ATLANTIC ANTS: a data set of ants in Atlantic Forests of South America
Rogério Rosa da Silva, Felipe Martello, Rodrigo M. Feitosa, Otávio Guilherme Morais da Silva, Lívia Pires do Prado, Carlos Roberto Ferreira Brandão, Emília Z. Albuquerque, Maria Santina de Castro Morini, Jacques Hubert Charles Delabie, Erison Carlos dos Santos Monteiro, Agripino Emanuel Oliveira Alves, Alexander L. Wild, Alexander V. Christianini, Alexandre Arnhold, Alexandre Casadei‐Ferreira, Aline Machado Oliveira, Alvaro Doria dos Santos, Alvaro Galbán, Amanda Aparecida de Oliveira, Amanda Gomes Madureira Subtil, Amanda Martins Dias, A. E. de Carvalho Campos, Ana Maria Waldschimidt, André Victor Lucci Freitas, Andrea N. Ávalos, Andreas L. S. Meyer, Andrés F. Sánchez‐Restrepo, Andrew V. Suarez, Anselmo Souza Santos, Antônio C. M. Queiroz, Antônio José Mayhé-Nunes, Ariel da Cruz Reis, Benedito Cortês Lopes, Benoît Guénard, Bhrenno Maykon Trad, Bianca Caitano, Boris Yagound, Brenda Pereira‐Silva, Brian L. Fisher, Brisa Lunar Patrício Tavares, Bruna Borges Moraes, Bruno K. C. Filgueiras, Carin Guarda, Carla R. Ribas, Carlos Eduardo Cereto, Carlos Eduardo Lustosa Esbérard, Carlos Ernesto Gonçalves Reynaud Schaefer, Carolina Paris, Cecília Bueno, Chaim J. Lasmar, Cinthia B. Costa‐Milanez, Cladis Juliana Lutinski, Claudia Ortiz-Sepulveda, Claudia Tiemi Wazema, Cléa dos Santos Ferreira Mariano, Corina A. Barrera, Cristian L. Klunk, Daniel Oliveira Santana, Darío Daniel Larrea, Débora Cristina Rother, Débora Rodrigues de Souza‐Campana, Débora Y. Kayano, Diego Lemos Alves, Diego Santana Assis, Diego V. Anjos, Eder Cleyton Barbosa França, Eduardo dos Santos, Elisangela A. Silva, Éliton Vieira Santos, Elmo Borges de Azevêdo Koch, Emely Laiara Silva Siqueira, E. Almeida, Erica dos Santos Araujo, Erick Villarreal, Erin L. Becker, Ernesto de Oliveira Canedo‐Júnior, Esperidião Alves dos Santos-Neto, Evan P. Economo, Évellyn Silva Araújo‐oliveira, Fabiana Cuezzo, Fabrício Severo Magalhães, Felipe Marcel Neves, Félix Baumgarten Rosumek, Fernanda Emanuela Dorneles, Fernando Barbosa Noll, Filipe Viegas de Arruda, Flávia A. Esteves, Flávio Nunes Ramos, Flávio Roberto Mello García, Flávio Siqueira de Castro, Francisco Javier Díaz Serna, Frederico Rottgers Marcineiro, Frederico S. Neves, Gabriela B. Nascimento, Gabriela de Figueiredo Jacintho, Gabriela P. Camacho, Genésio Tâmara Ribeiro, Giselle Martins Lourenço, Glória Ramos Soares, G Castilho
Abstract
Ants, an ecologically successful and numerically dominant group of animals, play key ecological roles as soil engineers, predators, nutrient recyclers, and regulators of plant growth and reproduction in most terrestrial ecosystems. Further, ants are widely used as bioindicators of the ecological impact of land use. We gathered information of ant species in the Atlantic Forest of South America. The ATLANTIC ANTS data set, which is part of the ATLANTIC SERIES data papers, is a compilation of ant records from collections (18,713 records), unpublished data (29,651 records), and published sources (106,910 records; 1,059 references), including papers, theses, dissertations, and book chapters published from 1886 to 2020. In total, the data set contains 153,818 ant records from 7,636 study locations in the Atlantic Forest, representing 10 subfamilies, 99 genera, 1,114 ant species identified with updated taxonomic certainty, and 2,235 morphospecies codes. Our data set reflects the heterogeneity in ant records, which include ants sampled at the beginning of the taxonomic history of myrmecology (the 19th and 20th centuries) and more recent ant surveys designed to address specific questions in ecology and biology. The data set can be used by researchers to develop strategies to deal with different macroecological and region-wide questions, focusing on assemblages, species occurrences, and distribution patterns. Furthermore, the data can be used to assess the consequences of changes in land use in the Atlantic Forest on different ecological processes. No copyright restrictions apply to the use of this data set, but we request that authors cite this data paper when using these data in publications or teaching events.