visitas de formigas (hymenoptera, formicidae) a nectários extra-florais de stryphnodendron adstringens (mart.) cov. (fabaceae, mimosoideae) em uma área de cerrado frequentemente queimado

Visitas de formigas a nectários extra-florais de barbatimão em cerrado queimado

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ISSN 1517-6770
Revista Brasileira de

ZOOCIÊNCIAS
10(1): 35-40, abril 2008

Visitas de formigas (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) a nectários extra-florais de
Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Cov. (Fabaceae, Mimosoideae) em uma área de cerrado freqüentemente queimado
Clarissa M. Knoechelmann¹ & Helena C. Morais²
Programa de Pós Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, 70910-900 Brasília, DF. cmk_bio@yahoo com.br
2
Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, 70910-900 Brasília, DF. [e-mail]
1

Abstract. Ants visiting extra floral nectaries of Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Cov. (Fabaceae, Mimosoideae) on frequently burning cerrado. Although there has been many published works on ants association to extrafloral nectaries (efns), and to phytophagous insects, there remains a lack of information on fire effects on those interactions. This study intends to compare the frequencies of ants on efns of Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Cov. (Mimosoideae), between burned and unburned areas. The collections were carried out during two wet seasons, from November to January of 2003 and from September to November of 2004, in two areas of sensu stricto cerrado, in the Ecological Reserve of IBGE in Brasilia, DF, Brazil. One of these areas was protected by fire (control area), and the other was submitted to a biannual prescribed fire. Thirty plants in each area were marked and monitored four times per season (n=120 inspections), during am time. A total of nine species of ants were collected but a single species of
Camponotus (Formicinae) presented a very high predominance in the experimental area. Generally, there was a low frequency of ants on the efns, occurring only on 17% of the monitored plants. The ants frequency differed between areas with a higher frequency of ants on the