Why are antlion larvae rare under the leaf litter? Testing the hypothesis of improper trap maintenance

Autores
Farji-Brener, Alejandro G.; Carrillo-Fajardo, Merly Yenedith; Rodríguez-Malacara, Jorge Tanit; Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor
Año de publicación
2024
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión aceptada
Descripción
Understanding why animals avoid some locations is needed to improve the theory of habitat selection. This is key in semi-sedentary organisms, such as antlion larvae, because once established they rarely move, and their performance largely depends on local environmental conditions. Antlion larvae are sit-and-wait predators that build conical pitfall traps in sandy soils to capture passing prey. They clean constantly their traps, expelling soil, prey carcasses and debris out of the pit to maintain their trapping success. Therefore, we propose that they avoid soils with leaf litter because leaves hinder the maintenance of their pits; a hypothesis that has not yet been tested. We first demonstrated that antlion larvae (Myrmeleon inmaculatus) are rare from soils with leaf litter in a tropical semi-deciduous forest in Mexico. We then experi- mentally tested the effect of leaf litter on pit maintenance by adding debris in 90 antlion traps, 45 of which were covered with a leaf, and 45 remained uncovered. Two hours after adding the debris, we recorded its location and quantified the variation in depth and diameter of the pits. Larvae in uncovered traps were twice as effective at cleaning up the debris than larvae in covered traps. Furthermore, in just 2 h, covered traps were on average 21% shallower than control traps, probably because unsuccessful attempts to clean debris caused sand slides to fill the pit partially. Leaf litter seems to hinder the proper maintenance of antlion traps, explaining at least partially, why these animals are rare under leaf litter.
Fil: Farji-Brener, Alejandro. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; Argentina.
Fil: Farji-Brener, Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina.
Fil: Carrillo-Fajardo, Merly Yenedith. Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia. Facultad de Ciencias; Colombia.
Fil: Carrillo-Fajardo, Merly Yenedith. Universidad de Córdoba. Departamento de Biología; Colombia.
Fil: Rodríguez-Malacara, Jorge Tanit. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala. Laboratorio de Ecología Molecular y Evolución; México.
Fil: Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad; México.
Fil: Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, unidad Mérida; México.
Fuente
Ecological Entomology: Volume 49, Issue 1
Materia
Habitat avoidance
Myrmeleontidae
Sit-and-wait predator
Tropical dry forest
Ciencias de la Tierra y Medio Ambiente
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
Repositorio Digital Institucional (UNCo)
Institución
Universidad Nacional del Comahue
OAI Identificador
oai:rdi.uncoma.edu.ar:uncomaid/18122

id RDIUNCO_ac3d23261e1e8d5cdcae571d2a370c9b
oai_identifier_str oai:rdi.uncoma.edu.ar:uncomaid/18122
network_acronym_str RDIUNCO
repository_id_str 7108
network_name_str Repositorio Digital Institucional (UNCo)
spelling Why are antlion larvae rare under the leaf litter? Testing the hypothesis of improper trap maintenanceFarji-Brener, Alejandro G.Carrillo-Fajardo, Merly YenedithRodríguez-Malacara, Jorge TanitArroyo-Rodríguez, VíctorHabitat avoidanceMyrmeleontidaeSit-and-wait predatorTropical dry forestCiencias de la Tierra y Medio AmbienteUnderstanding why animals avoid some locations is needed to improve the theory of habitat selection. This is key in semi-sedentary organisms, such as antlion larvae, because once established they rarely move, and their performance largely depends on local environmental conditions. Antlion larvae are sit-and-wait predators that build conical pitfall traps in sandy soils to capture passing prey. They clean constantly their traps, expelling