Moss Capsules as Food of the Harvester Ant, Messor

Loria, Michael; Herrnstadt, Ilana

doi:10.2307/3242307

Cited by 14 publications

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“…Harvester ants (Messor sp. ; Loria and Herrnstadt 1980), lemmings (Dicrostonyx spp. ; Pakarinen and Vitt 1974), and woodland slugs (Arion spp.…”

Section: ]mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bryophytes might be an important alternate (marginal) food source when a preferred food is unavailable. In terrestrial environments, when food sources are limited or unavailable (e.g., during winter), harvester ants feed on terrestrial moss capsules (Loria and Herrnstadt 1980), and populations of caribou (Rangifer tarandus grantii) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) feed on various mosses (White and Trudell 1980). In the laboratory, the detritivorous caddisfly larvae Zelandopsyche ingens consumed the aquatic moss Fontinalis rigidulus rather than less desirable terrestrial foods, such as yellow beech (Nothofagus spp.)…”

Section: ]mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Instream C sources for primary consumers in two temperate, oligotrophic rivers: possible evidence of bryophytes as a food source

McWilliam-Hughes

Jardine

Cunjak

2009

Journal of the North American Benthological Society

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Aquatic food webs use C derived from 2 sources: autochthonous (derived from inside the water body) and allochthonous (derived from outside the water body). Various autochthonous sources are available to consumers (e.g., algae, mosses, macrophytes), and stable isotope analysis can be used to differentiate among C sources and to determine which sources sustain aquatic communities. The goal of our study was to determine which C sources contribute to the autochthonous pathways in 2 oligotrophic rivers, the Upper Salmon and Big Salmon, in New Brunswick (Canada). Samples were taken from headwaters to river mouth (above head of tide) at 17 study sites distributed across subbasins and stream orders. Vegetation samples included macrophytes, filamentous algae, biofilm, and aquatic bryophytes. Macroinvertebrate taxa in the scraper (grazer) functional feeding group were collected to represent primary consumers that feed primarily on autochthonous food sources. Macrophyte and cyanobacteria d 13 C values were correlated with scraper d 13 C values (r = 0.55 and 0.47, respectively), but d 13 C of most scrapers was more depleted than d 13 C of these food sources (.40% and .90%, respectively). Trophic fractionation is primarily an enrichment process, so these results indicated that macrophytes and cyanobacteria were not important food sources for primary consumers. Filamentous algae and biofilm d 13 C values were poorly correlated with scraper d 13 C values (r = 0.36 and 0.40, respectively), and .60% of the values were too depleted for these sources to be important food sources for scrapers. Ninety-eight percent of scraper d 13 C values were enriched relative to bryophyte d 13 C values, and bryophyte d 13 C values were correlated with scraper d 13 C values (r = 0.53), particularly when samples from slow-flowing habitats were removed from the analysis (r = 0.76). Spatial distributions of 2 important bryophyte taxa differed. Fontinalis sp. was abundant in headwater streams, and Drepanocladus sp. was abundant in low-order streams. Scrapers in low-order streams seemed to depend more on Fontinalis sp. than scrapers in highorder streams depended on Drepanocladus sp. Our results suggest that in low-productivity, nutrient-limited rivers, reduced availability of more preferred food sources (e.g., epilithic algae) might cause primary consumers to switch to marginal food sources, such as bryophytes. Further research is required to confirm this hypothesis and to eliminate confounding factors.

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“…Harvester ants (Messor sp. ; Loria and Herrnstadt 1980), lemmings (Dicrostonyx spp. ; Pakarinen and Vitt 1974), and woodland slugs (Arion spp.…”

Section: ]mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: ]mentioning

confidence: 99%

Instream C sources for primary consumers in two temperate, oligotrophic rivers: possible evidence of bryophytes as a food source

McWilliam-Hughes

Jardine

Cunjak

2009

Journal of the North American Benthological Society

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“…The consumption of bryophytes by slugs (Richardson, 1981;Davidson et al, 1990;Frahm & Kirchhoff, 2002;Glime, 2006), cranefly (Richardson, 1981), aphids (Gerson, 1969), pillbugs or woodlice (Glime, 2006), ants (Loria & Herrnstadt, 1980), bison (Richardson, 1981), butterflies (Mallet & Singer, 1986;DeVries, 1988), reindeer (Richardson, 1981) and lemmings (Collins & Oechel, 1974) is known mainly from cold environments, especially in arctic tundras or deserts (Richardson, 1981;Gerson, 1982;Glime, 2006). There are only a few reports of direct consumption of bryophytes in subtropical and tropical regions, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Haplocladium microphyllum(Hedw.) Broth. capsules as food forAgrotissp. (Lepidoptera) larvae

Yuan

Zhu

2012

Journal of Bryology

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Bryophytes usually have anti-feeding properties to defend against microbial and herbivore attack; however, the consumption of Haplocladium microphyllum (Hedw.) Broth. capsules by Agrotis sp. larvae is rather common in Shanghai in the spring. To test whether H. microphyllum is the only moss eaten, and why the gametophytes of H. microphyllum are not eaten, a series of quantitative experiments were carried out to understand the feeding habits of Agrotis larvae on the given moss materials at three growth stages of larval life. The results show that the larvae can feed on the capsules of six moss species to different degrees: Funaria hygrometrica Hedw., H. microphyllum, Physcomitrium sphaericum (C.F.Ludw. ex Schkuhr) Brid., Trematodon longicollis Michx., Ditrichum pallidum (Hedw.) Hampe, and Pogonatum inflexum (Lindb.) Sande Lac. The capsules of the first four species were grazed heavily by the larvae, compared with limited consumption of the latter two (D. pallidum and P. inflexum), which even induced a high mortality rate among the larvae. With the growth of the larval instar, the daily demand for moss capsules by the larvae increases gradually. The lipid content of the capsules may play an important role when the larva selects its feeding target.

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“…Franco et al (1979) found 80 % of collected microarthropods in the top 10 cm of soils during most of the year in the Mojave. Progstigmata mites, tardigrades, isopods, snails, mole crickets, tenebrionid beetles, protozoans, termites, and ants have all been recorded feeding on cyanobacteria, lichens, and mosses (Bailey 1976;Ghabbour et al 1980;Loria and Herrnstadt 1980;Rogers et al 1988;Steinberger 1991). Limited data indicate that the level of crust development influences microorganism numbers.…”

Section: ) This Difference Is Especially Pronounced In Plant Intersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbes and Microfauna Associated with Biological Soil Crusts

Belnap¹

2001

Ecological Studies

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Moss Capsules as Food of the Harvester Ant, Messor

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Instream C sources for primary consumers in two temperate, oligotrophic rivers: possible evidence of bryophytes as a food source

Instream C sources for primary consumers in two temperate, oligotrophic rivers: possible evidence of bryophytes as a food source

Haplocladium microphyllum(Hedw.) Broth. capsules as food forAgrotissp. (Lepidoptera) larvae

Microbes and Microfauna Associated with Biological Soil Crusts

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