干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): Stereotyped seed preferences of the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex mendozanus in the central Monte desert

Arid

DOI	10.1007/s11829-019-09696-x
	Stereotyped seed preferences of the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex mendozanus in the central Monte desert
	Florencia Miretti, Maria 1,2; Lopez de Casenave, Javier 1,2; Pol, Rodrigo G.3,4
通讯作者	Florencia Miretti, Maria
来源期刊	ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS
ISSN	1872-8855
EISSN	1872-8847
出版年	2019
卷号	13 期号:5 页码:771-778
英文摘要	The harvester ant Pogonomyrmex mendozanus is endemic to the central Monte desert. In this region, extensive grazing reduces grass cover and seed abundance in the soil bank. In previous studies carried out in ungrazed areas, this ant species consumes and prefers seeds of perennial grasses over forbs and shrubs. However, in grazed habitats, P. mendozanus expands its diet by including seeds from other plant groups along with fruits, dead arthropods and other non-seed items. The broader diet could be due to a flexible foraging strategy or could reflect intrinsic, context-dependent food preferences of the populations inhabiting heavy grazed areas, different from those populations studied under ungrazed conditions. We carried out food preference experiments in heavy grazed areas in the central Monte desert in order to discriminate between both hypotheses. We performed choice experiments using a paired comparison design, offering seeds and non-seed food items present in the diet of P. mendozanus. Ants preferred large- and medium-sized perennial grass seeds and, among the non-seed food items, arthropods were preferred. Forb and shrub seeds along with fruits showed intermediate preference levels, whereas the least preferred items were small grass seeds and flowers. Food preferences were similar to those reported previously in ungrazed conditions, supporting the hypothesis that seed preferences are stereotyped in this species and strongly suggesting that it behaves as an expansive specialist by including less preferred items in its diet in heavy grazed habitats where the most preferred seeds are scarce.
英文关键词	Harvester ants Food preferences Context-dependence Ecological flexibility Grazing Granivory
类型	Article
语种	英语
国家	Argentina
收录类别	SCI-E
WOS记录号	WOS:000486232200008
WOS关键词	BEHAVIORAL-RESPONSES ; EATING BIRDS ; FEEDING PREFERENCES ; DOMINANCE ORDER ; BANKS ; DIET ; HYMENOPTERA ; SIZE ; VEGETATION ; RESOURCES
WOS类目	Ecology ; Entomology
WOS研究方向	Environmental Sciences & Ecology ; Entomology
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/214412
作者单位	1.Univ Buenos Aires, Fac Ciencias Exactas & Nat, Dept Ecol Genet & Evoluc, Desert Community Ecol Res Team Ecodes, Piso 4,Pabellon 2,Ciudad Univ,C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, DF, Argentina; 2.Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, IEGEBA, Piso 4,Pabellon 2,Ciudad Univ,C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, DF, Argentina; 3.Univ Nacl Cuyo, Fac Ciencias Exactas & Nat, Desert Community Ecol Res Team Ecodes, Mendoza, Argentina; 4.Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, IADIZA, Mendoza, Argentina
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Florencia Miretti, Maria,Lopez de Casenave, Javier,Pol, Rodrigo G.. Stereotyped seed preferences of the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex mendozanus in the central Monte desert[J],2019,13(5):771-778.
APA	Florencia Miretti, Maria,Lopez de Casenave, Javier,&Pol, Rodrigo G..(2019).Stereotyped seed preferences of the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex mendozanus in the central Monte desert.ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS,13(5),771-778.
MLA	Florencia Miretti, Maria,et al."Stereotyped seed preferences of the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex mendozanus in the central Monte desert".ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS 13.5(2019):771-778.