Evaluation of three techniques for the study of harvester ant (<i>Pogonomynnex</i> spp.) diet

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dc.contributor.authorPirk, Gabriela Ines
dc.contributor.authorDe Casenave, Javier Lopez
dc.contributor.authorMarone, Luis
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-21T01:05:24Z
dc.date.available2025-01-21T01:05:24Z
dc.date.issued2007
dc.description.abstractThe estimation of an ant's diet is crucial in many ecological studies. Different techniques, which involve different assumptions and field procedures, have been used to estimate the composition of harvester ant diet. In this study, three techniques are compared for the estimation of the diet of Pogonomynnex rastratus (Mayr). Pogonomyrmex pronotalis (Santschi), and Pogonomyrmex inermis, (Forel) in the central Monte desert, Argentina: (1) hand collection of items brought back to the nest by foragers, (2) collection of items with a semiautomated device with pitfall traps, and (3) collection of the discarded material accumulated in middens. The hand collection technique and the collection of middens provided the lowest mid the highest number of items, respectively. Midden samples and pitfall traps contained a higher proportion of nonseed items, probably coming from sources other than ants, than hand-collected items. The three techniques provided similar estimations of species richness but a bias against small seeds was detected for P.pronotalis and P. inermis with the hand collection technique, possibly because of the difficulty of collecting small items by hand. The percentage of seed species if) the diet obtained with different techniques was positively correlated in the great majority of colonies. Overall, despite their intrinsic differences, the three techniques proved consistent, which constitutes a robustness test for the estimations obtained, In comparative ecological studies, the awareness that results depend on the techniques and their assumptions is particularly important.
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.eissn1938-2936
dc.identifier.issn0046-225X
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/95908
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:000250128900015
dc.issue.numero5
dc.language.isoen
dc.pagina.final1099
dc.pagina.inicio1092
dc.revistaEnvironmental entomology
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subjectPogonomyrmex
dc.subjectdiet estimation
dc.subjectsampling techniques
dc.subjectMonte desert
dc.subjectArgentina
dc.subject.ods15 Life on Land
dc.subject.odspa15 Vida de ecosistemas terrestres
dc.titleEvaluation of three techniques for the study of harvester ant (<i>Pogonomynnex</i> spp.) diet
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen36
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2025-01-12
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