Almeida, W. R., Wirth, R. and Leal, I. R. (2008). Edge-mediated reduction of phorid parasitism on leaf-cutting ants in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 129, 251–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Arroyo-Rodríguez, V., Melo, F. P. L., Martínez-Ramos, M., Bongers, F., Chazdon, R. L., Meave, J. A., Norden, N., Santos, B. A., Leal, I. R. and Tabarelli, M. (2017). Multiple successional pathways in human-modified tropical landscapes: new insights from forest succession, forest fragmentation and landscape ecology research. Biological Reviews, 92, 326–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Backé, J. (2015). Lebensgemeinschaften von Blattschneider-ameisen und ihre Rolle als Ökosystemingenieure unter dem Einfluss von Klimawandel und menschlicher Störung in der brasilianischen Caatinga. MSc thesis, University of Kaiserslautern, Germany.Google Scholar

Barrera, C. A., Buffa, L. M., Valladares, G. (2015). Do leaf-cutting ants benefit from forest fragmentation? Insights from community and species-specific responses in a fragmented dry forest. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 8, 456–463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Basset, Y., Cizek, L., Cuenoud, P. et al. (2012). Arthropod diversity in a tropical forest. Science, 338, 1481–1484.Google Scholar

Beattie, A. J. (1985). The Evolutionary Ecology of Ant-Plant Mutualisms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Belnap, J. and Lange, O. L. (2001). Biological soil crusts: structure, function, and management. Ecological Studies, 150, 2nd edition. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: Springer.Google Scholar

Bieber, A. G. D., Oliveira, M. A., Wirth, R., Tabarelli, M. and Leal, I. R. (2011). Do abandoned nests of leaf-cutting ants enhance plant recruitment in the Atlantic Forest? Austral Ecology, 36, 220–232.Google Scholar

Broadbent, E.N., Asner, G.P., Keller, M., Knapp, D.E., Oliveira, P.J.C. and Silva, J.N. (2008). Forest fragmentation and edge effects from deforestation and selective logging in the Brazilian Amazon. Biological Conservation, 141, 1745–1757.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Ceballos, G. and García, A. (1995). Conserving neotropical biodiversity: the role of dry forests in western Mexico. Conservation Biology, 9, 1349–1356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Cherrett, J. M. (1989). Leaf-cutting ants. In Ecosystems of the World (eds. Lieth, H. and Werger, M. J. A.). Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 473–486.Google Scholar

Coley, P. D. (1980). Effects of leaf age and plant life history patterns on herbivory. Nature, 284, 545–546.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Coley, P. D., and Barone, J. A. (1996). Herbivory and plant defenses in tropical forests. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 27, 305–335.Google Scholar

Coley, P. D., Bryant, J. P. and ChapinIII, F. S. (1985). Resource availability and plant anti-herbivore defense. Science, 230, 895–899.Google Scholar

Corrêa, M. M., Silva, P. S. D., Wirth, R., Tabarelli, M. and Leal, I. R. (2010). How leaf-cutting ants impact forests: drastic nest effects on light environment and plant assemblages. Oecologia, 162, 103–115.Google Scholar

Corrêa, M. M., Silva, P. S. D., Wirth, R., Tabarelli, M. and Leal, I. R. (2016). Foraging activity of leaf-cutting ants changes light availability and plant assemblage in Atlantic Forest. Ecological Entomology, 41, 442–450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Costa, A. N., Vasconcelos, H. L., Vieira-Neto, E. H. M. and Bruna, E. M. (2008). Do herbivores exert top-down effects in Neotropical savannas? Journal of Vegetation Science, 19, 849–854.Google Scholar

Costa, U. A. S., Pinto, S. R. R., Silva, F. A., Oliveira, M., Agra, D. B., Marques, E. and Leal, I. R. (2013). O papel das formigas como dispersores secundários de sementes na Floresta Atlântica Nordestina. In Serra Grande: uma floresta de idéias (eds. Tabarelli, M., Aguiar Neto, A. V., Leal, I. R. and Lopes, A. V.). Recife: Editora Universitária da UFPE, pp. 415–438.Google Scholar

De Fine Licht, H. H. and Boomsma, J. J. (2010). Forage collection, substrate preparation, and diet composition in fungus-growing ants. Ecological Entomology, 35, 259–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

