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A note on the selection of seed types by harvester ants in northern Australia
Author(s) -
MOTT J. J.,
McKEON G. M.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
australian journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1442-9993
pISSN - 0307-692X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1977.tb01140.x
Subject(s) - biology , pasture , forage , pheidole , germination , agronomy , stylosanthes , digitaria , panicum , selection (genetic algorithm) , predation , botany , ecology , hymenoptera , artificial intelligence , computer science
Seed harvesting ants (mainly Pheidole spp.) in the Katherine area of the Northern Territory have been observed to actively forage seed in both native and sown pasture areas. Using discrete mixtures of seeds it was found that ants from colonies in both sown and native pastures would preferentially remove seed of the native grass species, Themeda australis and Digitaria ciliaris, to the introduced legume Stylosanthes humilis. This difference in selection could not be explained solely on a basis of size or weight differences between the species. The preference for grass species over introduced legumes indicates that ant predation is not the main factor in the low seed survival to germination in introduced pastures.