Abstract
Abstract: Wet enclaves of montane forests in Caatinga domain, locally known as "Brejos de Altitude", are associated with plateau at altitudes greater than 500 m a.s.l. and to orographic rainfall. Termite assemblage structures were studied in two areas of montane forest (Brejo de Altitude) located in the municipalities of Bezerros and São Vicente Ferrer, Pernambuco State, Brazil. Sampling was performed in 65 x 2 m transects, totaling 300 m2/per area; the densities of nests in each area were estimated using six 1300 m2 plots. A total of 35 morphospecies were recorded that belonged to 21 genera and three families, with 133 encounters. The soil-feeders feeding group predominated, followed by wood-feeders species. A total of five species constructing conspicuous nest were recorded in the two areas. The mean density of active conspicuous nests was 2.6 ± 6.3 nests/ha (mean ± sd) in Bezerros, and 21.8 ± 21.4 nests/ha in São Vicente Ferrer. Termite richness in the study areas were within the amplitude ranges recorded in other montane forests. Thus, the results presented here, combined with data from literature, reinforce need additional studies of the termite fauna in montane forest areas, once the "Brejos" are currently under high ecological pressure and their preservation is urgent.
Highlights
The Caatinga domain is a mosaic of spiny shrubs and seasonally dry tropical forests covering approximately 735,000 km2 in northeastern Brazil (Leal et al 2005)
Studies focusing on the phylogeography of anuran amphibians (Carnaval, 2002; Carnaval & Bates, 2007), reptile distributions (Borges-Nojosa & Caramaschi, 2003), arboreal physiognomy and diversity (Tavares et al, 2000; Rodal & Sales, 2008), and parsimony analyses of woody plant endemism (Santos et al, 2007) have all indicated that the areas have a biota with distinct characteristics between them
There were equal numbers of soil-feeders and wood-feeders termite species (41.7% each) in São Vicente Ferrer, with the soil-feeders demonstrating the greatest numbers of encounters (38.0%) (Figure 4)
Summary
The Caatinga domain is a mosaic of spiny shrubs and seasonally dry tropical forests covering approximately 735,000 km in northeastern Brazil (Leal et al 2005). Studies focusing on the phylogeography of anuran amphibians (Carnaval, 2002; Carnaval & Bates, 2007), reptile distributions (Borges-Nojosa & Caramaschi, 2003), arboreal physiognomy and diversity (Tavares et al, 2000; Rodal & Sales, 2008), and parsimony analyses of woody plant endemism (Santos et al, 2007) have all indicated that the areas have a biota with distinct characteristics between them These forests have high rates of endemism (Andrade-Lima, 1982), biological communities little known (Silva et al 2018), and there is a strong degradation of the original formation, being considered currently priority areas for the conservation of the biodiversity (Prado 2003; Silva et al 2018)
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