Remoción de Semillas en Hábitats Transformados: Pogonomyrmex barbatus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) y Cinco Especies de Cactáceas del Centro de México
One of the main consequences of human activities in semiarid zones is the transformation of habitats. In this work we studied the effect of this transformation on seed removal of five cacti species by the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán valley, a semiarid zone in centr...
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Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
2014-10-01
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doaj-0dfe11ecaff0466ea2a40ff34942d4562021-10-04T02:05:22ZengUniversidade Estadual de Feira de SantanaSociobiology0361-65252447-80672014-10-0159110.13102/sociobiology.v59i1.666Remoción de Semillas en Hábitats Transformados: Pogonomyrmex barbatus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) y Cinco Especies de Cactáceas del Centro de MéxicoLeticia Ríos-Casanova0Héctor Godínez-Álvarez1Gabriala Martínez Morales2Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México One of the main consequences of human activities in semiarid zones is the transformation of habitats. In this work we studied the effect of this transformation on seed removal of five cacti species by the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán valley, a semiarid zone in central Mexico. Seed removal was quantified at three sites which have been under the effect of human activities: an abandoned crop field (CCA), a site with evidence of current human activities (TAH), and a site inside a botanic garden ( JB). We hypothesized that sites which have been under intense human activities would have low rates of seed removal because they offer harsh conditions for harvester ants, reducing their foraging activity. Results showed that vegetation and surface soil characteristics of the sites studied are affecting the rates of seed removal of the five cacti species studied. The lowest seed removal rate was found at CCA, the most transformed site. In contrast with our hypothesis the highest seed removal was found at TAH, the site which represents the intermediate transformation condition, because this site still conserves some characteristics which permit intense foraging activity by harvester ants. We also found that the seed removal rate varied among the different cacti species studied. Seed of E. chiotilla had the highest removal rate, whereas O. decumbens had the lowest. Differences in seed removal rate could be associated with the high heterogeneity found in sites with intermediate levels of transformation. Another factor that must be considered is the external morphology of seeds since smaller seeds presented highest removal rates. http://periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/666cacti seedsharvester antsEscontriaMéxicoOpuntiaPachycereus |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Leticia Ríos-Casanova Héctor Godínez-Álvarez Gabriala Martínez Morales |
spellingShingle |
Leticia Ríos-Casanova Héctor Godínez-Álvarez Gabriala Martínez Morales Remoción de Semillas en Hábitats Transformados: Pogonomyrmex barbatus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) y Cinco Especies de Cactáceas del Centro de México Sociobiology cacti seeds harvester ants Escontria México Opuntia Pachycereus |
author_facet |
Leticia Ríos-Casanova Héctor Godínez-Álvarez Gabriala Martínez Morales |
author_sort |
Leticia Ríos-Casanova |
title |
Remoción de Semillas en Hábitats Transformados: Pogonomyrmex barbatus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) y Cinco Especies de Cactáceas del Centro de México |
title_short |
Remoción de Semillas en Hábitats Transformados: Pogonomyrmex barbatus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) y Cinco Especies de Cactáceas del Centro de México |
title_full |
Remoción de Semillas en Hábitats Transformados: Pogonomyrmex barbatus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) y Cinco Especies de Cactáceas del Centro de México |
title_fullStr |
Remoción de Semillas en Hábitats Transformados: Pogonomyrmex barbatus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) y Cinco Especies de Cactáceas del Centro de México |
title_full_unstemmed |
Remoción de Semillas en Hábitats Transformados: Pogonomyrmex barbatus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) y Cinco Especies de Cactáceas del Centro de México |
title_sort |
remoción de semillas en hábitats transformados: pogonomyrmex barbatus (hymenoptera: formicidae) y cinco especies de cactáceas del centro de méxico |
publisher |
Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana |
series |
Sociobiology |
issn |
0361-6525 2447-8067 |
publishDate |
2014-10-01 |
description |
One of the main consequences of human activities in semiarid zones is the transformation of habitats. In this work we studied the effect of this transformation on seed removal of five cacti species by the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex barbatus in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán valley, a semiarid zone in central Mexico. Seed removal was quantified at three sites which have been under the effect of human activities: an abandoned crop field (CCA), a site with evidence of current human activities (TAH), and a site inside a botanic garden ( JB). We hypothesized that sites which have been under intense human activities would have low rates of seed removal because they offer harsh conditions for harvester ants, reducing their foraging activity. Results showed that vegetation and surface soil characteristics of the sites studied are affecting the rates of seed removal of the five cacti species studied. The lowest seed removal rate was found at CCA, the most transformed site. In contrast with our hypothesis the highest seed removal was found at TAH, the site which represents the intermediate transformation condition, because this site still conserves some characteristics which permit intense foraging activity by harvester ants. We also found that the seed removal rate varied among the different cacti species studied. Seed of E. chiotilla had the highest removal rate, whereas O. decumbens had the lowest. Differences in seed removal rate could be associated with the high heterogeneity found in sites with intermediate levels of transformation. Another factor that must be considered is the external morphology of seeds since smaller seeds presented highest removal rates.
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topic |
cacti seeds harvester ants Escontria México Opuntia Pachycereus |
url |
http://periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/666 |
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