Pogonomyrmexcunicularius as the keystone disperser of elaiosome-bearing Jatropha excisa seeds in semi-arid Argentina
- Autores
- Aranda Rickert, Adriana Marina; Fracchia, Sebastian
- Año de publicación
- 2011
- Idioma
- inglés
- Tipo de recurso
- artículo
- Estado
- versión publicada
- Descripción
- Myrmecochory or seed dispersal by ants is often described as a diffuse mutualism, because many of the ant species that function as partners are considered to be similar in terms of the frequency and consequences of their interactions. In this work, we test this assumption by conducting ant community surveys and seed removal experiments in six study sites located within a semi-arid region of northwest Argentina. At each site, we characterized the ant assemblage that interacted with the seeds of Jatropha excisa Griseb. (Euphorbiaceae), an ant-dispersed native shrub. Our results demonstrate that seed removal was dominated by one species, Pogonomyrmex cunicularius Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae), which was responsible of 84% of the observed seed removal events. Although several ant species were attracted to the elaiosome-bearing seeds of J. excisa, seed removal did not depend on ant community composition (species richness and ant activity) but was significantly influenced by the abundance of P. cunicularius. Its physical, behavioral, and ecological attributes are common with other ant species that have been characterized as keystone seed dispersers in other regions of the world. Nest feeding with marked seeds revealed that once P. cunicularius ants consume the elaiosomes, seeds are left inside the nests undamaged and at an appropriate depth for emergence. Our results support the hypothesis that myrmecochory is often an unevenly diffuse mutualism (i.e., one partner species is particularly important) and that at a local scale P. cunicularius is the keystone seed disperser of J. excisa.
Fil: Aranda Rickert, Adriana Marina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; Argentina
Fil: Fracchia, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; Argentina - Materia
-
Diffuse Mutualism
Euphorbiaceae
Formicidae
Hymenoptera
Keystone Species
Myrmecochory
Myrmicinae
Seed Dispersal - Nivel de accesibilidad
- acceso abierto
- Condiciones de uso
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
- Repositorio
- Institución
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
- OAI Identificador
- oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/68554
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Pogonomyrmexcunicularius as the keystone disperser of elaiosome-bearing Jatropha excisa seeds in semi-arid ArgentinaAranda Rickert, Adriana MarinaFracchia, SebastianDiffuse MutualismEuphorbiaceaeFormicidaeHymenopteraKeystone SpeciesMyrmecochoryMyrmicinaeSeed Dispersalhttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1Myrmecochory or seed dispersal by ants is often described as a diffuse mutualism, because many of the ant species that function as partners are considered to be similar in terms of the frequency and consequences of their interactions. In this work, we test this assumption by conducting ant community surveys and seed removal experiments in six study sites located within a semi-arid region of northwest Argentina. At each site, we characterized the ant assemblage that interacted with the seeds of Jatropha excisa Griseb. (Euphorbiaceae), an ant-dispersed native shrub. Our results demonstrate that seed removal was dominated by one species, Pogonomyrmex cunicularius Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae), which was responsible of 84% of the observed seed removal events. Although several ant species were attracted to the elaiosome-bearing seeds of J. excisa, seed removal did not depend on ant community composition (species richness and ant activity) but was significantly influenced by the abundance of P. cunicularius. Its physical, behavioral, and ecological attributes are common with other ant species that have been characterized as keystone seed dispersers in other regions of the world. Nest feeding with marked seeds revealed that once P. cunicularius ants consume the elaiosomes, seeds are left inside the nests undamaged and at an appropriate depth for emergence. Our results support the hypothesis that myrmecochory is often an unevenly diffuse mutualism (i.e., one partner species is particularly important) and that at a local scale P. cunicularius is the keystone seed disperser of J. excisa.Fil: Aranda Rickert, Adriana Marina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Fracchia, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; ArgentinaWiley Blackwell Publishing, Inc2011-05info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/68554Aranda Rickert, Adriana Marina; Fracchia, Sebastian; Pogonomyrmexcunicularius as the keystone disperser of elaiosome-bearing Jatropha excisa seeds in semi-arid Argentina; Wiley Blackwell Publishing, Inc; Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata; 139; 2; 5-2011; 91-1020013-8703CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1570-7458.2011.01111.x/abstractinfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1111/j.1570-7458.2011.01111.xinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-09-29T09:47:00Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/68554instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-09-29 09:47:00.893CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse |
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Pogonomyrmexcunicularius as the keystone disperser of elaiosome-bearing Jatropha excisa seeds in semi-arid Argentina |
title |
Pogonomyrmexcunicularius as the keystone disperser of elaiosome-bearing Jatropha excisa seeds in semi-arid Argentina |
spellingShingle |
Pogonomyrmexcunicularius as the keystone disperser of elaiosome-bearing Jatropha excisa seeds in semi-arid Argentina Aranda Rickert, Adriana Marina Diffuse Mutualism Euphorbiaceae Formicidae Hymenoptera Keystone Species Myrmecochory Myrmicinae Seed Dispersal |
title_short |
Pogonomyrmexcunicularius as the keystone disperser of elaiosome-bearing Jatropha excisa seeds in semi-arid Argentina |
title_full |
Pogonomyrmexcunicularius as the keystone disperser of elaiosome-bearing Jatropha excisa seeds in semi-arid Argentina |
title_fullStr |
Pogonomyrmexcunicularius as the keystone disperser of elaiosome-bearing Jatropha excisa seeds in semi-arid Argentina |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pogonomyrmexcunicularius as the keystone disperser of elaiosome-bearing Jatropha excisa seeds in semi-arid Argentina |
title_sort |