De Fine Licht, H. H., Schiott, M., Rogowska-Wrzesinska, A., Nygaard, S., Roepstorff, P. and Boomsma, J. J. (2013). Laccase detoxification mediates the nutritional alliance between leaf-cutting ants and fungus-garden symbionts. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110, 583–587.Google Scholar

Dohm, C., Leal, I. R., Tabarelli, M., Meyer, S. T. and Wirth, R. (2011). Leaf-cutting ants proliferate in the Amazon: an expected response to forest edge? Journal of Tropical Ecology, 27, 645–649.Google Scholar

Falcão, P. F., Pinto, S. R. R., Wirth, R. and Leal, I. R. (2011). Edge-induced narrowing of dietary diversity in leaf-cutting ants. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 101, 305–311.Google Scholar

Farji-Brener, A. G. (1996). Posibles vías de expansión de la hormiga cortadora de hojas Acromyrmex lobicornis hacia la Patagonia. Ecología Austral, 6, 144–150.Google Scholar

Farji-Brener, A. G. (2001). Why are leaf-cutting ants more common in early secondary forests than in old-growth tropical forests? An evaluation of the palatable forage hypothesis. Oikos, 92, 169–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Farji-Brener, A. G. and Ghermandi, L. (2008). Leaf-cutting ant nests near roads increase fitness of exotic plant species in natural protected areas. Proceedings of the Royal Society B –Biological Sciences, 275, 1431–1440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Farji-Brener, A. G. and Illes, A. E. (2000). Do leaf-cutting ant nests make ‘bottom-up’ gaps in Neotropical rain forests? A critical review of the evidence. Ecology Letters, 3, 219–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Farji-Brener, A. G., Lescano, N. and Ghermandi, L. (2010). Ecological engineering by a native leaf-cutting ant increases the performance of exotic plant species. Oecologia, 163, 163–169.Google Scholar

Farji-Brener, A. G. and Ruggiero, A. (1994). Leaf-cutting ants (Atta and Acromyrmex) inhabitating Argentina: patterns in species richness and geographical range sizes. Journal of Biogeography, 21, 391–399.Google Scholar

Farji-Brener, A. G. and Silva, J. (1995). Leaf-cutting ants and forest groves in a tropical parkland savanna of Venezuela: facilitated succession? Journal of Tropical Ecology, 11, 651–669.Google Scholar

Farji-Brener, A. G. and Silva, J. (1996). Leaf-cutter ants’ (Atta laevigata) aid to the establishment success of Tapirira velutinifolia (Anacardiaceae) seedlings in a parkland savanna? Journal of Tropical Ecology, 12, 163–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Farji-Brener, A. G. and Werenkraut, V. (2015). A meta-analysis of leaf-cutting ant nest effects on soil fertility and plant performance. Ecological Entomology, 40,150–158.Google Scholar

Fowler, H. G. and Claver, S. (1991). Leaf-cutter ant assemblies: effects of latitude, vegetation, and behavior. In Ant-Plant Interactions (eds. Huxley, C. R. and Cutler, D. F.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 51–59.Google Scholar

Fowler, H. G., Pagani, M. I., Silva, O. A., Forti, L. C. and Sales, N. B. (1989). A pest is a pest is a pest? The dilemma of neotropical leaf-cutting ants: keystone taxa of natural ecosystems. Environmental Management, 13, 671–675.Google Scholar

Fowler, H. G., Pereira da Silva, V., Forti, L. C., Saes, N. B. (1986). Population dynamics of leaf-cutting ants: a brief review. In Fire Ants and Leaf-Cutting Ants: Ecology and Management (eds. Lofgren, C. S. and Vander Meer, R. K.). Boulder: Westview Press, pp. 123–145.Google Scholar

Garrettson, M., Stetzel, J. F., Halpern, B. S., Hearn, D. J., Lucey, B. T. and McKone, M. J. (1998). Diversity and abundance of understory plants on active and abandoned nests of leaf-cutting ants (Atta cephalotes) in a Costa Rican rain forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 14, 17–26.Google Scholar

