Foraging Activity and Trophic Spectrum of Red Ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus Smith, 1858, in Productivity-Contrasted Microenvironments
Foraging strategies can be influenced by many factors such as abundance, availability, and toxicity of the resources. In arid zones, the distribution and productivity of plants also act as additional factors that affect foraging strategies. Twenty colonies of Pogonomyrmex barbatus ants were studied...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2012-01-01
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| Series: | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/942737 |
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| author | Rafael Guzmán-Mendoza Gabriela Castaño-Meneses José Alejandro Zavala-Hurtado |
| author_facet | Rafael Guzmán-Mendoza Gabriela Castaño-Meneses José Alejandro Zavala-Hurtado |
| author_sort | Rafael Guzmán-Mendoza |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Foraging strategies can be influenced by many factors such as abundance, availability, and toxicity of the resources. In arid zones, the distribution and productivity of plants also act as additional factors that affect foraging strategies. Twenty colonies of Pogonomyrmex barbatus ants were studied in an arid zone of central Mexico to evaluate the trophic niche breadth in two sites with contrasting productivities in terms of their diversity and amount of resources during two seasons. The results suggest that when the resources are abundant as in the rainy season, the trophic niche breadth is reduced in sites with high productivity and, in the same sites, the trophic niche breadth increases when the resources are limited as in the dry season. In contrast, the trophic niche breadth is similar in both conditions of resource availability (i.e., rainy and dry seasons) at sites with low productivity. During the dry season, populations of P. barbatus showed a similar foraging behavior in sites with high and low productivity. Thus, the particular characteristics of a site can significantly affect the foraging strategies of the ants in those environments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-df9baae716a84e329590b23238c7e90d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0033-2615 1687-7438 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| spelling | doaj-art-df9baae716a84e329590b23238c7e90d2025-02-03T01:22:06ZengWileyPsyche: A Journal of Entomology0033-26151687-74382012-01-01201210.1155/2012/942737942737Foraging Activity and Trophic Spectrum of Red Ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus Smith, 1858, in Productivity-Contrasted MicroenvironmentsRafael Guzmán-Mendoza0Gabriela Castaño-Meneses1José Alejandro Zavala-Hurtado2PhD student, Unidad Iztapalapa, Mexico, DF, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, MexicoEcología y Sistemática de Microartrópodos, Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510 Mexico, DF, MexicoDepartamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Iztapalapa, 09340 Mexico, DF, MexicoForaging strategies can be influenced by many factors such as abundance, availability, and toxicity of the resources. In arid zones, the distribution and productivity of plants also act as additional factors that affect foraging strategies. Twenty colonies of Pogonomyrmex barbatus ants were studied in an arid zone of central Mexico to evaluate the trophic niche breadth in two sites with contrasting productivities in terms of their diversity and amount of resources during two seasons. The results suggest that when the resources are abundant as in the rainy season, the trophic niche breadth is reduced in sites with high productivity and, in the same sites, the trophic niche breadth increases when the resources are limited as in the dry season. In contrast, the trophic niche breadth is similar in both conditions of resource availability (i.e., rainy and dry seasons) at sites with low productivity. During the dry season, populations of P. barbatus showed a similar foraging behavior in sites with high and low productivity. Thus, the particular characteristics of a site can significantly affect the foraging strategies of the ants in those environments.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/942737 |
| spellingShingle | Rafael Guzmán-Mendoza Gabriela Castaño-Meneses José Alejandro Zavala-Hurtado Foraging Activity and Trophic Spectrum of Red Ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus Smith, 1858, in Productivity-Contrasted Microenvironments Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| title | Foraging Activity and Trophic Spectrum of Red Ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus Smith, 1858, in Productivity-Contrasted Microenvironments |
| title_full | Foraging Activity and Trophic Spectrum of Red Ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus Smith, 1858, in Productivity-Contrasted Microenvironments |
| title_fullStr | Foraging Activity and Trophic Spectrum of Red Ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus Smith, 1858, in Productivity-Contrasted Microenvironments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Foraging Activity and Trophic Spectrum of Red Ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus Smith, 1858, in Productivity-Contrasted Microenvironments |
| title_short | Foraging Activity and Trophic Spectrum of Red Ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus Smith, 1858, in Productivity-Contrasted Microenvironments |
| title_sort | foraging activity and trophic spectrum of red ant pogonomyrmex barbatus smith 1858 in productivity contrasted microenvironments |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/942737 |
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