Seed predation in a Mediterranean pasture: can ants modify the floristic composition of soil seed banks?

Espigares, Tíscar; López‐Pintor, Antonio

doi:10.4067/s0716-078x2005000400002

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Surface soils in arid lands store the prior years' seed production and receive pronounced inputs during periods of high rainfall (Gutierrez et al, 2000;Gutierrez and Meserve, 2003;Esque, 2004). Dispersing seeds that enter the seed bank are vulnerable to seed harvesting animals (Ireland and Andrew, 1995;Espigares and Lopez-Pintor, 2005) and fungal decomposition (Crist and Friese, 1993). Those seeds that persist will germinate and establish only when adequate rainfall is synchronized with suitable germination temperatures (Baskin and Baskin, 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed banks in a degraded desert shrubland: Influence of soil surface condition and harvester ant activity on seed abundance

DeFalco

Esque

Kane

et al. 2009

Journal of Arid Environments

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed banks in a degraded desert shrubland: Influence of soil surface condition and harvester ant activity on seed abundance

DeFalco

Esque

Kane

et al. 2009

Journal of Arid Environments

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…They can remove large numbers of seeds, having a greater impact on preferred species (Pulliam and Brand, 1975;Whitford, 1978;Reichman, 1979;Crist and MacMahon, 1992). This could eventually alter the relative abundance of plant species causing changes in the structure of plant communities (Inouye et al, 1980;Samson et al, 1992;Espigares and López-Pintor, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet of two sympatric Pheidole spp. ants in the central Monte desert: implications for seed–granivore interactions

2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ants of the genus Pheidole are important seed consumers in several desert ecosystems. In South American deserts, although several Pheidole spp. have been characterized as seed harvesters, studies on their diet and ecological role are still missing. Pheidole spininodis (Mayr) and Pheidole bergi (Mayr) are capable of removing seeds in the central Monte desert. The aim of this study was to quantify and compare the diet of these species and to interpret the results in the context of seed-granivore interactions. Diet was estimated during mid-summer by collecting items brought back to the nest by foragers in ten colonies per species. While P. spininodis was mainly granivorous, P. bergi was mainly insectivorous. However, they both collected *40% of other types of items. Among seeds, the diet of P. spininodis included mostly grass seeds, whereas the diet of P. bergi was mainly made up of shrub and tree seeds, usually retrieved cooperatively. This behavior allowed P. bergi to carry larger seeds, resulting in diet partitioning in terms of seed size. However, diet of P. spininodis is very similar to that of three sympatric Pogonomyrmex species. Thus, specialized harvester ants remove large quantities of grass seeds in the central Monte desert during the summer, potentially affecting their abundance in the soil seed bank. P. bergi directs its feeding pressure to shrub and tree seeds, and although seeds constitute *10% of its diet, its high colony density and high activity levels, added to the lower proportion of large seeds in the soil seed bank, indicate that their importance as seed consumers cannot be ruled out.

show abstract

“…If the spatial pattern generated by the ants was synchronised with high germination rates (which in Ñacuñán have a peak during warm months and is positively associated with rainfall; Marone et al, 2000), a lower proportion of preferred species would be expected close to the nests. Several studies have concluded that harvester ant predation can affect annual plant densities in different systems (Inouye et al, 1980;Samson et al, 1992;Espigares & López-Pintor, 2005). In general, an increase in plant density and a variation in composition of species have been observed after ant removal.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…birds, rodents, and ants) can exert a significant impact on soil seed abundance (Whitford, 1978;Brown et al, 1979;Crist & MacMahon, 1992;Mull & MacMahon, 1996;Marone et al, 1998b;Azcárate & Peco 2006), which in turn affects plant abundance (Brown et al, 1979;Inouye et al, 1980;Samson et al, 1992;Heske et al, 1993;Guo et al, 1995). Moreover, their selective consumption of seeds and the selection of foraging patches can modify composition and spatial distribution of the vegetation (Inouye et al, 1980;Samson et al, 1992;Espigares & López-Pintor, 2005). The effects of granivores on seeds (top-down effects), however, may be influenced by seed abundance, which reciprocally affects the ecology and behaviour of consumers (bottom-up effects).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of harvester ants of the genus Pogonomyrmex on the soil seed bank around their nests in the central Monte desert, Argentina

Pirk

Casenave

2014

Ecological Entomology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. The abundance and composition of soil seed banks is a key determinant of plant community structure. Harvester ants can remove huge quantities of preferred seeds close to the nest affecting composition and spatial distribution of plants.2. In the central Monte desert (Argentina) ants of the genus Pogonomyrmex have high seed removal rates, especially of the five main grasses. The aim of this study was to establish if their foraging activity affects spatial patterns of the soil seed bank around their nests. Our hypotheses were: (1) removal by ants decreases seed abundance of preferred species in the soil; and (2) the effect varies in time.3. Soil seed abundance was assessed at different distances from Pogonomyrmex nests in the litter and in bare soil at the beginning, the middle, and the end of the season (late spring-early autumn). 4. A lower seed abundance of preferred species was observed close to the nest in the litter at the end of the season. Non-preferred species showed no distance gradient.5. The lower foraging activity and seed consumption at the beginning of the season could explain the temporal variation of the spatial effect. This was only observed in the litter, probably because of the higher removal frequency in this substrate.6. Colonies of Pogonomyrmex spp. could enhance the heterogeneity of soil seed banks in the central Monte desert from the summer to the beginning of the autumn. Implications for vegetation dynamics depend on the degree to which seed density limits perennial grasses recruitment after ant activity season.

show abstract

Seed predation in a Mediterranean pasture: can ants modify the floristic composition of soil seed banks?

Cited by 6 publications

References 35 publications

Seed banks in a degraded desert shrubland: Influence of soil surface condition and harvester ant activity on seed abundance

Seed banks in a degraded desert shrubland: Influence of soil surface condition and harvester ant activity on seed abundance

Diet of two sympatric Pheidole spp. ants in the central Monte desert: implications for seed–granivore interactions

Effect of harvester ants of the genus Pogonomyrmex on the soil seed bank around their nests in the central Monte desert, Argentina

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About