Girão, L. C., Lopes, A. V., Tabarelli, M. and Bruna, E. M. (2007). Changes in tree reproductive traits reduce functional diversity in a fragmented Atlantic Forest landscape. PLoS ONE, 2, e908.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Grau, H. R., Gasparri, N. I. and Aide, T. M. (2008). Balancing food production and nature conservation in the neotropical dry forests of northern Argentina. Global Change Biology, 14, 985–997.Google Scholar

Harvey, C. A., Komar, O., Chazdon, R. et al. (2008). Integrating agricultural landscapes with biodiversity conservation in the Mesoamerican hotspot. Conservation Biology, 22, 8–15.Google Scholar

Herz, H., Beyschlag, W. and Hölldobler, B. (2007). Herbivory rate of leaf-cutting ants in a tropical moist forest in Panama at the population and ecosystem scales. Biotropica, 39, 482–488.Google Scholar

Hölldobler, B. and Wilson, E. O. (1990). The Ants. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar

Hölldobler, B. and Wilson, E. O. (2011). The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct. London: W.W. Norton.Google Scholar

Joly, C. A., Metzger, J. P. and Tabarelli, M. (2014). Experiences from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: ecological findings and conservation initiatives.New Phytologist, 204, 459–473.Google Scholar

Kauffman, B., SanfordJr., R. L., Cummings, D. L., Salcedo, I. H. and Sampaio, E. V. S. B. (1993). Biomass and nutrient dynamics associated with slash fires in neotropical dry forests. Ecology, 74, 140–151.Google Scholar

Kost, C., Gama de Oliveira, E., Knoch, T. and Wirth, R. (2005). Temporal and spatial patterns, plasticity, and ontogeny of foraging trails in leaf-cutting ants. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 21, 677–688.Google Scholar

Landsberg, J. and Ohmart, C. (1989). Levels of insect defoliation in forests: patterns and concepts. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 4, 96–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Laurance, W. F., Nascimento, H. E. M., Laurance, S. G. et al. (2006). Rain forest fragmentation and the proliferation of successional trees. Ecology, 87, 469–482.Google Scholar

Laurance, W. F., Sayer, J. and Cassman, K. G. (2014). Agricultural expansion and its impacts on tropical nature. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 29, 107–116.Google Scholar

Leal, I. R., Silva, J. M. C., Tabarelli, M. and Lacher, T. E. (2005). Changing the course of biodiversity conservation in the Caatinga of Northeastern Brazil. Conservation Biology, 19, 701–706.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Leal, I. R., Wirth, R., Tabarelli, M. (2014a). The multiple impacts of leaf-cutting ants and their novel ecological role in human-modified neotropical forests. Biotropica, 46, 516–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Leal, L. C., Andersen, A. N. and Leal, I. R. (2014b). Anthropogenic disturbance reduces seed dispersal services for myrmecochorous plants in the Brazilian Caatinga. Oecologia, 174, 173–181.Google Scholar

Leal, L. C., Andersen, A. N., Leal, I. R. (2015). Disturbance winners or losers? Plants bearing extrafloral nectaries in Brazilian Caatinga. Biotropica, 47, 468–474.Google Scholar

Lôbo, D., Leão, T., Melo, F. P. L., Santos, A. M. M. and Tabarelli, M. (2011). Forest fragmentation drives Atlantic Forest of northeastern Brazil to biotic homogenization. Diversity and Distribution, 17, 287–296.Google Scholar

Melo, F. P. L., Arroyo-Rodríguez, V., Fahrig, L., Martínez-Ramos, M. and Tabarelli, M. (2013). On the hope for biodiversity-friendly tropical landscapes. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 28, 461–468.Google Scholar

Meyer, S. T., Leal, I. R., Tabarelli, M. and Wirth, R. (2011a). Ecosystem engineering by leaf-cutting ants: nests of Atta cephalotes drastically alter forest structure and microclimate. Ecological Entomology, 36, 14–24.Google Scholar

Meyer, S. T., Leal, I. R., Tabarelli, M. and Wirth, R. (2011b). Performance and fate of tree seedlings on and around nests of the leaf-cutting ant Atta cephalotes: ecological filters in a fragmented forest. Austral Ecology, 36, 779–790.Google Scholar

