ESTIMATIVA DE BIOMASSA DE FORMIGAS (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) EM MATAS CILIARES DA AMAZÔNIA ORIENTAL ANTS (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) BIOMASS ESTIMATION IN RIPARIAN FOREST OF EASTERN AMAZONIA

Bioindicators have been widely used to assess the environmental quality associated with anthropogenic land use systems, among them the density and biomass of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). The objective of this study was to estimate the biomass of 19 spe cies of ants (Hyemenoptera: Formicidae) of riparian forests in eastern Amazonia. Were used species of ants of the Soil Invertebrate Collection of Maranhao/CISMA/UEMA collected by TSBF method. To determine the gradual weight 10, 20 and 30 individuals by spe cie were washing in water for 5 minutes, instant drying on filter paper and later weighing on analytical balance in grams (g). The species Pachycondyla harpax, Cephalotes atratus and Ectatoma brunneum totaling 85.58% of the weight of the samples performed, considered the most abundant in the tropics and subtropics. Biomass of Hypoponera sp. 3 and Pachycondyla arhuaca was higher in the conserved forest suggesting that potential bioindicators of degradat ion of riparian forests.