ABOUT US
Sampling, Conservation and Identification of Amazonian Ants is a regional initiative, involving researchers interested in ant biodiversity, that aims to generate the most complete biodiversity dimensions of Formicidae in the Amazonia Basin. The team plans to survey ants in Amazonia to build a detailed database of ant occurrences in the largest tropical forest on earth.
GOALS
We propose to assemble and to keep updated a comprehensive distributional data set for ants in Amazonia. The resulting database will provide a robust framework for addressing questions about macroecology, trait and phylogenetic diversities of ants in Amazonia. We will conduct a detailed analysis of ant diversity in the Amazonia Basin, through sampling in several sites across the Brazilian Amazonia. We expected to fill gaps in Wallacean, Linnean and Raunkiæran shortfalls of ants in Amazonia because our focus will be on sampling, identification, species traits and ant collections.
Further, our database will improve use of ants as bioindicators in programs of ecological restoration in Amazonia, and therefore, contributing for conservation of its biodiversity. Finally, SCIANTS is aimed at improving science communication for society, regarding the public understanding of biodiversity in Amazonia, coupled with information on exotic, urban, and threatened species. Science communication is an important skill for researchers, and we hope to make people aware of the importance of Amazonia in order to preserve the rainforest.
TEAM SCIANTS
ROGÉRIO R. SILVA
Zoologist, researcher in ecology and conservation. He is interested in studies on ant communities, including richness, distribution, functional and phylogenetic structure, with research applied to the conservation of ecosystems in the Amazon.
Areas of interest: taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of ants; ant collections; occurrence databases.
LÍVIA PIRES DO PRADO
Biologist, with a Ph.D. in Zoology and Evolution. Her research seeks to document and describe the diversity of ants in the Neotropical region, combining fieldwork and collections. Her professional goal is to combine the study of biodiversity with conservation actions.
Areas of interest: Neotropical ants; taxonomy; morphology; conservation; fieldwork; history of zoology; curation of collections; science outreach; occurrence databases.
JOUDELLYS ANDRADE-SILVA
Biologist and Ph.D. in Zoology. He has been studying ants since his under graduation, especially research focused on the diversity and ecology of these organisms. Currently, he is interested in understanding patterns and mechanisms of taxonomic and morphological diversity of ants and their distribution in large-size scale in the Amazon forest.
Areas of interest: taxonomic and functional diversity of ants; ecology and conservation; species distribution models; occurrence databases.
OTÁVIO GUILHERME M. SILVA
Biologist with a Master's Degree in Biotechnology and a Ph.D. in Zoology. Having worked on ant fauna in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, agroecosystems, and urban environments since his undergraduate studies, he now focuses his research on ant taxonomy and systematics.
Areas of interest: systematics, diversity, and evolution of Neotropical ants.
TAMIRES DE OLIVEIRA ANDRADE
Biologist, Master in bee systematics and taxonomy, and Ph.D. Student in Zoology at Universidade Federal do Pará. Currently, her research focuses on understanding the impact of climate change on the distribution of pollinating insect species in the Amazonia Rainforest.
Areas of interest: species distribution; climate change; pollinators; scientific communication.
PARTNERS
Several researchers make this project possible. They form a team in ant taxonomy and ant ecology, and they work with us on an ongoing journey of improvement of ant knowledge in Amazon:
CARLOS ROBERTO F. BRANDÃO - MZSP
FABRICIO B. BACCARO - UFAM
FERNANDO AUGUSTO SCHMIDT - UFAC
HILÁRIO P. LIMA- UEPA
ITANNA O. FERNANDES - UFAM/INPA
JACQUES H. DELABIE - UESC/CEPLAC
JOHN E. LATTKE - UFPR
JORGE LUIZ P. SOUZA - INMA
RAQUEL L. C. LIMA - UNAMA
RICARDO EDUARDO VICENTE - INMA
RODRIGO M. FEITOSA - UFPR
THIAGO J. IZZO - UFMT
CONTRIBUTORS
Currently, we are pleased to list as SCIANTS contributors the following team, supporting the project:
ANANZA M. RABELLO - UNIFESSPA
CÉSAR AUGUSTO C. FAVACHO - MPEG
EMELY LAIARA S. SIQUEIRA - MPEG
JÚLIO M. C. CHAUL - UFV
MÔNICA A. ULYSSÉA - MZSP
RONY PETERSON S. ALMEIDA - MPEG
EMÍLIA Z. ALBUQUERQUE - NMNH
FILIPE V. ARRUDA - INPP/MPEG
IRACENIR A. SANTOSE - UFOPA
WALMYR A. C. SANTOS JR. - MPEG
VIVIAN AYUMI F. NACAGAVA - UFMS
INSTITUTIONS
The SCIANTS initiative involves multiple research universities. We highlighted the following institutions:
IMAGERY
We are grateful to the photographers who kindly provided the images used on this website. Copyright of the images remain with the photographers and general use of SCIANTS photo archive is not allowed without prior authorization.
AARON M. ELLISON
LEO LANNA
CÉSAR A. FAVACHO
LÍVIA P. PRADO
EMELY L. S. SIQUEIRA
MÔNICA A. ULYSSÉA
FABIANO ALBERTONI
RAFFAELLO DI PONZIO
HILÁRIO PÓVOAS DE LIMA
RODRIGO M. FEITOSA
JÚLIO CHAUL
ROGÉRIO R. SILVA
HOW TO COLLABORATE
Contributor is any person interested in involvement with the SCIANTS. They represent a team of researchers cooperating and helping with the SCIANTS. The forms of contribution are many: sharing data, sending specimens for identification, spreading our project, sharing material for scientific outreach, sending images of ant species, and funding the project. See our contributor policy here.
CITING SCIANTS
WE SUPPORT THE USE OF THE SCIANTS DATA
To cite SCIANTS as an example:
Citation: SCIANTS. Version 1.0. Online at https://www.sciants.org. Accessed <date>.
The ‘Accessed’ data should be the date you accessed the content, in ‘day Month Year’ format.
If you have any questions regarding the SCIANTS, please don’t hesitate and write to us!
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