This work aimed to evaluate the ant species occurring in an area degraded by diamond mining, defining the bioindicators of this degradation. The present study was conducted bimonthly in the municipality of Poxoréu, Mato Grosso state, between June 2010 and April 2011. Four environments were sampled: A1 - area degraded by mining, A2 - area of Cerrado vegetation with recent anthropic activities, A3 - area of Cerrado disturbed approximately 30 years ago, and A4 - area of preserved Cerrado. In each environment, 11 pitfall traps, equidistant 15 meters, were installed to collect ants for 24 hours. The individuals were taken to the Laboratory of Forest Protection/FENF/UFMT and screened for later identification. The bioindicator species were indicated by faunal analysis. The ant species Camponotus (Myrmaphaenus) sp.1 and Forelius brasiliensis can be considered bioindicators of environmental degradation in the areas of diamond mining and human disturbance, while the species Camponotus atriceps, Pachycondyla crassinoda and Paraponera clavata can be considered bioindicators in the preserved Cerrado area.
biological indicators; mining; Cerrado