soil, prey carcasses and debris out of the pit to maintain their trapping success. Therefore, we propose that they avoid soils with leaf litter because leaves hinder the maintenance of their pits; a hypothesis that has not yet been tested. We first demonstrated that antlion larvae (Myrmeleon inmaculatus) are rare from soils with leaf litter in a tropical semi-deciduous forest in Mexico. We then experi- mentally tested the effect of leaf litter on pit maintenance by adding debris in 90 antlion traps, 45 of which were covered with a leaf, and 45 remained uncovered. Two hours after adding the debris, we recorded its location and quantified the variation in depth and diameter of the pits. Larvae in uncovered traps were twice as effective at cleaning up the debris than larvae in covered traps. Furthermore, in just 2 h, covered traps were on average 21% shallower than control traps, probably because unsuccessful attempts to clean debris caused sand slides to fill the pit partially. Leaf litter seems to hinder the proper maintenance of antlion traps, explaining at least partially, why these animals are rare under leaf litter.Fil: Farji-Brener, Alejandro. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; Argentina.Fil: Farji-Brener, Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina.Fil: Carrillo-Fajardo, Merly Yenedith. Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia. Facultad de Ciencias; Colombia.Fil: Carrillo-Fajardo, Merly Yenedith. Universidad de Córdoba. Departamento de Biología; Colombia.Fil: Rodríguez-Malacara, Jorge Tanit. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala. Laboratorio de Ecología Molecular y Evolución; México.Fil: Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad; México.Fil: Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, unidad Mérida; México.Royal Entomological Society2024info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfPP. 138-144application/pdfhttp://rdi.uncoma.edu.ar/handle/uncomaid/18122Ecological Entomology: Volume 49, Issue 1reponame:Repositorio Digital Institucional (UNCo)instname:Universidad Nacional del Comahueenghttps://doi.org/10.1111/een.13290info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/2025-09-29T14:29:10Zoai:rdi.uncoma.edu.ar:uncomaid/18122instacron:UNCoInstitucionalhttp://rdi.uncoma.edu.ar/Universidad públicaNo correspondehttp://rdi.uncoma.edu.ar/oaimirtha.mateo@biblioteca.uncoma.edu.ar; adriana.acuna@biblioteca.uncoma.edu.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:71082025-09-29 14:29:10.476Repositorio Digital Institucional (UNCo) - Universidad Nacional del Comahuefalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Why are antlion larvae rare under the leaf litter? Testing the hypothesis of improper trap maintenance
title Why are antlion larvae rare under the leaf litter? Testing the hypothesis of improper trap maintenance
spellingShingle Why are antlion larvae rare under the leaf litter? Testing the hypothesis of improper trap maintenance
Farji-Brener, Alejandro G.
Habitat avoidance
Myrmeleontidae
Sit-and-wait predator
Tropical dry forest
Ciencias de la Tierra y Medio Ambiente
title_short Why are antlion larvae rare under the leaf litter? Testing the hypothesis of improper trap maintenance
title_full Why are antlion larvae rare under the leaf litter? Testing the hypothesis of improper trap maintenance
title_fullStr Why are antlion larvae rare under the leaf litter? Testing the hypothesis of improper trap maintenance
title_full_unstemmed Why are antlion larvae rare under the leaf litter? Testing the hypothesis of improper trap maintenance
title_sort Why are antlion larvae rare under the leaf litter? Testing the hypothesis of improper trap maintenance
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Farji-Brener, Alejandro G.
Carrillo-Fajardo, Merly Yenedith
Rodríguez-Malacara, Jorge Tanit
Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor
author Farji-Brener, Alejandro G.
author_facet Farji-Brener, Alejandro G.
