Leaf litter-dwelling ant (Formicidae) diversity in a tropical rainforest and agro-forestry system, South Region of Cameroon: Implications for conservation management

Abstract

The future of tropical rain forests has never been more uncertain, as many of these forests are being rapidly destroyed and degraded through various forms of human impact, such as infrastructure development and agricultural expansion. Ant species were sampled at five habitat types to determine the effect of land-use on their diversity and composition. Four methods were used to sample ant specimens bi-monthly from November 2015 to June 2017. A total of 306 ant species, belonging to 11 subfamilies were recorded. Shannon-Wiener’s index indicated that the highest diversity occurred in the forest habitat 209 with Shannon index equal to 4.4. Significant differences value were observed between the banana farm and old cocoa farm, forest and young cocoa farm but not between the banana farm and palm grove; suggesting that ant diversity varied distinctly with land. Environmental management for conservation measures in the study area aimed to preserve sufficient vegetation that varies in diversity, physiognomy and complexity, as well as an herbaceous layer that allows the accumulation of litter favorable to the development of myrmecofauna.