Studies on Neotropical ants: interactions with herbivorous insects, behavioral ecology and social organization

• Grant number: 11/18580-8
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: January 01, 2012 - December 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Animal Behavior
• Principal researcher: Paulo Sergio Moreira Carvalho de Oliveira
• Grantee: Paulo Sergio Moreira Carvalho de Oliveira
• Home Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project involves the main research avenues currently developed by our group in ant ecology: ecology of interspecific interactions, and behavioral ecology. These research areas were expanded and strengthened through active collaborations that we maintain with other institutions in Brazil and abroad. The diversity of research topics studied by our group has increased in past few years, as evidenced by our publications with variable groups of collaborators. The studies in this general project are distributed among six subprojects in the fields of ecology of interspecific interactions and behavioral ecology. Some of the subprojects are part of Master or Doctoral theses currently developed by our students at the Ecology Graduate Program of UNICAMP. One study is a joint research with the Paul Sabatier University (Toulouse, France) in the FAPESP/CNRS Program. Part I - Behavioral ecology in ant-plant-herbivore systems. Study A - Multitrophic systems involving lepidopterans, ants and plants in Cerrado: An approach using stable isotopes.Study B - The exploitation of an ant-plant mutualism by Medetera (Dolichopodidae, Diptera).Study C - Host plant choice by Parrhasius polibetes (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) and co-occurrence with myrmecophilous hemipterans: The effect of visual and olfactory cues. Part II - Ecology, behavior, and social organization of ants. Study A - Natural history, behavior and ecology of Camponotus rufipes and Camponotus renggeri (Formicidae: Formicinae): A comparative study. Study B - Ecology, behavior and natural history of large ants in the Poneroid e Ectatomminoid groups in Cerrado. Study C - Facultative polygyny and social structure in the arboreal ant Odontomachus hastatus (Formicidae: Ponerinae): Ecology and geographic variation. The purpose of this research proposal is to obtain financial support to improve the infrastructure of our laboratory, most especially our optical equipment that needs renewal in view of our current necessities. We also request resources for field work. (AU)

Scientific publications

(16)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

VIDAL, MAYRA C.; SILVA, ANA K.; SENDOYA, SEBASTIAN F. Foraging preferences of ants on a heterogeneous Brazilian sandy shore habitat. ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, v. 44, n. 2, p. 283-286, APR 2019. Web of Science Citations: 1.

VIDAL, MAYRA C.; SENDOYA, SEBASTIAN F.; YAMAGUCHI, LYDIA F.; KATO, MASSUO J.; OLIVEIRA, RAFAEL S.; OLIVEIRA, PAULO S. Natural History of a Sit-and-Wait Dipteran Predator That Uses Extrafloral Nectar as Prey Attractant. ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY, v. 47, n. 5, p. 1165-1172, OCT 2018. Web of Science Citations: 0.

SENDOYA, SEBASTIAN F.; OLIVEIRA, PAULO S. Behavioural ecology of defence in a risky environment: caterpillars versus ants in a Neotropical savanna. ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, v. 42, n. 5, p. 553-564, OCT 2017. Web of Science Citations: 2.

CUQUETTO-LEITE, L.; DOLDER, H.; OLIVEIRA, P. S.; ESPIRITO SANTO, N. B.; LINO-NETO, J.; MANCINI, K. C. Structural and ultrastructural characterization of the spermatozoa in Pachycondyla striata and P-marginata. Insectes Sociaux, v. 64, n. 2, p. 209-217, MAY 2017. Web of Science Citations: 1.

VIDAL, MAYRA C.; SENDOYA, SEBASTIAN F.; OLIVEIRA, PAULO S. Mutualism exploitation: predatory drosophilid larvae sugar-trap ants and jeopardize facultative ant-plant mutualism. ECOLOGY, v. 97, n. 7, p. 1650-1657, JUL 2016. Web of Science Citations: 5.