Meyer, S. T., Leal, I. R. and Wirth, R. (2009). Persisting hyper-abundance of keystone herbivores (Atta spp.) at the edge of an old Brazilian Atlantic Forest fragment. Biotropica, 41, 711–716.Google Scholar

Meyer, S. T., Neubauer, M., Sayer, E. J., Leal, I. R., Tabarelli, M. and Wirth, R. (2013). Leaf-cutting ants as ecosystem engineers: topsoil and litter perturbations around Atta cephalotes nests reduce nutrient availability. Ecological Entomology, 38, 497–504.Google Scholar

Montoya-Lerma, J., Giraldo-Echeverri, C., Armbrecht, I., Farji-Brener, A. G. and Calle, Z. (2012). Leaf-cutting ants revisited: towards rational management and control. International Journal of Pest Management, 58, 225–247.Google Scholar

Moreira, A. A, Forti, L. C., Andrade, A. P. P., Boaretto, M. A. C. and Lopes, J. F. S. (2004a). Nest architecture of Atta laevigata (F. Smith 1858) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment, 39, 109–116.Google Scholar

Moreira, A. A., Forti, L. C., Boaretto, M. A. C., Andrade, A. P. P., Lopes, J. F. S. and Ramos, V. M. (2004b). External and internal structure of Atta bisphaerica Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) nests. Journal of Applied Entomology, 128, 204–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Mueller, U. G., Rehner, S. A. and Schultz, T. R. (1998). The evolution of agriculture in ants. Science, 281, 2034–2038.Google Scholar

Pennington, R.T., Lavin, M. and Oliveira-Filho, A. (2009). Woody plant diversity, evolution, and ecology in the tropics: perspectives from seasonally dry tropical forests. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 40, 437–57.Google Scholar

Pereira, I. M., Andrade, L. A., Sampaio, E. V. S. B. and Barbosa, M. R. V. (2003). Use-history effects on structure and flora of Caatinga. Biotropica, 35, 154–165.Google Scholar

Ramos, M. A. and Albuquerque, U. P. (2012). The domestic use of firewood in rural communities of the Caatinga: how seasonality interferes with patterns of firewood collection. Biomass and Bioenergy, 39, 147–158.Google Scholar

Rosenthal, J. P. and Kotanen, P. M. (1994). Terrestrial plant tolerance to herbivory. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 9,145–148.Google Scholar

Sampaio, E. V. S. B. (1995). Overview of the Brazilian Caatinga. In Seasonally Dry Forests (eds. Bullock, S. H., Mooney, H. A. and Medina, E.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 35–58.Google Scholar

Santos, B. A., Peres, C. A., Oliveira, M. A., Grillo, A. S., Alves-Costa, C. P. and Tabarelli, M. (2008). Drastic erosion in functional attributes of tree assemblages in Atlantic Forest fragments of northeastern Brazil. Biological Conservation, 141, 249–260.Google Scholar

Santos, B. A., Tabarelli, M., Melo, F.P. L. et al. (2014). Phylogenetic impoverishment of Amazonian tree communities in an experimentally fragmented forest landscape. PLoS One, 9, e113109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Santos, J. C., Leal, I. R., Almeida-Cortez, J. S., Fernandes, G. W. and Tabarelli, M. (2011). Caatinga: the scientific anonymity experienced by a dry tropical forest. Tropical Conservation Science, 3, 276–286.Google Scholar

Schowalter, T. D., Hargrove, W. W. and CrossleyJr, D. A. (1986). Herbivory in forested ecosystems. Annual Review of Entomology, 31, 177–196.Google Scholar

Schultz, T. R. and Brady, S. G. (2008). Major evolutionary transitions in ant agriculture. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105, 5435–5440.Google Scholar

Shepherd, J. D. (1985). Adjusting foraging effort to resources in adjacent colonies of the leaf-cutting ant, Atta colombica. Biotropica, 17, 245–252.Google Scholar

Silva, P. S. D., Bieber, A. G. D., Knoch, T. A., Tabarelli, M., Leal, I. R. and Wirth, R. (2013). Foraging in highly dynamic environments: leaf-cutting ants adjust foraging trail networks to pioneer plant availability. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 147, 110–119.Google Scholar

