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Abstract:

Ants of the genus Pheidole are important seed consumers in several desert ecosystems. In South American deserts, although several Pheidole spp. have been characterized as seed harvesters, studies on their diet and ecological role are still missing. Pheidole spininodis (Mayr) and Pheidole bergi (Mayr) are capable of removing seeds in the central Monte desert. The aim of this study was to quantify and compare the diet of these species and to interpret the results in the context of seed-granivore interactions. Diet was estimated during mid-summer by collecting items brought back to the nest by foragers in ten colonies per species. While P. spininodis was mainly granivorous, P. bergi was mainly insectivorous. However, they both collected ~40% of other types of items. Among seeds, the diet of P. spininodis included mostly grass seeds, whereas the diet of P. bergi was mainly made up of shrub and tree seeds, usually retrieved cooperatively. This behavior allowed P. bergi to carry larger seeds, resulting in diet partitioning in terms of seed size. However, diet of P. spininodis is very similar to that of three sympatric Pogonomyrmex species. Thus, specialized harvester ants remove large quantities of grass seeds in the central Monte desert during the summer, potentially affecting their abundance in the soil seed bank. P. bergi directs its feeding pressure to shrub and tree seeds, and although seeds constitute ~10% of its diet, its high colony density and high activity levels, added to the lower proportion of large seeds in the soil seed bank, indicate that their importance as seed consumers cannot be ruled out. © Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel/Switzerland 2009.

Registro:

Documento: Artículo
Título:Diet of two sympatric Pheidole spp. ants in the central Monte desert: Implications for seed-granivore interactions
Autor:Pirk, G.I.; di Pasquo, F.; de Casenave, J.L.
Filiación:Laboratorio Ecotono, INIBIOMA, CONICET-Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Pasaje Gutiérrez 1125, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
Grupo de Investigación en Ecología de Comunidades de Desierto (ECODES), Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, FCEyN, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Palabras clave:Cooperative retrieval; Desert communities; Granivory; Pheidole bergi; Pheidole spininodis; Trophic ecology; abundance; ant; desert; diet; granivory; plant-herbivore interaction; seed bank; sympatry; Argentina; Mendoza; Monte Desert; Formicidae; Pheidole; Pheidole bergi; Pheidole spininodis; Pogonomyrmex
Año:2009
Volumen:56
Número:3
Página de inicio:277
Página de fin:283
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00040-009-0021-5
Título revista:Insectes Sociaux
Título revista abreviado:Insectes Sociaux
ISSN:00201812
CODEN:INSOA
Registro:https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00201812_v56_n3_p277_Pirk

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Citas:

---------- APA ----------
Pirk, G.I., di Pasquo, F. & de Casenave, J.L. (2009) . Diet of two sympatric Pheidole spp. ants in the central Monte desert: Implications for seed-granivore interactions. Insectes Sociaux, 56(3), 277-283.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00040-009-0021-5
---------- CHICAGO ----------
Pirk, G.I., di Pasquo, F., de Casenave, J.L. "Diet of two sympatric Pheidole spp. ants in the central Monte desert: Implications for seed-granivore interactions" . Insectes Sociaux 56, no. 3 (2009) : 277-283.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00040-009-0021-5
---------- MLA ----------
Pirk, G.I., di Pasquo, F., de Casenave, J.L. "Diet of two sympatric Pheidole spp. ants in the central Monte desert: Implications for seed-granivore interactions" . Insectes Sociaux, vol. 56, no. 3, 2009, pp. 277-283.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00040-009-0021-5
---------- VANCOUVER ----------
Pirk, G.I., di Pasquo, F., de Casenave, J.L. Diet of two sympatric Pheidole spp. ants in the central Monte desert: Implications for seed-granivore interactions. Insectes Sociaux. 2009;56(3):277-283.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00040-009-0021-5