SENDOYA, SEBASTIAN F.; BLUETHGEN, NICO; TAMASHIRO, JORGE Y.; FERNANDEZ, FERNANDO; OLIVEIRA, PAULO S. Foliage-dwelling ants in a neotropical savanna: effects of plant and insect exudates on ant communities. ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS, v. 10, n. 3, p. 183-195, JUN 2016. Web of Science Citations: 11.

RONQUE, MARIANE U. V.; AZEVEDO-SILVA, MARIANNE; MORI, GUSTAVO M.; SOUZA, ANETE P.; OLIVEIRA, PAULO S. Three ways to distinguish species: using behavioural, ecological, and molecular data to tell apart two closely related ants, Camponotus renggeri and Camponotus rufipes (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, v. 176, n. 1, p. 170-181, JAN 2016. Web of Science Citations: 12.

VIDAL, M. C.; VILELA, C. R. A New Species of Rhinoleucophenga (Diptera: Drosophilidae) From the Brazilian Cerrado Biome Associated With Extrafloral Nectaries of Qualea grandiflora (Vochysiaceae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America, v. 108, n. 5, p. 932-940, SEP 2015. Web of Science Citations: 7.

AZEVEDO-SILVA, MARIANNE; MORI, GUSTAVO M.; SOUZA, ANETE P.; OLIVEIRA, PAULO S. Microsatellites for two Neotropical dominant ant species, Camponotus renggeri and C-rufipes (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). CONSERVATION GENETICS RESOURCES, v. 7, n. 2, p. 459-462, JUN 2015. Web of Science Citations: 1.

SENDOYA, SEBASTIAN F.; OLIVEIRA, PAULO S. Ant-caterpillar antagonism at the community level: interhabitat variation of tritrophic interactions in a neotropical savanna. Journal of Animal Ecology, v. 84, n. 2, p. 442-452, MAR 2015. Web of Science Citations: 12.

RODRIGUES, PEDRO A. P.; OLIVEIRA, PAULO S. Visual navigation in the Neotropical ant Odontomachus hastatus (Formicidae, Ponerinae), a predominantly nocturnal, canopy-dwelling predator of the Atlantic rainforest. Behavioural Processes, v. 109, n. A, SI, p. 48-57, NOV 2014. Web of Science Citations: 9.

BIEBER, ANA GABRIELA D.; SILVA, PAULO S. D.; SENDOYA, SEBASTIAN F.; OLIVEIRA, PAULO S. Assessing the Impact of Deforestation of the Atlantic Rainforest on Ant-Fruit Interactions: A Field Experiment Using Synthetic Fruits. PLoS One, v. 9, n. 2 FEB 26 2014. Web of Science Citations: 3.

CHRISTIANINI, ALEXANDER V.; OLIVEIRA, PAULO S. Edge effects decrease ant-derived benefits to seedlings in a neotropical savanna. ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS, v. 7, n. 2, p. 191-199, APR 2013. Web of Science Citations: 17.

BIEBER, ANA GABRIELA D.; SILVA, PAULO S. D.; OLIVEIRA, PAULO S. Attractiveness of fallen fleshy fruits to ants depends on previous handling by frugivores. ECOSCIENCE, v. 20, n. 1, p. 85-89, 2013. Web of Science Citations: 8.

BELCHIOR, CERES; DEL-CLARO, KLEBER; OLIVEIRA, PAULO S. Seasonal patterns in the foraging ecology of the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex naegelii (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) in a Neotropical savanna: daily rhythms, shifts in granivory and carnivory, and home range. ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS, v. 6, n. 4, p. 571-582, DEC 2012. Web of Science Citations: 17.

MUNIZ, DANILO G.; FREITAS, ANDRE V. L.; OLIVEIRA, PAULO S. Phenological relationships of Eunica bechina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) and its host plant, Caryocar brasiliense (Caryocaraceae), in a Neotropical savanna. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment, v. 47, n. 2, p. 111-118, 2012. Web of Science Citations: 10.