Foraging, food selection and worker size in the seed harvesting ant Messor bouvieri

Willott, S. J.; Compton, Stephen G.; Incoll, L. D.

doi:10.1007/pl00008889

Cited by 60 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 36 publications

(60 reference statements)

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“…Body size has been shown to affect the amount of material foraged in a diversity of social insects, including Atta leafcutting ants (Rudolph and Loudon 1986;Willott et al 2000;Goulson et al 2002;Roschard and Roces 2003). We found this to also be the case here, with larger ants cutting larger fragments.…”

Section: Figuresupporting

confidence: 71%

The effects of genotype, caste, and age on foraging performance in leaf-cutting ants

et al. 2012

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The evolution of polyandry is a general problem in behavioral ecology that has attracted particular interest in the social insects. Most social insects are monandrous (i.e., females are inseminated by a single male), but approximately a third of species have evolved polyandry (i.e., females are inseminated by multiple males), which can reach extreme levels. One of the leading explanations for polyandry is that genetically diverse colonies may have improved division of labor because of genotypic variation in the propensity of workers to engage in particular tasks. Here we investigate whether there may also be genotypic variation in the ability to carry out a task, by examining the effect of genotype, as well as caste and age, on the foraging performance of workers of the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex subterraneus. Larger ants cut larger fragments of orange-impregnated parafilm, and did so more quickly than smaller ants, whereas older ants also cut larger fragments but were slower to transport them. Most importantly, we found that patrilines within colonies differed significantly in the size of fragment cut, and the speed of cutting and transporting fragments when controlling for both ant size and fragment size in the analyses. Certain patrilines were better foragers, often in multiple ways, whereas other patrilines were significantly worse at foraging. Genotype can therefore affect the ability of social insect workers to carry out tasks as well as their previously shown propensity to engage in them, providing an additional mechanism by which genetic diversity may be beneficial to social insect colonies.

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Section: Figuresupporting

confidence: 71%

The effects of genotype, caste, and age on foraging performance in leaf-cutting ants

et al. 2012

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“…This seed-size dependent selectivity is well known for harvester ants, which remove the largest seeds as possible. Below their seed-size scale, the ant does not detect the seed as a potential food, and above, seeds are too large to be removed (Davidson, 1978;Retana and Cerdµ, 1994;Kaspari, 1996;Willott et al, 2000;Heredia and Detrain, 2005).…”

Section: The Seed Size Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ant-seed interactions: combined effects of ant and plant species on seed removal patterns

Servigne

Detrain

2008

Insect. Soc.

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Seed dispersal by ants (i.e. myrmecochory) is usually considered as a mutualism: ants feed on nutritive bodies, called elaiosomes, before rejecting and dispersing seeds in their nest surroundings. While mechanisms of plant dispersal in the field are well documented, the behaviour of the ant partner was rarely investigated in details. Here, we compared in laboratory conditions the foraging behaviour of two ant species, the omnivorous Lasius niger and the insectivorous Myrmica rubra to which seeds of two European myrmecochorous plants (Chelidonium majus and Viola odorata) were given. Ant colonies were simultaneously presented three types of items: entire seeds with elaiosome (SE), seeds without elaiosome (S) and detached elaiosomes (E). The presence of elaiosomes on seeds did not attract workers from a distance since ants first contact equally each type of items. Although ants are mass-recruiting species, we never observed any recruitment nor trail-laying behaviour towards seeds. For ants having contacted seed items, their antennation, manipulation and seed retrieval behaviour strongly varied depending on the species of each partner. Antennation behaviour, followed by a loss of contact, was the most frequent ant-seed interaction and can be considered as a "hesitation" clue. For both plant species, insectivorous Myrmica ants removed items in larger number and at higher speed than Lasius. This fits with the hypothesis of a convergence between odours of elaiosomes and insect preys. For both ant species, the small Chelidonium seeds were retrieved in higher proportion than Viola ones, confirming the hypothesis that ants prefer the higher elaiosome/diaspore-ratio. Thus, in these crossed experiments, the ant-plant pair Myrmica/ Chelidonium was the most effective as ants removed quickly almost all items after a few antennations. The presence of an elaiosome body increased the seed removal by ants excepting for Myrmica which retrieved all Chelidonium seeds, even those deprived of their elaiosome. After 24 h, all the retrieved seeds were rejected out of the nest to the refuse piles. In at least half of these rejected items, the elaiosome was discarded by ants. Species-specific patterns and behavioural differences in the dynamics of myrmecochory are discussed at the light of ant ecology.

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“…It is important to bear in mind that the predation risk for a given seed in the field depends on its abundance and traits and also on the availability of other types of prey (Whitford, 1978;Briese and Macauley, 1981;Hobbs, 1985;Veech, 2000;Wilby and Shachack, 2000;Willott et al, 2000). Our measurements used standard seeds which are probably more attractive to ants than those in the field, and, given their nonnative status, could be left in equal, controlled densities in all habitats.…”

Section: Seed Predation Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Messor harvester ants are the main seed predators in Mediterranean grasslands (López et al, 1993 b;Cerdá and Retana, 1994), and also in certain types of camephyte scrubland (Willott et al, 2000). One of the main features of these communities is the predominance of annual species (Peco, 1989;Fernández Alés et al, 1993;Ortega et al, 1997), which makes their annual regeneration heavily dependent on the soil seed bank dynamics (Peco et al, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial patterns of seed predation by harvester ants ( Messor Forel) in Mediterranean grassland and scrubland

Azcárate¹,

Peco²

2003

Insectes Sociaux

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Seed predation by harvester ants is one of the main processes involved in the seed bank dynamics of Mediterranean grassland and scrubland. We investigated the spatial patterns of seed predation by Messor spp. in these systems from a multi-level approach (nest-site selection, foraging patch selection and seed predation risk), using ten experimental plots (20 m ¥ 40 m) set in central Spain. All habitats in grasslands are dominated by M. barbarus, while in scrubland this species shares seed exploitation with M. bouvieri. In this type of system, the nest-hole and foraging territory distribution of the two species show a certain degree of segregation. Messor bouvieri focuses on the exploitation of dry scrub, while M. barbarus also forages on subhumid and humid patches. We interpret this as a consequence of the different foraging behaviour and nest site requirements of the two species. In general, the spatial distribution of seed predation risk reflects the patterns detected for the nest-holes and foraging areas, although scrubland has a more heterogeneous predation pattern than grassland.

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Foraging, food selection and worker size in the seed harvesting ant Messor bouvieri

Cited by 60 publications

References 36 publications

The effects of genotype, caste, and age on foraging performance in leaf-cutting ants

The effects of genotype, caste, and age on foraging performance in leaf-cutting ants

Ant-seed interactions: combined effects of ant and plant species on seed removal patterns

Spatial patterns of seed predation by harvester ants ( Messor Forel) in Mediterranean grassland and scrubland

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