Estructura y funcionamiento de ensambles de hormigas en un área natural protegida de Buenos Aires

S. CABRERA Y L. CALCATERRA

Huerta Grande, Córdoba

Congreso; VII Congreso Argentino de Entomología; 2008

Ant assemblages can be studied to identify distribution patterns, competence, guilds, disruption and quality of habitat.  The objective was to characterize ant assemblages and to study patterns of diversity and dominance in four environments (grassland, scrubland, scrubland, and forest) of the Natural Reserve Otamendi (RNO).  For it, 420 pitfall traps and 290 baits were placed on transects distributed in each habitat. Behavioral observations were carried out on tuna and cricket baits which were monitored for 90 minutes.  The study was carried out between March 07 and April 08.  The individuals fallen in the traps and present in the baits were identified to species or morfoespecies.  As result, a list was confectioned with 51 species belonging to 17 genera, being Pheidole spp. the most represented.  Of the total, six species were the ones dominating in abundance and frequency as in discovery and resource domination.  Three of these species are known for being invasive in other continents (Linepithema humile, Solenopsis richteri, Wasmannia auropunctata).  As for diversity, the environments were similar with exception of the scrubland.  There was 10 species that were associated to particular habitats.  The grassland was the environment with greater quantity of competitive interactions in the baits.  This work increases the number of registered species in the reserve, characterizes the relations between invasive species and its community of origin.