Foraging patterns of the leaf-cutter ant Atta laevigata (Smith) (Myrmicinae: Attini) in an area of cerrado vegetation

Viana, Leonardo R.; Santos, Jean Carlos; Arruda, Leandro J.; Santos, Glênio Pereira dos; Fernandes, G. Wilson

doi:10.1590/s1519-566x2004000300019

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Second, our estimate of the average annual biomass consumption by an Atta colony is well within the range reported in similar studies conducted in other tropical habitats (Wirth et al 1997;Herz et al 2007). Finally, leaf-cutter ants are distributed throughout the Brazilian cerrado (Gonçalves 1960), and Atta nest density in our study site is within the range of values reported for other cerrado areas (2.7-6.0 nests per ha, Schoereder & Coutinho 1990;Viana et al 2004). The higher nest densities in the cerrado are probably why our estimates of biomass consumption by Atta spp.…”

Section: Fig 2 Relationship Between Nest Mound Size and Plant Biomasupporting

confidence: 82%

Do herbivores exert top‐down effects in Neotropical savannas? Estimates of biomass consumption by leaf‐cutter ants

Costa

Vasconcelos

Vieira‐Neto

et al. 2008

J Vegetation Science

125

133

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Question: Plant communities in Paleotropical savannas are regulated by a combination of bottom‐up and top‐down effects. However, the paucity of ungulates and other large herbivores in Neotropical savannas has led to speculation that these communities are primarily structured by physical factors such as fire, precipitation and soil chemistry. We addressed the following question: How much plant biomass is consumed by leaf‐cutter ants in Neotropical savannas, and is it comparable to the amount of biomass consumed by herbivores in Paleotropical savanna sites? Location: Our study was conducted at the Estação Ecológica do Panga, located 30 km south of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. All field work was conducted in the vegetation type known as cerrado sensu stricto. Methods and Results Using direct measurements of herbivory, coupled with estimates of plant productivity and ant colony density, we found that leaf‐cutter ants (Atta spp.) consume 13–17% of the foliar biomass produced annually by woody plants in a Neotropical savanna (Brazilian cerrado). Although comparisons with other savanna systems are complicated by methodological differences among studies, the proportion of biomass consumed by Atta species is about 25% of that consumed by the entire ungulate community in some African savannas and greater than or comparable to the total herbivory observed in some terrestrial ecosystems. Conclusions: We hypothesize that this intense biomass consumption by Atta will have important ecological consequences for the cerrado ecosystem, because leaf‐cutter abundance increases in fragmented or degraded habitats. These effects are likely to be exacerbated as anthropogenic pressure in this biodiversity hotspot increases.

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Section: Fig 2 Relationship Between Nest Mound Size and Plant Biomasupporting

confidence: 82%

Do herbivores exert top‐down effects in Neotropical savannas? Estimates of biomass consumption by leaf‐cutter ants

Costa

Vasconcelos

Vieira‐Neto

et al. 2008

J Vegetation Science

125

133

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“…Previous surveys reported Atta colony densities in this savannah can be up to 22 times greater between locations, ranging from 0.6 to 13.3 nest/ha (Schoereder and Coutinho ; Schoereder ; Viana et al. ; Costa et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…These differences are due to distinct methodological approaches because assessments included either incipient and young colonies (Schoereder and Coutinho ; Viana et al. ) or only mature ones (Schoereder ; Costa et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Species turnover regulates leaf‐cutter ant densities in environmental gradients across the Brazilian Cerrado

Costa

Vieira‐Neto

2015

J Applied Entomology

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Environmental changes resulting from Atta leaf-cutter ant activities characterize them as ecosystem engineers of ecological and economic importance in multiple habitats. Although Atta effects depend strongly on colony density, there has been limited and inconsistent information available on their abundance and interspecific dominance in natural areas and across environmental gradients in the Brazilian Cerrado. Our study bridges this gap by testing the hypothesis that Atta nest density at genus level is high and relatively constant across locations regardless of vegetation type due to strong effects of dominant species turnover. To do so, we conducted a natural experiment surveying Atta nest abundance in five different vegetation types representing the environmental gradient from forest to savannah habitats found in the Cerrado. Our linear transect surveys covered 48.9 km in four well-preserved areas across two Brazilian states in which we recorded 124 colonies. Of these, 84 nests belonged to A. laevigata and 40 to A. sexdens, the two dominant Atta species in the region. We also found no nests in 30% of the sampled area, which when combined with strong variation in density measured per transect indicates colonies tend to be aggregated in the landscape. Furthermore, we observed a strong dominant species turnover from forest habitats where 90% of nests belonged to A. sexdens to savannah habitats where 92% of nests were A. laevigata. Turnover effect was reflected in the absence of a significant difference in density between locations and vegetation types, indicating that density at genus level remains high and relatively constant regardless of nest aggregation. Our findings allow larger scale inferences about Atta effects and reveal new insights of their dynamics into natural areas that could affect plant species distribution and contribute to spatial heterogeneity of vegetation, having important implications for Cerrado conservation.