Carrillo-Fajardo, Merly Yenedith
Rodríguez-Malacara, Jorge Tanit
Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor
author_role author
author2 Carrillo-Fajardo, Merly Yenedith
Rodríguez-Malacara, Jorge Tanit
Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor
author2_role author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Habitat avoidance
Myrmeleontidae
Sit-and-wait predator
Tropical dry forest
Ciencias de la Tierra y Medio Ambiente
topic Habitat avoidance
Myrmeleontidae
Sit-and-wait predator
Tropical dry forest
Ciencias de la Tierra y Medio Ambiente
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Understanding why animals avoid some locations is needed to improve the theory of habitat selection. This is key in semi-sedentary organisms, such as antlion larvae, because once established they rarely move, and their performance largely depends on local environmental conditions. Antlion larvae are sit-and-wait predators that build conical pitfall traps in sandy soils to capture passing prey. They clean constantly their traps, expelling soil, prey carcasses and debris out of the pit to maintain their trapping success. Therefore, we propose that they avoid soils with leaf litter because leaves hinder the maintenance of their pits; a hypothesis that has not yet been tested. We first demonstrated that antlion larvae (Myrmeleon inmaculatus) are rare from soils with leaf litter in a tropical semi-deciduous forest in Mexico. We then experi- mentally tested the effect of leaf litter on pit maintenance by adding debris in 90 antlion traps, 45 of which were covered with a leaf, and 45 remained uncovered. Two hours after adding the debris, we recorded its location and quantified the variation in depth and diameter of the pits. Larvae in uncovered traps were twice as effective at cleaning up the debris than larvae in covered traps. Furthermore, in just 2 h, covered traps were on average 21% shallower than control traps, probably because unsuccessful attempts to clean debris caused sand slides to fill the pit partially. Leaf litter seems to hinder the proper maintenance of antlion traps, explaining at least partially, why these animals are rare under leaf litter.
Fil: Farji-Brener, Alejandro. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; Argentina.
Fil: Farji-Brener, Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina.
Fil: Carrillo-Fajardo, Merly Yenedith. Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia. Facultad de Ciencias; Colombia.
Fil: Carrillo-Fajardo, Merly Yenedith. Universidad de Córdoba. Departamento de Biología; Colombia.
Fil: Rodríguez-Malacara, Jorge Tanit. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala. Laboratorio de Ecología Molecular y Evolución; México.
Fil: Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad; México.
Fil: Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, unidad Mérida; México.
description Understanding why animals avoid some locations is needed to improve the theory of habitat selection. This is key in semi-sedentary organisms, such as antlion larvae, because once established they rarely move, and their performance largely depends on local environmental conditions. Antlion larvae are sit-and-wait predators that build conical pitfall traps in sandy soils to capture passing prey. They clean constantly their traps, expelling soil, prey carcasses and debris out of the pit to maintain their trapping success. Therefore, we propose that they avoid soils with leaf litter because leaves hinder the maintenance of their pits; a hypothesis that has not yet been tested. We first demonstrated that antlion larvae (Myrmeleon inmaculatus) are rare from soils with leaf litter in a tropical semi-deciduous forest in Mexico. We then experi- mentally tested the effect of leaf litter on pit maintenance by adding debris in 90 antlion traps, 45 of which were covered with a leaf, and 45 remained uncovered. Two hours after adding the debris, we recorded its location and quantified the variation in depth and diameter of the pits. Larvae in uncovered traps were twice as effective at cleaning up the debris than larvae in covered traps. Furthermore, in just 2 h, covered traps were on average 21% shallower than control traps, probably because unsuccessful attempts to clean debris caused sand slides to fill the pit partially. Leaf litter seems to hinder the proper maintenance of antlion traps, explaining at least partially, why these animals are rare under leaf litter.
publishDate 2024
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2024
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str acceptedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://rdi.uncoma.edu.ar/handle/uncomaid/18122
url http://rdi.uncoma.edu.ar/handle/uncomaid/18122
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://doi.org/10.1111/een.13290
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
PP. 138-144
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Royal Entomological Society
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Royal Entomological Society
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Ecological Entomology: Volume 49, Issue 1
reponame:Repositorio Digital Institucional (UNCo)
instname:Universidad Nacional del Comahue
reponame_str Repositorio Digital Institucional (UNCo)
collection Repositorio Digital Institucional (UNCo)
instname_str Universidad Nacional del Comahue
repository.name.fl_str_mv Repositorio Digital Institucional (UNCo) - Universidad Nacional del Comahue
repository.mail.fl_str_mv mirtha.mateo@biblioteca.uncoma.edu.ar; adriana.acuna@biblioteca.uncoma.edu.ar
_version_ 1844621563254538240
score 12.559606