Actividad forrajera de Acromyrmex lobicornis Emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) en un pastizal natural semiárido de la provincia de La Pampa (Argentina)
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.
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | spa |
| Published: |
Asociación Argentina de Ecología
1997
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| Online Access: | https://ojs.ecologiaaustral.com.ar/index.php/Ecologia_Austral/article/view/1637 |
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