Inventory of Ant Fauna in the Influence Area of a Small Hydropower Plant in the State of Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

The construction of hydroelectric dams for power generation causes environmental alterations and ecosystem restructuring in directly and indirectly affected areas. This study aimed to survey the ant fauna in the indirect area of influence of a small hydroelectric plant located in Mangueirinha, Paraná State, Brazil. Seven sampling campaigns were conducted, two before and five during the project’s implementation, using pitfall traps as the sampling method. A total of 72 ant species were recorded, belonging to 26 genera and six subfamilies. Species richness and abundance did not differ significantly between the pre-implementation and implementation phases. The Chao1 estimator indicated that actual species richness may be approximately 7.6% higher than observed. These findings contribute to understanding ant biodiversity in areas subject to land-use change in Paraná State. The results highlight the value of using insect species richness and abundance, particularly of bioindicator groups such as ants, for environmental impact monitoring.

Keywords

Bioindicators / Diversity / Environmental impact / Power production / Richness

Acknowledgments

To the Community University of Chapecó Region, Unochapecó, for research support.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, J.A.L., M.C.d.F. and L.B.; Methodology, J.A.L. and C.I.; Software, J.A.L. and C.I.; Validation J.A.L., C.I., M.C.d.F., L.B., C.J.L., C.G, M.A.B., D.R.H., A.F. and M.E.M.C.; Formal Analysis, J.A.L. and C.I.; Investigation, J.A.L., C.I., M.C.d.F., L.B., C.J.L., C.G, M.A.B. and D.R.H.; Resources, J.A.L., M.C.d.F. and L.B.; Data Curation, J.A.L. and C.I.; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, J.A.L., C.I., M.C.d.F., L.B., C.J.L., C.G, M.A.B., D.R.H., A.F. and M.E.M.C.; Writing—Review & Editing, J.A.L., C.I., M.C.d.F., L.B., C.J.L., C.G, M.A.B., D.R.H., A.F. and M.E.M.C.; Visualization, J.A.L., C.I., M.C.d.F., L.B., C.J.L., C.G, M.A.B., D.R.H., A.F. and M.E.M.C.; Supervision, J.A.L.; Project Administration, J.A.L.; Funding Acquisition, M.C.d.F. and L.B.

Ethics Statement

This study was authorized by the Paraná Environmental Institute (IAP) “Authorization for activities with scientific purpose” # 35378 as of 31 October 2013.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Not applicable.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could haveappeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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