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Effect of land-use changes on the space–time distribution of ant diversity in the south-western Brazilian Amazon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2025

Francisco Matheus da Silva Sales Open the ORCID record for Francisco Matheus da Silva Sales [Opens in a new window] ,
Jean Carlo Gonçalves Ortega Open the ORCID record for Jean Carlo Gonçalves Ortega [Opens in a new window]  and
Fernando Augusto Schmidt Open the ORCID record for Fernando Augusto Schmidt [Opens in a new window]
Francisco Matheus da Silva Sales*
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Manejo de Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil Laboratório de Ecologia de Formigas, Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil
Jean Carlo Gonçalves Ortega
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Manejo de Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil
Fernando Augusto Schmidt
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Manejo de Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil Laboratório de Ecologia de Formigas, Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Natureza, Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil
*
Corresponding author: Francisco Matheus da Silva Sales; Email: matheussalles07@gmail.com
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Summary

The rapid advancement of satellite-based monitoring technologies and niche modelling present unprecedented opportunities to enhance conservation efforts, especially over large areas, yet their practical application in guiding conservation strategies remains limited. This study examines how land-use changes affect ant diversity in the Acre River basin, south-western Brazilian Amazon. Using niche modelling with climatic, environmental and land-use data, we examined species distributions for three ant guilds – forest specialists, generalists and open-habitat specialists – across 1985, 2019 and 2050. The results show that forest specialists are concentrated in the eastern regions but are projected to decline, while open-habitat specialists – dominant in the south-west – are expected to increase in distribution. Generalists displayed broader, stable distributions. These patterns highlight the critical role of forest conservation in preserving the diversity of forest-specialist species and the threat posed by Amazon forest conversion, and they point to the need for strategic landscape planning to mitigate deforestation impacts.

Keywords

Biogeographybioindicatorsenvironmental changesforest conversionFormicidaespecies niche modelling

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Type
Research Paper
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Environmental Conservation , First View , pp. 1 - 7
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© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Foundation for Environmental Conservation

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