Forager abundance and its relationship with colony activity level in three species of South American Pogonomyrmex harvester ants

The proportion of foragers in ant colonies is a fairly constant species-specific characteristic that could be determined by intrinsic or extrinsic factors. If intrinsic factors are relevant, species with similar life history characteristics (e. g., colony size and foraging strategies) would be expec...

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Autores principales:	Nobua Behrmann, Beatriz Elisa, López de Casenave, Javier Néstor, Milesi, Fernando Adrián
Publicado:	2013
Materias:	Colony size Forager abundance Foraging activity Mark-recapture Pogonomyrmex South America abundance ant colony structure foraging behavior mark-recapture method Formicidae Pogonomyrmex inermis Pogonomyrmex rastratus
Acceso en línea:	https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00201812_v60_n2_p243_NobuaBehrmann http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00201812_v60_n2_p243_NobuaBehrmann
Aporte de:	Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA) de Universidad de Buenos Aires

id	paper:paper_00201812_v60_n2_p243_NobuaBehrmann
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spelling	paper:paper_00201812_v60_n2_p243_NobuaBehrmann2023-06-08T14:40:59Z Forager abundance and its relationship with colony activity level in three species of South American Pogonomyrmex harvester ants Nobua Behrmann, Beatriz Elisa López de Casenave, Javier Néstor Milesi, Fernando Adrián Colony size Forager abundance Foraging activity Mark-recapture Pogonomyrmex South America abundance ant colony structure foraging behavior mark-recapture method South America Formicidae Pogonomyrmex Pogonomyrmex inermis Pogonomyrmex rastratus The proportion of foragers in ant colonies is a fairly constant species-specific characteristic that could be determined by intrinsic or extrinsic factors. If intrinsic factors are relevant, species with similar life history characteristics (e. g., colony size and foraging strategies) would be expected to have a similar proportion of foragers in their colonies. Within the genus Pogonomyrmex, North American species can vary largely in their colony size, whereas only species with small colonies are known in South America. We studied the characteristics of the foraging subcaste in three sympatric South American species of Pogonomyrmex harvester ants, and compared it with the available information on other species of the same genus. We used two mark-recapture methods and colony excavations to estimate the number and proportion of foragers in the colonies of P. mendozanus, P. inermis, and P. rastratus, and to test the relationship between forager external activity levels and abundance per colony. Forager abundance in the three studied species was lower than in most North American species. The percentage of foragers in their colonies ranged 7-15 %, more similar to North American species with large colonies than to those with small colony size. Foraging activity was positively correlated with forager abundance in all three species, implying that colony allocation to number of foragers allows for higher food acquisition. Further comparative studies involving a wider range of traits in South and North American species would allow to unveil the role of environmental factors in shaping each species' particular traits. © 2013 International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI). Fil:Nobua-Behrmann, B.E. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:Lopez de Casenave, J. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:Milesi, F.A. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. 2013 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00201812_v60_n2_p243_NobuaBehrmann http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00201812_v60_n2_p243_NobuaBehrmann
institution	Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str	I-28
repository_str	R-134
collection	Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic	Colony size Forager abundance Foraging activity Mark-recapture Pogonomyrmex South America abundance ant colony structure foraging behavior mark-recapture method South America Formicidae Pogonomyrmex Pogonomyrmex inermis Pogonomyrmex rastratus
spellingShingle	Colony size Forager abundance Foraging activity Mark-recapture Pogonomyrmex South America abundance ant colony structure foraging behavior mark-recapture method South America Formicidae Pogonomyrmex Pogonomyrmex inermis Pogonomyrmex rastratus Nobua Behrmann, Beatriz Elisa López de Casenave, Javier Néstor Milesi, Fernando Adrián Forager abundance and its relationship with colony activity level in three species of South American Pogonomyrmex harvester ants
topic_facet	Colony size Forager abundance Foraging activity Mark-recapture Pogonomyrmex South America abundance ant colony structure foraging behavior mark-recapture method South America Formicidae Pogonomyrmex Pogonomyrmex inermis Pogonomyrmex rastratus
description	The proportion of foragers in ant colonies is a fairly constant species-specific characteristic that could be determined by intrinsic or extrinsic factors. If intrinsic factors are relevant, species with similar life history characteristics (e. g., colony size and foraging strategies) would be expected to have a similar proportion of foragers in their colonies. Within the genus Pogonomyrmex, North American species can vary largely in their colony size, whereas only species with small colonies are known in South America. We studied the characteristics of the foraging subcaste in three sympatric South American species of Pogonomyrmex harvester ants, and compared it with the available information on other species of the same genus. We used two mark-recapture methods and colony excavations to estimate the number and proportion of foragers in the colonies of P. mendozanus, P. inermis, and P. rastratus, and to test the relationship between forager external activity levels and abundance per colony. Forager abundance in the three studied species was lower than in most North American species. The percentage of foragers in their colonies ranged 7-15 %, more similar to North American species with large colonies than to those with small colony size. Foraging activity was positively correlated with forager abundance in all three species, implying that colony allocation to number of foragers allows for higher food acquisition. Further comparative studies involving a wider range of traits in South and North American species would allow to unveil the role of environmental factors in shaping each species' particular traits. © 2013 International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI).
author	Nobua Behrmann, Beatriz Elisa López de Casenave, Javier Néstor Milesi, Fernando Adrián
author_facet	Nobua Behrmann, Beatriz Elisa López de Casenave, Javier Néstor Milesi, Fernando Adrián
author_sort	Nobua Behrmann, Beatriz Elisa
title	Forager abundance and its relationship with colony activity level in three species of South American Pogonomyrmex harvester ants
title_short	Forager abundance and its relationship with colony activity level in three species of South American Pogonomyrmex harvester ants
title_full	Forager abundance and its relationship with colony activity level in three species of South American Pogonomyrmex harvester ants
title_fullStr	Forager abundance and its relationship with colony activity level in three species of South American Pogonomyrmex harvester ants
title_full_unstemmed	Forager abundance and its relationship with colony activity level in three species of South American Pogonomyrmex harvester ants
title_sort	forager abundance and its relationship with colony activity level in three species of south american pogonomyrmex harvester ants
publishDate	2013
url	https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00201812_v60_n2_p243_NobuaBehrmann http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00201812_v60_n2_p243_NobuaBehrmann
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Forager abundance and its relationship with colony activity level in three species of South American Pogonomyrmex harvester ants

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