Ants (Formicidae) are dominant organisms in neotropical ecosystems and therefore potentially useful as indicators of biodiversity and habitat disturbance. We sampled the diversity of ground-dwelling ant communities using pitfall traps, ground sampling, and baiting transects during February and March of 2002. Ants were collected in both primary and secondary rainforest at Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Amazonian Ecuador. Samples were identified to species or morphospecies. Diversity was measured using species accumulation curves to predict species richness (Michaelis-Menton), index of evenness, and overall diversity (Fisher’s alpha, Simpson, Shannon). Species richness was higher in primary forest, while evenness was higher in the secondary. Diversity indices showed mixed results. Results are compared to past studies.
Species 1: Hymenoptera Formicidae
Keywords: biological diversity
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