Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://repositorio.ufla.br/jspui/handle/1/56523
Title: Ant species that remove diaspores alone are more efficient removers
Keywords: Functional traits
Myrmecochory
Seed removal
Morphology
Strategy foraging
Animal-plant interactions
Formigas - Forrageamento
Remoção de sementes
Dispersão de diásporos
Estratégia de forrageamento
Interações animal-planta
Mirmecocoria
Issue Date: Sep-2022
Publisher: Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana - Departamento de Ciências Biológicas
Citation: WILKER, I. et al. Ant species that remove diaspores alone are more efficient removers. Sociobiology, Feira de Santana, v. 69, n. 3, e8308, Sept. 2022. DOI: 10.13102/sociobiology.v69i3.8308.
Abstract: Secondary diaspore removal on the ground is an important ecosystem process. In this process, solitary foraging ants with larger body sizes are more efficient because they may remove more diaspores, faster and carry them at greater distances. Therefore, we sought to test the effects of the sizes of the morphological traits of ants, removal strategy, and nest distance on secondary diaspore removal, testing hypotheses related to the efficiency of this process. We evaluated the removal of artificial diaspores by ants in 15 areas of Cerrado sensu stricto (tropical savanna), collecting data on diaspore removal strategy (solitary or group), nest distance, diaspore discovery time, diaspore removal time, and the number of diaspores removed. Larger ants tended to remove diaspores alone and remove diaspores faster than smaller ones. Ants that removed diaspores alone removed more diaspores than ants that removed diaspores in groups. However, we did not find a linear relationship between ant size and diaspore removal. This is likely due to a limitation on, or a preference by larger ants for removing larger diaspores, while the smaller diaspores may have hindered manipulation or been less attractive to larger ants. Thus, the removal strategy was the best predictor of efficient diaspore removal performance, where the solitary foraging ants discover and remove diaspores quickly and remove more diaspores, mainly from the closest nests to the sampling point. However, the benefits (or not) of removing more diaspores still need to be evaluated.
URI: http://repositorio.ufla.br/jspui/handle/1/56523
Appears in Collections:DBI - Artigos publicados em periódicos

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