Knowledge Resource Center for Ecological Environment in Arid Area
DOI | 10.1007/s11829-019-09696-x |
Stereotyped seed preferences of the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex mendozanus in the central Monte desert | |
Florencia Miretti, Maria1,2; Lopez de Casenave, Javier1,2; Pol, Rodrigo G.3,4 | |
通讯作者 | Florencia Miretti, Maria |
来源期刊 | ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS
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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. |
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