Actividad forrajera de Acromyrmex lobicornis Emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) en un pastizal natural semiárido de la provincia de La Pampa (Argentina)

Authors

  • Alberto Pilati Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, UNLPam, Uruguay 151, 6300 Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina.
  • E.M. Quirán Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, UNLPam, Uruguay 151, 6300 Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina.
  • H.D. Estelrich Fac de Agronomía Ruta 35 km 34, 6300 Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina.

Abstract

A qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the material foraged by Acromyrmex lobicornis was studied in a shrub-grassland of Lihue Calel National Park, La Pampa, Argentina. Ants foraged primarily on dicotyledonous. Maximum and minimum harvest rates of green vegetation occurred in spring (39 gDM.day-1.nest-1) and summer (16 gDM.day -1 .nest -1) respectively. Annual input of green material to the nest was 6.3 KgDM. year -1 . nest -1 , the highest reported for the genus. However, a relatively low density of nests determined that harvest rate per hectare did not exceed the quantity reported for other species of Acromyrmex. Throughout the year, Erodium cicutarium was the species most often harvested. This ant showed a selective diet, especially when the plant comunity had low diversity. Its presence in semiarid areas would not decrease the availability of native grasses preffered by cattle.

References

Bonetto, A. 1959. Las hormigas “ cortadoras” de la provincia de Santa Fe (géneros Atta y Acromyrmex). Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería de la provincia de Santa Fe. Dirección General de Recursos Naturales. 89 págs.

Cano, E. 1988. Pastizales naturales de La Pampa. l. Descripción de las especies más importantes. Convenio AACREA-Pcia. de La Pampa. 425 págs.

Cano, E., B. Fernández y M. Montes. 1980. Inventario Integrado de los Recursos Naturales de la Provincia de La Pampa. Vegetación. Bs. As. 493 págs.

Casagrande, G. y H. Conti. 1980.Inventario Integrado de los Recursos Naturales de la Provincia de La Pampa. Clima. Bs. As., 493 págs.

Chirino, C., K. Norlander Grahn y L. Robles. 1988. Determinación de la proteína bruta de algunas especies forrajeras de La Pampa. Rev. Fac. Agron. UNL Pam. 3:57-74.

Farji Brener, A.G. 1992. Modificaciones al suelo realizadas por hormigas cortadores de hojas (Formicidae, Attini): una revisión de sus efectos sobre la vegetación. Eco¡. Austral 2:87-94

Farji Brener, A.G. 1996.Posibles vías de expansión de la hormiga cortadora de hojas Acromyrmex lobicornis hacia la Patagonia. Ecol. Austral 6:144-150.

Farji Brener, A.G. y A. Ruggiero. 1994.Leaf-cutting ants (Atta andAcromyrmex) inhabiting Argentina: Patterns in species richness and geographical range sizes. Journal of Biogeography 21:391-399.

Feisinger, P., E.E. Spears y R.W. Poole. 1981. A simple range of niche breath. Ecology 62:27-32

Fowler, H.G., L.C. Forti, V. Pereira da Silva y N.B. Saes. 1986. Economics of grass-cutting ants. Chapter 3 in (C. Lofgren y R.K. VanderMeer, Eds.) Fire ants and leaf-cutting ants: Biology and Management. Westview Studies in Insect Biology, Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, Usa.

Fowler, H.G., J.V.E. Bernardi, J.C. Delabie, L.C. Forti y V. Pereira da Silva. 1990a. Major ant problems of South America, en Applied myrmecology. A world perspective. Edited by R.K. Vander Meer, K. nJaffe and A. Cedeno. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A. pp 3-15.

Fowler, H.G., L.C. Forti y L.F.T. di Romagnano. 1990b. Methods for the evaluation of the leaf-cutting ant harvest, en Applied myrmecology. A world perspective. Edited by R.K. Vander Meer, K. Jaffe and A. Cedeno. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A. pp. 228-241.

Fowler, H.G. y S. Claver. 1991. Leaf-cutter ant assemblies: effects of latitude, vegetation and behaviour, en Ant-Plant Interactions. Edited by Camila R. Huxley and David F. Cutler. XVIII + 601 págs. Oxford University Press. pp. 51-59.

Jaffe C.K. 1993. El mundo de las hormigas. Ediciones de la Universidad S. Bolívar. 183 págs.

Kusnezov, N. 1956.Claves para la identificación de las hormigas de la fauna argentina. IDIA-Agosto-Setiembre: 1-56.

Lechowicz, M.J. 1982. The sampling characteristics of electivity indices. Oecologia 52:22-30.

Nazar Anchorena, J.B. 1988.PastizalesNaturales de La Pampa. 2.Manejo de los mismos. Convenio AACREA- Pcia. de La Pampa. 112 págs.

Oster, G.F. y E.O. Wilson. 1978. Caste and Ecology in the Social Insects. Princeton. Princeton University Press. pp. 352.

Quirán, E.M. y A. Pilati. Estructura de los hormigueros de Acromyrmex lobicornis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) en un sitio natural semiárido de La Pampa, Argentina. Rev. Soc. Entomol. Argent. (en prensa) Simpson, E.H. 1949. Measurement of diversity. Nature 163:688.

Stradling, D.J. 1991. An introduction to the fungus-growing ants, Attini, en Ant-Plant interactions. Edited by C. R. Huxley and D. F. Cutler. XVIII + 601 págs. Oxford University Press. pp. 15-18 Weber, N.A. 1966. The fungus-growing ants. Science 153:587-604.

Downloads

Published

1997-12-01

How to Cite

Pilati, A., Quirán, E., & Estelrich, H. (1997). Actividad forrajera de Acromyrmex lobicornis Emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) en un pastizal natural semiárido de la provincia de La Pampa (Argentina). Ecología Austral, 7(2), 049–056. Retrieved from https://ojs.ecologiaaustral.com.ar/index.php/Ecologia_Austral/article/view/1637

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 2 (1997)

Section

Articles

License

Authors retain their rights as follows: 1) by granting the journal the right to its first publication, and 2) by registering the published article with a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which allows authors and third parties to view and use it as long as they clearly mention its origin (citation or reference, including authorship and first publication in this journal). Authors can make other non-exclusive distribution agreements as long as they clearly indicate their origin and are encouraged to widely share and disseminate the published version of their work.