiroz-Dantas, K.S., Da Rocha, W.D. & Delabie, J.H.C. (2013). Ants of three adjacent habitats of a transition region between the Cerrado and Caatinga biomes: the effects of heterogeneity and variation in canopy cover. Neotropical Entomology, 42: 258-268. doi: 10.1007/s13744-013-0123-7 Nunes, Y.R.F., Azevedo, I.F.P., Neves, W.V., Veloso, M.D.D.M., Souza, R. & Fernandes, G.W. (2009). Pandeiros: o pantanal mineiro. MG Biota, 2: 4-17. Oliveira, F.M., Andersen, A.N., Arnan, X., Ribeiro-Neto, J.D., Arcoverde, G.B. & Leal, I.R. (2019). Effects of increasing aridity and chronic anthropogenic disturbance on seed dispersal by ants in Brazilian Caatinga. Journal of Animal Ecology, 88: 870-880. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.12979 Oliveira, P.S. & Marquis, R.J. (2002). The Cerrados of Brazil; New York: Columbia University Press, 396 p. Oliveira, U., Soares-Filho, B.S. Paglia, A.P., Brescovit, A.D., De Carvalho, C.J.B., Silva, D.P., et al. (2017). Biodiversity conservation gaps in the Brazilian protected areas. Scientific Reports, 7: 1-9. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-08707-2 Overbeck, G.E., Bergallo, H.G., Grelle, C.E., Akama, A., Bravo, F., Colli, G.R., et al. (2018). Global biodiversity threatened by science budget cuts in Brazil. BioScience, 68: 11-12. doi: 10.1093/biosci/bix130 Overbeck, G.E., Vélez-Martin, E., Scarano, F.R., Lewinsohn, T.M., Fonseca, C.R., Meyer, S.T., et al. (2015). Conservation in Brazil needs to include non-forest ecosystems. Diversity and Distributions, 21: 1455-1460. doi: 10.1111/ddi.12380 Padilha, M.A. (2013). Remoção de sementes por formigas: efeito do tamanho da semente, hábitat e riqueza de espécies. UFV, 110 p. Thesis. Philpott, S.M., Perfecto, I., Armbrecht, I. & Parr, C.L. (2010). Ant diversity and function in disturbed and changing habitats. Ant Ecology, 1: 137-156. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/97801995446 39.003.0008 Prado, L.P.D., Feitosa, R.M., Triana, S.P., Gutiérrez, J.A.M., Rousseau, G.X., Silva, R.A., et al. (2019). An overview of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the state of Maranhão, Brazil. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, 59. doi: 10.11606/1807-0205/ 2019.59.38 Queiroz, A.C.M., Rabello, A.M., Braga, D.L., Santiago, G.S., Zurlo, L.F., Philpott, S. & Ribas, C.R. (2020). Cerrado vegetation types determine how land use impacts ant biodiversity. Biodiversity and Conservation, 29: 2017-2034. doi: 10.1007/s10531-017-1379-8 Queiroz, A.C.M., Wilker, I., Lasmar, C.J., Mousinho, E., Ribas, C.R. & van den Berg, E. (2021). No matter where you are, ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) get attention when it is warm. Myrmecological News, 31: 71-83. doi: 10.25849/ myrmecol.news_031:071 Queiroz-Dantas, K.S., Queiroz, A.C.M., Neves, F.S., Júnior, R.R. & Fagundes, M. (2011). Formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) em diferentes estratos numa região de transição entre os biomas do Cerrado e da Caatinga no norte de Minas Gerais. MG Biota, 4: 17-36. Rabelo, M.A., Angotti, M.A., Santiago, G.S., Reis, A.C. & Ribas, C.R. (2021). Removal of diaspores by ants: What factors to evaluate? Acta Oecologica, 111: 103736. doi: 10.1016/j.actao. 2021.103736 Sociobiology 69(3): e7878 (September, 2022) 15 Rizzini, C.T. (1997). Tratado de fitogeografia do Brasil: aspectos ecológicos (Vol. 2). São Paulo: Hucitec, Edusp. Santiago, G.S., Rabelo, M.A., Canedo-Júnior, E.O. & Ribas C.R. (2020). Formigas removedoras de sementes apresentam potencial para auxiliar na regeneração de áreas impactadas. MG Biota, 12: 44-54. Schmidt, F.A., Ribas, C.R., Feitosa, RM., Baccaro, F.B., Queiroz, A.C.M., Sobrinho, T., et al. (2022). Ant diversity studies in Brazil: an overview of the myrmecological research in a megadiverse country. Insectes Sociaux, 69: 105-121. doi: 10.1007/s00040-022-00848-6 Schmidt, F.A., Ribas, C.R. & Schoereder, J.H. (2013). How predictable is the response of ant assemblages to natural forest recovery? Implications for their use as bioindicators. Ecological Indicators, 24: 158-166. doi: 10.1016/j. ecolind.2012.05.031 Silva, R.R., Martello, F., Feitosa, R.M., Silva, O.G.M., Prado, L.P., Brandão, C.R.F. et al. (2022). ATLANTIC ANTS: a data set of ants in Atlantic Forests of South America. Ecology, 103: e03580. doi: 10.1002/ecy.3580 Tabor, K.L., Fell, R.D. & Brewster, C.C. (2005). Insect fauna visiting carrion in Southwest Virginia. Forensic Science International, 150: 73-80. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2004.06.041 Tedesco, P.A., Bigorne, R., Bogan, A.E., Giam, X., Jézéquel, C. & Hugueny, B. (2014). Estimating how many undescribed species have gone extinct. Conservation Biology, 28: 1360- 1370. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12285 Ulysséa, M.A. & Brandão, C.R. (2013). Ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the seasonally dry tropical forest of northeastern Brazil: a compilation from field surveys in Bahia and literature records. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, 57: 217-224. doi: 10.1590/S0085- 56262013005000002 Vasconcelos, H.L., Maravalhas, J.B., Feitosa, R.M., Pacheco, R., Neves, K.C. & Andersen, A.N. (2018). Neotropical savanna ants show a reversed latitudinal gradient of species richness, with climatic drivers reflecting the forest origin of the fauna. Journal of Biogeography, 45: 248-258. doi: 10.1111/ jbi.13113 Venter, O., Magrach, A., Outram, N., Klein, C.J., Possingham, H.P., Di Marco, M. & Watson, J.E. (2018). Bias in protected- area location and its effects on long-term aspirations of biodiversity conventions. Conservation Biology, 32: 127-134. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12970 Vieira, R.R., Pressey, R.L. & Loyola, R. (2019). The residual nature of protected areas in Brazil. Biological Conservation, 233: 152-161. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2019.02.010 Wang, C., Strazanac, J. & Butler, L. (2001). A comparison of pitfall traps with bait traps for studying leaf litter ant communities. Journal of Economic Entomology, 94: 761-765. doi: 10.1603/ 0022-0493-94.3.761 Wild, A.L. (2007). Taxonomic revision of the ant genus Linepithema (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (Vol. 126). University of California Press. _Hlk109926680 _Hlk109926965 _Hlk109922484 _Hlk105156932 _Hlk105157081 _Hlk109917580