Check list of ground - dwelling ant diversity ( Hymenoptera : Formicidae ) of the Iguazú National Park with a comparison at regional scale

The Atlantic Forest (AF) of South America houses 7% of the world’s species making it one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet (Quintela, 1990 in Stevens & Husband, 1998). In addition to its high biodiversity, the AF is also characterized by high levels of endemism placing it among the world’s highest priorities for conservation (Myers et al., 2000; Galindo-Leal & Câmara, 2003). The AF is considered one of the most endangered tropical rainforests because habitat loss and fragmentation due to agriculture and urbanization which has resulted in a drastic reduction in area (Olson & Dinesteirn, 2002; Di Bitetti et al., 2003; Ribeiro et al., 2009). Presently, only 6% of its original extent of 1,000,000 km2 remains along the east coast of Brazil, in Misiones province in northeastern Argentina, and in eastern Paraguay (Galindo-Leal & Câmara, Abstract We describe the ant fauna of Iguazú National Park (INP), a region of high biodiversity and endemism in northeastern Argentina that includes the southernmost protected area of the Atlantic Forest (AF). Ants were sampled over seven periods from 1998 to 2011 using a variety of techniques. We also surveyed museum collections and the scientific literature to obtain additional records of ants from INP. In addition to providing a species list, we compare ant composition of INP to other sites in the Upper Paraná, Serra do Mar Coastal Forest and Araucaria ecoregion of AF. A total of 172 ant species belonging to 56 genera are reported; 56 species are new records for Misiones Province and 39 species are reported from Argentina for the first time. Alto Paraná and Canindeyú departments in Paraguay present the most similar ant fauna to INP. Serra da Bodoquena in Brazil and Pilcomayo in Argentina showed higher similarity with the Upper Paraná AF ecoregion, despite that Serra da Bodoquena is composed of a mix of ecoregions. Ant diversity was lower in Upper Paraná than in Serra do Mar Coastal Forest ecoregion. This difference may result from higher primary productivity and a greater altitudinal variation in the coastal region. Sociobiology An international journal on social insects