Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in different green areas in the metropolitan region of Salvador, Bahia state, Brazil

One of the main causes for biodiversity loss is urbanization, mostly due to city growth in highly diverse areas and priority conservation areas, such as the Atlantic Forest. Some of the major motivations for the conservation of urban biodiversity, include the preservation of local diversity, the protection of important populations and rare species, as well as the provision of ecosystem services. To achieve this, it is essential to understand species diversity and distribution in urban areas. In urban environments, green areas are important habitats for conservation as they house a large number of species Ants were collected in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, between April and June 2019 at 62 sample points (SP). At each sample point we removed an area of leaf litter of size 50 x 50cm and installed a bait line as described below. Four green area categories were sampled: fragment (25 samples), road median strip (18), squares (13) and vacant lots (6), totaling 62 samples. The SPs were at least 100 meters apart.