Silva, P. S. D., Bieber, A. G. D., Leal, I. R., Wirth, R. and Tabarelli, M. (2009). Decreasing abundance of leaf-cutting ants across a chronosequence of advancing Atlantic Forest regeneration. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 25, 223–227.Google Scholar

Silva, P. S. D., Leal, I. R., Wirth, R., Melo, P. F. L. and Tabarelli, M. (2012). Leaf-cutting ants alter seedling assemblages across second-growth stands of Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 28, 361–368.Google Scholar

Singh, S. P. (1998). Chronic disturbance, a principal cause of environmental degradation in developing countries. Environmental Conservation, 25, 1–2.Google Scholar

Sobrinho, M. S., Tabarelli, M., Machado, I. C., Sfair, J., Bruna, E. M. and Lopes, A. V. (2016). Land use, fallow period and the recovery of a Caatinga forest. Biotropica, doi: 10.1111/btp.12334.Google Scholar

Tabarelli, M., Aguiar, A. V., Ribeiro, M. C., Metzger, J. P. and Peres, C. A. (2010). Prospects for biodiversity conservation in the Atlantic Forest: lessons from aging human-modified landscapes. Biological Conservation, 143, 2328–2340.Google Scholar

Tabarelli, M., Lopes, A. V. and Peres, C. A. (2008). Edge-effects drive tropical forest fragments towards an early-successional system. Biotropica, 40, 657–661.Google Scholar

Tabarelli, M., Peres, C. A. and Melo, F. P. L. (2012). The ‘few winners and many losers’ paradigm revisited: emerging prospects for tropical forest biodiversity. Biological Conservation, 155, 136–140.Google Scholar

Tabarelli, M., Silva, J. M. C. and Gascon, C. (2004). Forest fragmentation, synergisms and the impoverishment of Neotropical forests. Biodiversity and Conservation, 13, 1419–1425.Google Scholar

Teixeira, M. C., Schroeder, J. H. and Mayhé-Nunes, A. J. (2003). Geographic distribution of Atta robusta Borgmeier (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Neotropical Entomology, 32, 719–721.Google Scholar

Terborgh, J., Lopez, L., Nuñez, V. P. et al. (2001). Ecological meltdown in predator-free forest fragments. Science, 294, 1923–1926.Google Scholar

Urbas, P., AraújoJr., M. V., Leal, I. R. and Wirth, R. (2007). Cutting more from cut forests: edge effects on foraging and herbivory of leaf-cutting ants in Brazil. Biotropica, 39, 489–495.Google Scholar

Vasconcelos, H. L. (1990). Habitat selection by the queens of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens L. in Brazil. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 6, 249–252.Google Scholar

Vasconcelos, H. L. and Fowler, H. G. (1990). Foraging and fungal substrate selection by leaf-cutting ants. In Applied Myrmecology – A World Perspective, (eds. Vander Meer, R. K., Jaffe, K., and Cedeno, A.). Boulder: Westview Press, pp. 411–419.Google Scholar

Vasconcelos, H. L., Vieira-Neto, E. H. M., Mundim, F. M. and Bruna, E. M. (2006). Roads alter the colonization dynamics of a keystone herbivore in Neotropical savannas. Biotropica, 38, 661–666.Google Scholar

Vieira-Neto, E. H. M. and Vasconcelos, H. L. (2010). Developmental changes in factors limiting colony survival and growth of the leaf-cutter ant Atta laevigata. Ecography, 33, 538–544.Google Scholar

Weber, N. A. (1966). Fungus growing ants. Science, 153, 587–604.Google Scholar

Wirth, R., Beyschlag, W., Herz, H., Ryel, R. J. and Hölldobler, B. (2003). Herbivory of leaf-cutter ants: a case study of Atta colombica in the tropical rainforest of Panama. Ecological Studies, 164. New York: Springer.Google Scholar

Wirth, R., Leal, I. R. and Tabarelli, M. (2008). Plant-herbivore interactions at the forest edge. Progress in Botany, 69, 423–448.Google Scholar

Wirth, R., Meyer, S. T., Almeida, W. R., Araujo Jr, M. V., Barbosa, V. S. and Leal, I. R. (2007). Increasing densities of leaf-cutting ants (Atta spp.) with proximity to the edge in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 23, 501–505.Google Scholar