Bioenergetics of the Southern Harvester Ant, Pogonomyrmex Badius

Abstract

The bioenergetics of the southern harvester ant were studied on the Savannah River Project, Aiken, South Carolina. Excavation of hills revealed that density of ants ranged from 4,000 to 6,000 per hill. Labeling ants with P32 indicated that only 10% of the ants in a colony were active above ground during any 2—week period (the limit of recognition of the label); thus, short—term marking recapture estimates based on above—ground individuals greatly underestimate the size of the colony. There were 27 hills per hectare on the study area. The consumption of oxygen of workers at various temperatures was determined in a simple respirometer, and the temperature at which the ants were living in the field was determined during a year's observation at mounds. The energy expense of heat production was calculated from the oxygen consumption and activity temperature records. Total energy flow (heat production plus tissue growth) was highest in summer and lowest in winter. The annual range was from 14 to 48 kgcal/m2/yr. Tissue growth was estimated to amount to only 0.09 kgcal/m2/yr. Energy flow in this species was higher than that of 2 vertebrate granivores studies in the same field, the old—field mouse and the savannah sparrow.

Contrasting effects of sewage sludge and commercial fertilizer on egg to adult development of two herbivorous insect species

“…Although the importance of arthropods, particularly insects and spiders in the terrestrial food chain is well documented (Odum et al, 1962;Golley and Gentry, 1964;Petrusewicz and Macfadyen, 1970), little is known about how arthropod communities and populations respond to heavy metal contamination in the environment and any potential toxicological effects. Herbivorous insects are major components of the biotic community as primary consumers of plants and because of their role in energy transfer through terrestrial food webs (Odum et al, 1962;Petrusewicz and Macfadyen, 1970;Pimentel and Warneke, 1989).…”

A Comparison of the Nest Phenologies ofThree Species of Pogonomyrmex Harvester Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicldae)

“…Harvester ants of the genus Pogonomyrmex are a major component of the energy flux through ecosystems (Golley and Gentry 1964). Ants of this genus have become increasingly important in ecological studies, including mutualism (O'Dowd and Hay 1980), competition (Mares and Rosenzweig 1978;Reichman 1979;Davidson 1980), predation (Whitford and Bryant 1979), foraging (Whitford and Ettershank 1975;H611dobler 1976a;Whitford 1976Whitford , 1978aDavidson 1977a, b;Taylor 1977), community structure (Davidson 1977a, b;Whitford 1978b), and impact on ecosystems (Clark and Comanor 1975;Reichman 1979).…”

Effect of disturbance on the ant community in a semiarid region of Central Mexico

“…Even when there were not differences in the functional diversity between sites, the granivore species were negatively affected by disturbance, whereas all other species were not affected. Granivore organisms have a strong influence on the structure of the plant community, depending upon the pairwise granivore-plant interactions (Golley and Gentry, 1964;Wight and Nichols, 1966). Therefore, local extinction of granivore species may have an effect on other interactions within the community (i.e.…”