Relação entre a diversidade de cupins e as alterações existentes em áreas de caatinga, Sergipe, Brasil

Abstract

Termites can be considered important indicators for ecological monitoring and analyses, mainly for the Caatinga. This study was aimed to examine how the richness, abundance and composition of termites respond to anthropogenic changes in three areas of Caatinga, remaining in the hinterland of Sergipe. The study was conducted in two districts of the State, Sergipe, where three areas, with different levels of disturbance were selected, namely: Area A1 - pasture; A2 - scrub shrub; A3 - arboreal Caatinga. Each area was separated in twelve transects of 65 x 2 m, and each transect consisted of five plots of 5 x 2 m, where termites were collected in all possible microhabitats. After collection, the termites were properly stored and labeled. After the screening, termites were identified in generic level and, whenever possible, some samples were identified on a specific level. Termites were separated into trophic groups: wood-feeders, humusfeeders, litter-feeders, and soil/wood interface feeders. As environmental variables, soil samples were collected from each plot for subsequent particle size analysis, percent of moisture and soil pH. 180 samples of termites were collected and they were placed in three families, twelve genera and 16 species. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows significant differences in richness (F = 10.50, df = 2, p <0.05), and abundance (F = 12.70, df = 2, p <0.05) average per transect among study areas. The species accumulation curve, shows the richness of termites is affected by the degree of disturbance. Wood-feeders were the most abundant group and the area A3 was the only one that presented all trophic groups. The graph of the NMDS ordination shows no clear separation among the composition of termites and the composition of trophic groups, but the similarity analysis shows that areas have significant differences in species composition and trophic groups. All three environmental variables analyzed (moisture, pH and particle size) shows significant differences in some areas. PCA shows clear separation among areas and ANOVA of the first component shows that the areas are statistically different (F = 12.44, df = 2, p <0.001). Given the results presented, it was concluded that termites are good indicators of environmental quality in areas of Caatinga.