Dispersão de diásporos não mirmecocóricos por formigas: influência do tipo e abundância do diásporo

Farnese, Fernanda dos Santos; Campos, Renata Bernardes Faria; Fonseca, Gustavo Augusto

doi:10.1590/s0100-67622011000100015

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…In dry seasons, more than 50% of the material collected by leaf-cutting ants consists of non-leaf material (stipules, fruits, seeds, and flower parts) (Rockwood 1976, Wirth et al 1997. In fact, 28% of available diaspores in Cerrado are collected by Atta and Acromyrmex workers (Farnese et al 2011). Changing their typical habit of using fresh leaves during a period of acute food shortages (Howard 1987, Wirth et al 1997, ants can overcome environmental limitations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Seeds as Fungus Garden Substrate Changes the Organization of Labor Among Leaf-Cutting Ant Workers

et al. 2015

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Seeds of different plant species constitute an alternative but also significant substrate that leaf-cutting ants use to cultivate their fungus garden. However, how they are processed inside the nest and if their use implies differential allocation of worker size classes are still poorly known. Using laboratory colonies of Acromyrmex subterraneus (Forel) as a model, the behaviors related to the processing of three different seeds (sesame, guava, and grape) as fungus substrate were listed. At the same time, we measured how each worker size class contributed to the execution of these behaviors by registering their respective frequency. It was found that medium-sized (1.2 > head width < 1.6 mm) and minimum-sized (head width <1.1 mm) workers assumed the role of incorporation for sesame and grape seeds, respectively. Major-sized workers (head width >1.7 mm) were concentrated on licking and holding guava seeds. Tegument removal was the only task observed that differs between treatment of seeds and treatment of leaves before their incorporation, as described in the literature. It was verified that different species of seeds imply a differential allocation of worker size classes and the inclusion or exclusion of some tasks from the behavioral repertoire. Regardless of the substrate type, leaf-cutting ant workers follow a coordinated and specialized procedure to cultivate the fungus garden but always maintain a high degree of cooperation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Seeds as Fungus Garden Substrate Changes the Organization of Labor Among Leaf-Cutting Ant Workers

et al. 2015

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“…In tropical forests, interactions with ants frequently occur in non-myrmecochorous plants. They lack elaiosomes, but have other seed structures attractive to ants (Barroso et al, 2013;Bottcher & Oliveira, 2014;Farnese et al, 2011;Pizo & Oliveira, 1998;.…”

Section: Introduction and Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diaspore Abundance Promotes more Interaction with Ants in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest

et al. 2020

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The influence of Guarea guidonia (L.) Sleumer diaspore abundance on ants' preference was studied in a secondary tropical forest area in Brazil. We offered seeds in stations with different abundances (one, two, five or 10 diaspores) for interactions with ants. The number of interactions and of ants were influenced by diaspore abundance during the observation period. Stations with 10 diaspores maintained a high number of interactions throughout the experiment. Incidence of seed cleaning differed among the four groups. Moreover, the number of interactions was positively related to the average percent of seeds cleaned. Diaspore abundance proved to be important for promoting more interactions with ants. Considering that the proportion of seeds cleaned increased with the number of interactions, further experiments should observe ant activity for a longer period. Furthermore, diaspore abundance should be considered in future studies of interactions with ants.

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“…O processo de dispersão de diásporos por animais envolve relações específicas entre esses elementos vegetais e agentes dispersores (Deminicis et al 2009). Dentre os vetores zoocóricos de sementes, têm-se as formigas que atuam nos ecossistemas com ampla distribuição geográfica, abundância local elevada e alta riqueza de espécies, assumindo um papel de grande relevância como dispersores secundários, incluindo a maior parte das espécies de formigas forrageando frutos e sementes na superfície do solo (Queiroz et al 2006;Farnese et al 2011;Oliveira et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

“…As interações entre formigas e plantas não mirmecóricas (cujas sementes não estão adaptadas para a dispersão por formigas) são pouco documentadas (Farnese et al 2011), tendo sido mais estudadas nas regiões áridas da África e Austrália e, muito pouco documentado na América do Sul (Costa et al 2007), sendo que os poucos registros no Brasil foram realizados em alguns ecossistemas de Florestas, Cerrado, Restinga e Caatinga (Costa et al 2007), com destaque às formigas-cortadeiras.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Dispersão de sementes de Copaifera arenicola (Caesalpinioideae-Fabaceae) por formigas cortadeiras em remanescentes de Caatinga

et al. 2019

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Resumo O presente estudo registra o processo mirmecórico de sementes da espécie arbórea Copaifera arenicola (Ducke) J. Costa & L. P. Queiroz por formigas-cortadeiras da espécie Atta opaciceps Borgmeier, 1939 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), observado em área de remanescente de Caatinga, localizada no município de Ribeira do Pombal, no nordeste do Estado da Bahia. Foi observado um formigueiro de Atta opaciceps contendo sementes de Copaifera arenicola em seu interior, o qual distava quatro metros da planta-mãe, tendo sido observadas na trilha de dispersão formada pelas formigas algumas sementes abandonadas e outras sementes da mesma planta sendo transportadas por espécimes de Atta opaciceps. Durante o período de estudo, nenhuma outra espécie de formiga foi observada em contato ou carregando as sementes de Copaifera arenicola. O que merece destaque aqui é o comportamento das formigas, por cortarem o tegumento da semente antes de transportá-la, além do tamanho avantajado da semente em relação ao tamanho do inseto. Foi observada também uma plântula de Copaifera arenicola encontrada a dois metros do formigueiro, o que pode sugerir a ação das formigas na dispersão espacial dessa espécie botânica. Palavras-chave: Espécie arbórea; mirmecoria; Atta opaciceps; semiárido.

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Dispersão de diásporos não mirmecocóricos por formigas: influência do tipo e abundância do diásporo

Cited by 5 publications

References 17 publications

Use of Seeds as Fungus Garden Substrate Changes the Organization of Labor Among Leaf-Cutting Ant Workers

Use of Seeds as Fungus Garden Substrate Changes the Organization of Labor Among Leaf-Cutting Ant Workers

Diaspore Abundance Promotes more Interaction with Ants in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Dispersão de sementes de Copaifera arenicola (Caesalpinioideae-Fabaceae) por formigas cortadeiras em remanescentes de Caatinga

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