Evaluation of three techniques for the study of harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex spp.) diet

The estimation of an ant's diet is crucial in many ecological studies. Different techniques, which involve different assumptions and field procedures, have been used to estimate the composition of harvester ant diet. In this study, three techniques are compared for the estimation of the diet of...

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Autores principales: Pirk, G.I., De Casenave, J.L., Marone, L.
Formato: JOUR
Materias:
Argentina
Diet estimation
Monte desert
Pogonomyrmex
Sampling techniques
ant
comparative study
diet
estimation method
methodology
animal
article
feeding behavior
plant seed
Animals
Ants
Diet
Feeding Behavior
Research Design
Seeds
Mendoza
Monte Desert
South America
Formicidae
Pogonomyrmex inermis
Pogonomyrmex pronotalis
Pogonomyrmex rastratus
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_0046225X_v36_n5_p1092_Pirk
Aporte de:
Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA) de Universidad de Buenos Aires
id todo:paper_0046225X_v36_n5_p1092_Pirk
record_format dspace
spelling todo:paper_0046225X_v36_n5_p1092_Pirk2023-10-03T14:52:12Z Evaluation of three techniques for the study of harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex spp.) diet Pirk, G.I. De Casenave, J.L. Marone, L. Argentina Diet estimation Monte desert Pogonomyrmex Sampling techniques ant comparative study diet estimation method methodology animal ant article comparative study diet feeding behavior methodology plant seed Animals Ants Diet Feeding Behavior Research Design Seeds Argentina Mendoza Monte Desert South America Formicidae Pogonomyrmex Pogonomyrmex inermis Pogonomyrmex pronotalis Pogonomyrmex rastratus The estimation of an ant's diet is crucial in many ecological studies. Different techniques, which involve different assumptions and field procedures, have been used to estimate the composition of harvester ant diet. In this study, three techniques are compared for the estimation of the diet of Pogonomyrmex rastratus (Mayr), Pogonomyrmex pronotalis (Santschi), and Pogonomyrmex inermis (Forel) in the central Monte desert, Argentina: (1) hand collection of items brought back to the nest by foragers, (2) collection of items with a semiautomated device with pitfall traps, and (3) collection of the discarded material accumulated in middens. The hand collection technique and the collection of middens provided the lowest and the highest number of items, respectively. Midden samples and pitfall traps contained a higher proportion of nonseed items, probably coming from sources other than ants, than hand-collected items. The three techniques provided similar estimations of species richness but a bias against small seeds was detected for P. pronotalis and P. inermis with the hand collection technique, possibly because of the difficulty of collecting small items by hand. The percentage of seed species in the diet obtained with different techniques was positively correlated in the great majority of colonies. Overall, despite their intrinsic differences, the three techniques proved consistent, which constitutes a robustness test for the estimations obtained. In comparative ecological studies, the awareness that results depend on the techniques and their assumptions is particularly important. © 2007 Entomological Society of America. JOUR info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_0046225X_v36_n5_p1092_Pirk
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic Argentina
Diet estimation
Monte desert
Pogonomyrmex
Sampling techniques
ant
comparative study
diet
estimation method
methodology
animal
ant
article
comparative study
diet
feeding behavior
methodology
plant seed
Animals
Ants
Diet
Feeding Behavior
Research Design
Seeds
Argentina
Mendoza
Monte Desert
South America
Formicidae
Pogonomyrmex
Pogonomyrmex inermis
Pogonomyrmex pronotalis
Pogonomyrmex rastratus
spellingShingle Argentina
Diet estimation
Monte desert
Pogonomyrmex
Sampling techniques
ant
comparative study
diet
estimation method
methodology
animal
ant
article
comparative study
diet
feeding behavior
methodology
plant seed
Animals
Ants
Diet
Feeding Behavior
Research Design
Seeds
Argentina
Mendoza
Monte Desert
South America
Formicidae
Pogonomyrmex
Pogonomyrmex inermis
Pogonomyrmex pronotalis
Pogonomyrmex rastratus
Pirk, G.I.
De Casenave, J.L.
Marone, L.
Evaluation of three techniques for the study of harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex spp.) diet
topic_facet Argentina
Diet estimation
Monte desert
Pogonomyrmex
Sampling techniques
ant
comparative study
diet
estimation method
methodology
animal
ant
article
comparative study
diet
feeding behavior
methodology
plant seed
Animals
Ants
Diet
Feeding Behavior
Research Design
Seeds
Argentina
Mendoza
Monte Desert
South America
Formicidae
Pogonomyrmex
Pogonomyrmex inermis
Pogonomyrmex pronotalis
Pogonomyrmex rastratus
description The estimation of an ant's diet is crucial in many ecological studies. Different techniques, which involve different assumptions and field procedures, have been used to estimate the composition of harvester ant diet. In this study, three techniques are compared for the estimation of the diet of Pogonomyrmex rastratus (Mayr), Pogonomyrmex pronotalis (Santschi), and Pogonomyrmex inermis (Forel) in the central Monte desert, Argentina: (1) hand collection of items brought back to the nest by foragers, (2) collection of items with a semiautomated device with pitfall traps, and (3) collection of the discarded material accumulated in middens. The hand collection technique and the collection of middens provided the lowest and the highest number of items, respectively. Midden samples and pitfall traps contained a higher proportion of nonseed items, probably coming from sources other than ants, than hand-collected items. The three techniques provided similar estimations of species richness but a bias against small seeds was detected for P. pronotalis and P. inermis with the hand collection technique, possibly because of the difficulty of collecting small items by hand. The percentage of seed species in the diet obtained with different techniques was positively correlated in the great majority of colonies. Overall, despite their intrinsic differences, the three techniques proved consistent, which constitutes a robustness test for the estimations obtained. In comparative ecological studies, the awareness that results depend on the techniques and their assumptions is particularly important. © 2007 Entomological Society of America.
format JOUR
author Pirk, G.I.
De Casenave, J.L.
Marone, L.
author_facet Pirk, G.I.
De Casenave, J.L.
Marone, L.
author_sort Pirk, G.I.
title Evaluation of three techniques for the study of harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex spp.) diet
title_short Evaluation of three techniques for the study of harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex spp.) diet
title_full Evaluation of three techniques for the study of harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex spp.) diet
title_fullStr Evaluation of three techniques for the study of harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex spp.) diet
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of three techniques for the study of harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex spp.) diet
title_sort evaluation of three techniques for the study of harvester ant (pogonomyrmex spp.) diet
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_0046225X_v36_n5_p1092_Pirk
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AT decasenavejl evaluationofthreetechniquesforthestudyofharvesterantpogonomyrmexsppdiet
AT maronel evaluationofthreetechniquesforthestudyofharvesterantpogonomyrmexsppdiet
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