Association between granivorous ants Pogonomyrmex pronotalis, P. rastratus and P. inermis, and roads inthe central Monte desert

Roads and roadsides represent a modified habitat markedly different from the original enviwerronment in which they are embedded. Conditions associated with roads can influence some insects' population levels. In order to evaluate the degree of association between Pogonomyrmex pronotalis, Pogono...

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Autores principales: Pirk, G.I., de Casenave, J.L., Pol, R.G.
Formato: JOUR
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ant
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_03275477_v14_n1_p65_Pirk
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spelling todo:paper_03275477_v14_n1_p65_Pirk2023-10-03T15:24:44Z Association between granivorous ants Pogonomyrmex pronotalis, P. rastratus and P. inermis, and roads inthe central Monte desert Pirk, G.I. de Casenave, J.L. Pol, R.G. Abundance Diet Foraging activity Nesting sites Seeds abundance ant diet foraging behavior nest site population density road Argentina Mendoza Monte Desert South America Formicidae Hexapoda Hymenoptera Insecta Pogonomyrmex Pogonomyrmex inermis Pogonomyrmex pronotalis Pogonomyrmex rastratus Roads and roadsides represent a modified habitat markedly different from the original enviwerronment in which they are embedded. Conditions associated with roads can influence some insects' population levels. In order to evaluate the degree of association between Pogonomyrmex pronotalis, Pogonomyrmex rastratus and Pogonomyrmex inermis, and roads in the central Monte desert we estimated colony density in the open woodland and in two roads. We also studied the activity and the diet of the three species in colonies located in both habitats. Pogonomyrmex pronotalis' colony density was higher in the roads, Pogonomyrmex rastratus' was lower and similar in both habitats and Pogonomyrmex inermis' was very low in the roads and even lower in the open woodland. Pogonomyrmex pronotalis' activity was higher in roads and also higher than Pogonomyrmex rastratus' and Pogonomyrmex inermis'. These two species presented similar levels of activity in both habitats. Diets were similar for the three species in the roads and in the open woodland. Seeds accounted for 80-100% of the items carried to the nests, and consisted mainly of grass seeds (more than 75% of the seeds). Seed species richness in the diets did not differ between habitats for any ant species. The proportion of some seeds in Pogonomyrmex pronotalis' diet varied between habitats. Pogonomyrmex pronotalis was the only species that showed an association with roads. Its higher density there is probably due to favourable sites for nesting and establishment of colonies and its higher activity levels could be related to more suitable temperatures for this species. The results show that the location of the nest could only subtly influence the trophic ecology of these ants. Fil:Pirk, G.I. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:de Casenave, J.L. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. JOUR info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_03275477_v14_n1_p65_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 Abundance
Diet
Foraging activity
Nesting sites
Seeds
abundance
ant
diet
foraging behavior
nest site
population density
road
Argentina
Mendoza
Monte Desert
South America
Formicidae
Hexapoda
Hymenoptera
Insecta
Pogonomyrmex
Pogonomyrmex inermis
Pogonomyrmex pronotalis
Pogonomyrmex rastratus
spellingShingle Abundance
Diet
Foraging activity
Nesting sites
Seeds
abundance
ant
diet
foraging behavior
nest site
population density
road
Argentina
Mendoza
Monte Desert
South America
Formicidae
Hexapoda
Hymenoptera
Insecta
Pogonomyrmex
Pogonomyrmex inermis
Pogonomyrmex pronotalis
Pogonomyrmex rastratus
Pirk, G.I.
de Casenave, J.L.
Pol, R.G.
Association between granivorous ants Pogonomyrmex pronotalis, P. rastratus and P. inermis, and roads inthe central Monte desert
topic_facet Abundance
Diet
Foraging activity
Nesting sites
Seeds
abundance
ant
diet
foraging behavior
nest site
population density
road
Argentina
Mendoza
Monte Desert
South America
Formicidae
Hexapoda
Hymenoptera
Insecta
Pogonomyrmex
Pogonomyrmex inermis
Pogonomyrmex pronotalis
Pogonomyrmex rastratus
description Roads and roadsides represent a modified habitat markedly different from the original enviwerronment in which they are embedded. Conditions associated with roads can influence some insects' population levels. In order to evaluate the degree of association between Pogonomyrmex pronotalis, Pogonomyrmex rastratus and Pogonomyrmex inermis, and roads in the central Monte desert we estimated colony density in the open woodland and in two roads. We also studied the activity and the diet of the three species in colonies located in both habitats. Pogonomyrmex pronotalis' colony density was higher in the roads, Pogonomyrmex rastratus' was lower and similar in both habitats and Pogonomyrmex inermis' was very low in the roads and even lower in the open woodland. Pogonomyrmex pronotalis' activity was higher in roads and also higher than Pogonomyrmex rastratus' and Pogonomyrmex inermis'. These two species presented similar levels of activity in both habitats. Diets were similar for the three species in the roads and in the open woodland. Seeds accounted for 80-100% of the items carried to the nests, and consisted mainly of grass seeds (more than 75% of the seeds). Seed species richness in the diets did not differ between habitats for any ant species. The proportion of some seeds in Pogonomyrmex pronotalis' diet varied between habitats. Pogonomyrmex pronotalis was the only species that showed an association with roads. Its higher density there is probably due to favourable sites for nesting and establishment of colonies and its higher activity levels could be related to more suitable temperatures for this species. The results show that the location of the nest could only subtly influence the trophic ecology of these ants.
format JOUR
author Pirk, G.I.
de Casenave, J.L.
Pol, R.G.
author_facet Pirk, G.I.
de Casenave, J.L.
Pol, R.G.
author_sort Pirk, G.I.
title Association between granivorous ants Pogonomyrmex pronotalis, P. rastratus and P. inermis, and roads inthe central Monte desert
title_short Association between granivorous ants Pogonomyrmex pronotalis, P. rastratus and P. inermis, and roads inthe central Monte desert
title_full Association between granivorous ants Pogonomyrmex pronotalis, P. rastratus and P. inermis, and roads inthe central Monte desert
title_fullStr Association between granivorous ants Pogonomyrmex pronotalis, P. rastratus and P. inermis, and roads inthe central Monte desert
title_full_unstemmed Association between granivorous ants Pogonomyrmex pronotalis, P. rastratus and P. inermis, and roads inthe central Monte desert
title_sort association between granivorous ants pogonomyrmex pronotalis, p. rastratus and p. inermis, and roads inthe central monte desert
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_03275477_v14_n1_p65_Pirk
work_keys_str_mv AT pirkgi associationbetweengranivorousantspogonomyrmexpronotalisprastratusandpinermisandroadsinthecentralmontedesert
AT decasenavejl associationbetweengranivorousantspogonomyrmexpronotalisprastratusandpinermisandroadsinthecentralmontedesert
AT polrg associationbetweengranivorousantspogonomyrmexpronotalisprastratusandpinermisandroadsinthecentralmontedesert
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