巴西一片成熟桉树林中切叶蚁Atta sexdens（膜翅目：蚁科）的觅食者大小。

Forager size of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a mature eucalyptus forest in Brazil.

作者信息

Tonhasca A, Bragança M A

机构信息

Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Agropecuárias, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Av. Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28015-620, Brazil.

出版信息

Rev Biol Trop. 2000 Dec;48(4):983-8.

PMID:11487943

Abstract

We determined the size characteristics of foragers of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens in a mature eucalyptus forest in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, at daytime (7:30 to 10:00 hr) and nighttime (19:00 to 23:00 hr). There were no significant differences between daytime and nighttime ant mass (Ma), but leaf fragment mass (Ml) and burden (B = [Ma + Ml]/Ma), which indicates relative load capacity, were significantly greater at daytime. There was a positive linear relationship between Ma and Ml for the combined daytime and nighttime data, and increases in Ma resulted in lower B. We compared A. sexdens characteristics with published results for Atta cephalotes, a closely related species. A. sexdens is larger and therefore able to carry heavier loads, but its burden is about 72% of the average value for A. cephalotes. We suggest that the lower load capacity of A. sexdens in comparison to A. cephalotes is related to its relatively larger size.

摘要

我们测定了巴西里约热内卢州坎波斯-杜斯戈伊塔卡泽斯一片成熟桉树林中切叶蚁Atta sexdens觅食者在白天（7:30至10:00）和夜间（19:00至23:00）的体型特征。白天和夜间蚂蚁体重（Ma）没有显著差异，但叶片碎片质量（Ml）和负载（B = [Ma + Ml]/Ma，表明相对负载能力）在白天显著更大。综合白天和夜间数据，Ma与Ml之间存在正线性关系，且Ma增加会导致B降低。我们将Atta sexdens的特征与已发表的密切相关物种Atta cephalotes的结果进行了比较。Atta sexdens体型更大，因此能够搬运更重的负载，但其负载约为Atta cephalotes平均值的72%。我们认为，与Atta cephalotes相比，Atta sexdens较低的负载能力与其相对较大的体型有关。