Data from Queiroz et al.xlsx

Data from Queiroz et al Abstract Tropical studies present seasonal variation of insect richness, density, and changes in species composition. However, responses of assemblages to climate change associated with seasons may not follow the same patterns across ecosystems due to biotic and abiotic factors (e.g., resources and conditions). These idiosyncratic responses might be particularly true in Brazilian territory, a country with various environments and vegetation types across a vast geographical range that harbors one of the most diverse ant faunas in the world. This study addressed the relationship between ant diversity and seasonal variation using published data collected in Brazilian territory. Specifically, we tested the effect of the main seasons on ant abundance and richness. Seasonal patterns of diversity are poorly explored for ants in Brazil (53 from 416 studies published between 2000 and 2018). These studies were developed mainly in the Atlantic Forest biome, collected ants with Pitfall traps as a sampling method, and covered the soil/litter stratum. Considering all papers, doing a simple “vote-counting” (by comparisons of the number of significant results), authors find similar ant abundance, richness, and species composition between seasons, as often proposed in literature. However, when we performed a meta-analysis, we observed a clear pattern of seasonal variation, with higher ant abundance and richness in the wet/summer season. The low number of sampling events and years among the studies are the main methodological limitations preventing broader conclusions. Our systematic review, however, reveals the seasonality effect in reducing ant diversity on the dry season, especially in the Cerrado. Additionally, we point out that differences between biomes also indicate the need to explore seasonal effects among vegetation types in each biome.