Influence of seed size on feeding preferences and diet composition of three sympatric harvester ants in the central Monte Desert, Argentina

Pirk, Gabriela Inés; Casenave, Javier Nestor Lopez de

doi:10.1007/s11284-009-0673-7

Cited by 29 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The size and shape of seeds may in fact lead to mechanical limitations in exploiting resources and ant mandibles as well as femur length may influence the discovery time of resources or, more in general, the energy used during the transport of bigger loads (Kaspari, 1996;Pirk & Lopez de Casenave, 2010). Individuals, preserved in 70% ethanol, were measured along two morphological traits that possibly influence seed selection: the width of the head at the inter-ocular distance and the femur length of the hind legs.…”

Section: Worker Morphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Competition for foraging resources and coexistence of two syntopic species of Messor harvester ants in Mediterranean grassland

Solida

Celant

Luiselli³

et al. 2011

Ecological Entomology

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1. Diet composition of two syntopic species of Messor seed-harvester ants (M. wasmanni Krausse and M. minor André) was evaluated during different periods over the year (May, July, October), by analysing food type (plant parts and species) and food size (weight, length, width). Morphological traits of foragers (head width and femur length) considered important features promoting diet partitioning were measured.2. We used two robust randomisation algorithms (RA2 and RA3), adopted in niche overlap studies, to check for random vs non random utilisation of resources at intraand interspecific level for the different periods.3. Analyses showed high levels of overlap in the diet of the two species and no evidence of interspecific competition during most of the activity season. In particular, there was an aggregated use of resources in summer, whilst niche partitioning and evidence of competition when resources decreased in autumn. Intraspecifically, no evidence of competition was found. 4. Results suggest two different mechanisms for minimising competition: when food resources are abundant (summer), ants collected the same plant species but selected different sizes; when food resource is scarce (autumn), ants foraged on different plants.5. The importance of different factors (morphological, behavioural, ecological) possibly affecting competition and coexistence are discussed.

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Section: Worker Morphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Competition for foraging resources and coexistence of two syntopic species of Messor harvester ants in Mediterranean grassland

Solida

Celant

Luiselli³

et al. 2011

Ecological Entomology

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“…In addition large seeds offer a greater volume of food per foraging trip, despite the delay in payoff. While individual seed choices by foragers may be related to body size of the ant [6,7,8], seed abundance [9], caloric value [10,11,12], toxicity [13] and novelty[11], colonies (rather than foragers) may favor the accumulation of a variety of seeds because of staggered germination times.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, foragers do discriminate among the broader array of species available in their environment. Such seed preferences have been attributed to the body size of the ant [6,7,8], seed abundance [9], caloric value [10,11,12], toxicity [13] and novelty[11]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Florida Harvester Ant, Pogonomyrmex badius, Relies on Germination to Consume Large Seeds

Tschinkel

Kwapich

2016

PLoS ONE

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The Florida harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex badius, is one of many ant species and genera that stores large numbers of seeds in damp, underground chambers for later consumption. A comparison of the sizes of seeds recovered from storage chambers with those of seed husks discarded following consumption revealed that the used seeds are far smaller than stored seeds. This difference in use-rate was confirmed in field and laboratory colonies by offering marked seeds of various sizes and monitoring the appearance of size-specific chaff. Because foragers collect a range of seed sizes but only open small seeds, large seeds accumulate, forming 70% or more of the weight of seed stores. Major workers increase the rates at which small and medium seeds are opened, but do not increase the size range of opened seeds. Experiments limiting ant access to portions of natural seed chambers showed that seeds germinate during storage, but that the ants rapidly remove them. When offered alongside non germinating seeds, germinating seeds were preferentially fed to larvae. The rate of germination during the annual cycle was determined by both burial in artificial chambers at various depths and under four laboratory temperatures. The germination rate depends upon the species of seed, the soil/laboratory temperature and/or the elapsed time. The seasonal soil temperature cycle generated germination patterns that vary with the mix of locally-available seeds. Taken together, exploitation of germination greatly increases the resources available to the ants in space and time. While the largest seeds may have the nutritional value of 15 small seeds, the inability of workers to open large seeds at will precludes them from rapid use during catastrophic events. The harvester ant’s approach to seed harvesting is therefore two-pronged, with both immediate and delayed payoffs arising from the tendency to forage for a wide variety of seeds sizes.

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“…Concerning seed size, the proportion of seeds of a particular size class in the diet is generally a function of the size of the worker caste (Cerdá & Retana 1994;Reyes-López & Fernández-Haeger 2001;Traba et al 2006;Arnan et al 2010;Pirk & De Casenave 2010). For example, larger Messor barbarus and M. capitatus workers are able to collect larger and heavier resources not accessible to smaller M. bouvieri foragers (Arnan et al 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed selection and coexistence in two sympatricMessorharvester ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Solida¹,

Luiselli²,

D’Angeli³

et al. 2014

Italian Journal of Zoology

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Selective seed consumption by harvester ants may be affected by several seed attributes, amongst which seed size and environmental availability play a prominent role. In the present study, we considered the effects of seed size and seed availability on the coexistence and diet preference of two Messor species (Messor wasmanni and Messor minor). M. wasmanni colonies collected the most abundant resource in the environment, grass seeds (Poaceae), according to their availability whilst M. minor showed a nonselective process. In addition, the two ant species showed a different seed size preference, with M. wasmanni adopting a selective strategy and M. minor a generalist strategy. However, competition for foraging resources between the two ant species (assessed by null model algorithms) seems not to affect their foraging behaviour. The lack of a competitive structure within the ant assemblage suggests, in fact, that resources are not a limiting factor for species coexistence.

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Influence of seed size on feeding preferences and diet composition of three sympatric harvester ants in the central Monte Desert, Argentina

Cited by 29 publications

References 34 publications

Competition for foraging resources and coexistence of two syntopic species of Messor harvester ants in Mediterranean grassland

Competition for foraging resources and coexistence of two syntopic species of Messor harvester ants in Mediterranean grassland

The Florida Harvester Ant, Pogonomyrmex badius, Relies on Germination to Consume Large Seeds

Seed selection and coexistence in two sympatricMessorharvester ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

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