Diet and seed removal rates by the harvester ants Pogonomyrmex rastratus and Pogonomyrmex pronotalis in the central Monte desert, Argentina

PIRK, G.I; LOPEZ DE CASENAVE, J.

INSECTES SOCIAUX

Birkhäuser Verlag

Lugar: Basel; Año: 2006 vol. 53 p. 119 - 125

0020-1812

Granivorous animals, through seed consumption, may have an important influence on plant abundance, distribution and species composition in desert ecosystems. The aims of this study are twofold: to quantify the diet of Pogonomyrmex rastratus (Mayr) and Pogonomyrmex pronotalis (Santschi), and to estimate seed removal per colony of both species throughout their activity season (October-April) in the central Monte desert, Argentina. Both species rely heavily upon seeds, which account for 87-94% of the items carried to the nests. Their diets are similar, consisting mainly of grass seeds, which represent more than 93% of the seeds. Among them, three species predominate: Aristida spp., Trichloris crinita and Pappophorum spp. Seasonal variations as well as seed species richness in the diet are also similar between species. However, their food-handling behaviour differs: most caryopses carried by P. pronotalis bear bracts whereas most caryopses carried by P. rastratus lack them. Seed removal per colony by P. rastratus (6x104 seeds/colony) and by P. pronotalis (5x104 seeds/colony) throughout the season is similar to the ones reported for P. occidentalis in North America. However, seed removal per hectare, which could be estimated for P. rastratus (8.3x105 seeds/ha), is lower than removal rates reported for the North American species P. barbatus, P. desertorum, P. rugosus and P. californicus, probably because P. rastratus has lower activity levels and smaller colonies than the North American studied species.