A meta-analysis of the effects of natural land use to anthropogenic land use on ant richness and abundance
Formicidae, Brazil, tropical biomes, land use change, diversity, systematic review
1. The conversion of natural land uses to anthropogenic land uses is one of the biggest causes of terrestrial biodiversity loss, especially in tropical ecosystems. In Brazil, a country that harbors six different biomes and one of the largest ant diversities, the increasing conversion of land uses is causing negative impacts on biodiversity.
2. Here, we aim to synthesize the effects of the conversion of natural land uses to anthropogenic land uses on ants in Brazil through a systematic review. We followed the PRISMA Eco-Evo methodology and conducted a qualitative review of studies, as well as a meta-analysis on the effects on ant richness and abundance.
3. We found that most studies are conducted in the Amazon, Atlantic Forest, and Cerrado biomes, and that the conversion of natural land uses to anthropogenic land uses in these biomes decreases ant richness, especially in more intense conversions, such as forest to pasture. For abundance, we only found a decrease with the conversion of savanna to conventional agriculture.
4. The main factor behind this diversity decrease is probably caused by ecological filters, where the change from a highly diverse and heterogeneous ecosystem to simpler habitats filters only a few more generalist species.
5. With our results, we were able to synthesize most studies on the effects of the conversion of natural land uses to anthropogenic land uses on ants in Brazil, identifying negative effects mainly on richness, as well as identifying knowledge gaps such as few studies evaluating ecosystem functions.