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Padrón DF, Mebert K, Pareja-Mejía D, Bauer A, Fernandes Vasconcelos LD, Correia D, Fernandez Giné GA, Solé M. Living in a mosaic of Brazilian Atlantic Forest and plantations: spatial ecology of five bushmaster Lachesis muta (Viperidae Crotalinae). ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2022.2123860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Diego F. Padrón
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, 45662-900 Salobrinho, Ilhéus, Brazil
| | - Konrad Mebert
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, 45662-900 Salobrinho, Ilhéus, Brazil
- IDECC, Institute of Development, Ecology, Conservation and Cooperation, Via G. Tomasi di Lampedusa 33, Rome 00144, Italy
| | - Daniela Pareja-Mejía
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, 45662-900 Salobrinho, Ilhéus, Brazil
| | - Arthur Bauer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, 45662-900 Salobrinho, Ilhéus, Brazil
| | - Laise D. Fernandes Vasconcelos
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, 45662-900 Salobrinho, Ilhéus, Brazil
| | - Diego Correia
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, 45662-900 Salobrinho, Ilhéus, Brazil
| | - Gastón A. Fernandez Giné
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, 45662-900 Salobrinho, Ilhéus, Brazil
| | - Mirco Solé
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, 45662-900 Salobrinho, Ilhéus, Brazil
- Herpetology Section, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Adenauerallee 160, Bonn 53113, Germany
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Caldato N, Camargo R, Sousa KK, Forti LC, Lopes JF, Fourcassié V. Longitudinal Study of Foraging Networks in the Grass-Cutting Ant Atta capiguara Gonçalves, 1944. NEOTROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2020; 49:643-651. [PMID: 32445111 DOI: 10.1007/s13744-020-00776-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2019] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Colonies of leaf-cutting ants of the genus Atta need to collect large quantities of vegetal substrate in their environment to ensure their growth. They do so by building and extending over time a foraging network that consists of several underground tunnels extending above ground by physical trails. This paper presents a longitudinal study of the foraging network of two mature colonies of the grass-cutting ant Atta capiguara (Gonçalves) located in a pasture in central Brazil. Specifically, we investigated whether the extension of the foraging area of the colonies required to reach new resources occurs by building new and longer underground tunnels or by building new and longer physical trails. Each nest was surveyed at intervals of approximately 15 days during 1 year. At each survey we mapped the position of the tunnel entrances and foraging trails at which activity was observed. In addition, we assessed the excavation effort of the colonies since the last survey by the number and distance to the nest of new tunnel entrances, and the physical trail construction effort by the number and length of newly built physical trails. Our study reveals that in A. capiguara the collection of new resources around the nest required to ensure the continuous growth of the colonies is achieved mainly through the excavation of new underground tunnels, opening at greater distance from the nest, not through the building of longer aboveground physical trails.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Caldato
- Univ Estadual Paulista, São Paulo, Brasil
| | - R Camargo
- Univ Estadual Paulista, São Paulo, Brasil
| | - K K Sousa
- Univ Estadual Paulista, São Paulo, Brasil
| | - L C Forti
- Univ Estadual Paulista, São Paulo, Brasil
| | - J F Lopes
- Univ Federal Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brasil
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Alma AM, Farji‐Brener AG, Elizalde L. With a little help from my friends: Individual and collaborative performance during trail clearing in leaf‐cutting ants. Biotropica 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Marina Alma
- Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Hormigas (LIHO) INIBIOMA‐CONICET‐UNCOMA Bariloche Argentina
| | | | - Luciana Elizalde
- Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Hormigas (LIHO) INIBIOMA‐CONICET‐UNCOMA Bariloche Argentina
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Oberhauser FB, Middleton EJT, Latty T, Czaczkes TJ. Meat ants cut more trail shortcuts when facing long detours. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:jeb.205773. [PMID: 31586020 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.205773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Engineered paths increase efficiency and safety but also incur construction and maintenance costs, leading to a trade-off between investment and gain. Such a trade-off is faced by Australian meat ants, which create and maintain vegetation-free trails between nests and food sources, and thus their trails are expected to be constructed selectively. To test this, we placed an artificial obstacle consisting of 300 paper grass blades between a sucrose feeder and the colony, flanked by walls either 10 cm or 80 cm long. To exploit the feeder, ants could detour around the walls or take a direct route by traversing through the obstacle. We found that, when confronted with a long alternative detour, 76% of colonies removed more grass blades and ants were also 60% more likely to traverse the obstacle instead of detouring, with clearing activity favouring higher ant flow or vice versa. An analysis of cut patterns revealed that ants did not cut randomly, but instead concentrated on creating a trail to the food source. Meat ants were thus able to collectively deploy their trail-clearing efforts in a directed manner when detour costs were high, and rapidly established cleared trails to the food source by focusing on completing a central, vertically aligned trail which was then followed by the ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix B Oberhauser
- Animal Comparative Economics Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany .,Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Eliza J T Middleton
- Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Tanya Latty
- Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Tomer J Czaczkes
- Animal Comparative Economics Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
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