Pogonomyrmexcunicularius as the keystone disperser of elaiosome-bearing Jatropha excisa seeds in semi-arid Argentina |
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv |
Aranda Rickert, Adriana Marina Fracchia, Sebastian |
author |
Aranda Rickert, Adriana Marina |
author_facet |
Aranda Rickert, Adriana Marina Fracchia, Sebastian |
author_role |
author |
author2 |
Fracchia, Sebastian |
author2_role |
author |
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv |
Diffuse Mutualism Euphorbiaceae Formicidae Hymenoptera Keystone Species Myrmecochory Myrmicinae Seed Dispersal |
topic |
Diffuse Mutualism Euphorbiaceae Formicidae Hymenoptera Keystone Species Myrmecochory Myrmicinae Seed Dispersal |
purl_subject.fl_str_mv |
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1 |
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv |
Myrmecochory or seed dispersal by ants is often described as a diffuse mutualism, because many of the ant species that function as partners are considered to be similar in terms of the frequency and consequences of their interactions. In this work, we test this assumption by conducting ant community surveys and seed removal experiments in six study sites located within a semi-arid region of northwest Argentina. At each site, we characterized the ant assemblage that interacted with the seeds of Jatropha excisa Griseb. (Euphorbiaceae), an ant-dispersed native shrub. Our results demonstrate that seed removal was dominated by one species, Pogonomyrmex cunicularius Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae), which was responsible of 84% of the observed seed removal events. Although several ant species were attracted to the elaiosome-bearing seeds of J. excisa, seed removal did not depend on ant community composition (species richness and ant activity) but was significantly influenced by the abundance of P. cunicularius. Its physical, behavioral, and ecological attributes are common with other ant species that have been characterized as keystone seed dispersers in other regions of the world. Nest feeding with marked seeds revealed that once P. cunicularius ants consume the elaiosomes, seeds are left inside the nests undamaged and at an appropriate depth for emergence. Our results support the hypothesis that myrmecochory is often an unevenly diffuse mutualism (i.e., one partner species is particularly important) and that at a local scale P. cunicularius is the keystone seed disperser of J. excisa. Fil: Aranda Rickert, Adriana Marina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; Argentina Fil: Fracchia, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja. - Provincia de La Rioja. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja; Argentina |
description |
Myrmecochory or seed dispersal by ants is often described as a diffuse mutualism, because many of the ant species that function as partners are considered to be similar in terms of the frequency and consequences of their interactions. In this work, we test this assumption by conducting ant community surveys and seed removal experiments in six study sites located within a semi-arid region of northwest Argentina. At each site, we characterized the ant assemblage that interacted with the seeds of Jatropha excisa Griseb. (Euphorbiaceae), an ant-dispersed native shrub. Our results demonstrate that seed removal was dominated by one species, Pogonomyrmex cunicularius Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae), which was responsible of 84% of the observed seed removal events. Although several ant species were attracted to the elaiosome-bearing seeds of J. excisa, seed removal did not depend on ant community composition (species richness and ant activity) but was significantly influenced by the abundance of P. cunicularius. Its physical, behavioral, and ecological attributes are common with other ant species that have been characterized as keystone seed dispersers in other regions of the world. Nest feeding with marked seeds revealed that once P. cunicularius ants consume the elaiosomes, seeds are left inside the nests undamaged and at an appropriate depth for emergence. Our results support the hypothesis that myrmecochory is often an unevenly diffuse mutualism (i.e., one partner species is particularly important) and that at a local scale P. cunicularius is the keystone seed disperser of J. excisa. |
publishDate |
2011 |
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2011-05 |
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo |
format |
article |
status_str |
publishedVersion |
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv |
http://hdl.handle.net/11336/68554 Aranda Rickert, Adriana Marina; Fracchia, Sebastian; Pogonomyrmexcunicularius as the keystone disperser of elaiosome-bearing Jatropha excisa seeds in semi-arid Argentina; Wiley Blackwell Publishing, Inc; Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata; 139; 2; 5-2011; 91-102 0013-8703 CONICET Digital CONICET |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11336/68554 |
identifier_str_mv |
Aranda Rickert, Adriana Marina; Fracchia, Sebastian; Pogonomyrmexcunicularius as the keystone disperser of elaiosome-bearing Jatropha excisa seeds in semi-arid Argentina; Wiley Blackwell Publishing, Inc; Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata; 139; 2; 5-2011; 91-102 0013-8703 CONICET Digital CONICET |
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv |
eng |
language |
eng |
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1570-7458.2011.01111.x/abstract info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1111/j.1570-7458.2011.01111.x |
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/ |
eu_rights_str_mv |
openAccess |
rights_invalid_str_mv |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/ |
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv |
application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf |
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Wiley Blackwell Publishing, Inc |
publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Wiley Blackwell Publishing, Inc |
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv |
reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET) instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas |
reponame_str |
CONICET Digital (CONICET) |
collection |
CONICET Digital (CONICET) |
instname_str |
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas |
repository.name.fl_str_mv |
CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas |
repository.mail.fl_str_mv |
dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar |
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1844613465640009728 |
score |
13.070432 |