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“…Forrageamento em formigas é um processo complexo que envolve um sistema auto-organizável que pode ser estudado considerando o indivíduo, a colônia ou ambos (Schlindwein 2004). Alguns fatores podem modificar o comportamento de forrageamento das operárias como temperatura (Corrêa et al 2016), precipitação pluviométrica (Viana et al 2004), sazonalidade (Leal & Oliveira 2000, Lima et al 2006, Endringer 2011, tamanho do formigueiro (Moreira 1992), presença de parasitoides (Bragança et al 1998, Gazal et al 2007, queimadas (Araújo et al 2004), diferentes distâncias da planta ao ninho (Röschard & Roces 2003), diferentes tamanhos de carga (Cherrett 1972, Kleineidam et al 2007, Endringer et al 2012, plantas nocivas (Arenas & Roces 2016) e diferentes espécies de plantas podem ser cortadas e transportadas pelas operárias por diferentes estratégias de forrageamento (Endringer 2011(Endringer , 2015. Essa complexidade de fatores provavelmente contribui para que o forrageamento seja um comportamento flexível.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Plasticidade Do Comportamento De Forrageamento Em Formigas Cortadeiras

Viana-Bailez¹,

Endringer²

2016

Oecol. Aust.

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O comportamento de forrageamento em insetos sociais é uma atividade complexa que envolve um sistema auto-organizável e pode ser estudado em nível de indivíduo e de colônia. Na sociedade de formigas nem todos os indivíduos participam da coleta de alimento. As operárias que executam essa tarefa, frequentemente, são as mais velhas e de maior tamanho. Nas formigas da tribo Attini o forrageamento é um processo complexo que consiste na exploração do recurso alimentar envolvendo seleção, corte e transporte para o ninho. Essas formigas utilizam substratos variados para o desenvolvimento do fungo simbionte o qual fornece alimento à colônia. Os gêneros Atta e Acromyrmex, conhecidas como cortadeiras, possuem um padrão de forrageamento bem definido por meio de trilhas físicas e químicas. Nos gêneros basais normalmente não ocorre corte de vegetação viva, as operárias forrageiam individualmente, não possuem rotas de forrageamento estabelecidas e não existe fidelidade ao tipo de recurso coletado. Além dessas diferenças entre grupos, o comportamento de forrageamento pode também variar dentro de uma mesma espécie em função de fatores ambientais e da capacidade de adaptação das operárias. Outros fenômenos que fazem das atines um modelo interessante para o estudo do comportamento de forrageamento são o polimorfismo e o polietismo. Alguns estudos realizados com espécies de Atta demonstraram a existência de uma flexibilidade comportamental durante o forrageamento. Dentro desse contexto, essa revisão pretende discutir a capacidade de adaptação que estes insetos possuem para resolver problemas fazendo ajustes de seu comportamento tanto individual como coletivo e assim, adotar a estratégia mais conveniente para a colônia permitindo explorar eficientemente variadas fontes de recursos. Palavras-chave: Attini; estratégias de forrageamento; flexibilidade comportamental. ABSTRACT-PLASTICITY OF FORAGING BEHAVIOR IN LEAF-CUTTING ANTS The foraging behavior in social insects is a complex activity that involves a self-organizing system and can be studied at the individual or at the colony level. In the ant society, not all individuals participate in the gathering of food. The workers who perform this task are often older and larger ants. In Attini ants, the foraging is a complex process that involves selection, cutting and transport of food resources to the nest. These ants use several sources of food to develop the symbiotic fungus, which provides food to the colony. The genera Atta and Acromyrmex, known as leaf-cutter ant, have a well-defined pattern of foraging determined by physical and chemical trails. In the basal genera the worker ants forage alone, hardly ever cut fresh vegetation, do not follow trails and there is no fidelity to the resource gathered. Besides the differences between groups, foraging behavior may be different in the same specie as consequence of environmental factors and the adaptability of workers. Other phenomena that make the Attines an interesting model to study foraging behavior are the polymorphism and polyethism. S...

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Foraging patterns of the leaf-cutter ant Atta laevigata (Smith) (Myrmicinae: Attini) in an area of cerrado vegetation

Cited by 14 publications

References 2 publications

Do herbivores exert top‐down effects in Neotropical savannas? Estimates of biomass consumption by leaf‐cutter ants

Do herbivores exert top‐down effects in Neotropical savannas? Estimates of biomass consumption by leaf‐cutter ants

Species turnover regulates leaf‐cutter ant densities in environmental gradients across the Brazilian Cerrado

Plasticidade Do Comportamento De Forrageamento Em Formigas Cortadeiras

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