Ants assemblage (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in dry Forest fragments in the mining complex of El Cerrejón (La Guajira, Colombia)

Abstract

An ant community was studied in nine areas in the complex mining of Cerrejón Ltd. in the Cerrejón Valley (Department of Guajira-Colombia). In each site, 10 sampling stations were installed over four time periods, covering the different climatic events of the region. Ants were collected using pitfall traps, mini-Winklerbags, manual capture and Malaise traps. For the comparisons between areas, we applied non parametric estimators of richness, diversity indices and similarity coefficients. 3.935 individuals were collected in 2.652 capture events, 71 species belonging to eight subfamilies, 19 tribes and 37 genera were identified. The estimators of richness produced estimates of 73 species (ICE), 73 (Chao 1) and 77 (Jacknife 1) respectively, for the nine areas. No significant differences between the diversity values were detected. The Bray-Curtis similarity coefficient showed that the sites are not similar in relation to their richness and abundance. Each area contributed species to the total diversity of Formicidae, which suggest that they should be conserved to maintain the local and regional biodiversity.