Showing papers by "Kleber Del-Claro published in 2008"
TL;DR: The great number of interactions with different plant and animals suggests that this species has an important participation in the interaction web in this environment.
Abstract: Camponotus sericeiventris is a polymorphic ant living in populous colonies at tropical forests and cerrado formation. This study provides a detailed account of the natural history and foraging biology of C. sericeiventris in cerrado at Ecological Station of Panga, Southeast of Brazil. The nest distribution according to vegetation physiog- nomies, activity rhythm, diet, and foraging patterns were described. Results showed that nests occur inside dead or live trunks, and also in branches of soft wood at cerradao and gallery forest physiognomies (approximately 1 nest/ 100m 2 ), but not in the mesophytic forest. Ant activity is correlated with temperature and humidity. There is overlap in the foraging area among neighbor colonies (as far as 28 m) without evidence of agonistic interactions. Foragers leave the nest independently or in groups and frequently searched for food individually. Workers are generalistic feeders visiting flowers and extrafloral nectaries, attending Hemiptera (aphids and membracids) and Lepidoptera (Lycaenidae larvae), collecting seeds and fruits, and hunting for live preys as well as scavenging for dead animals. The great number of interactions with different plant and animals suggests that this species has an important participation in the interaction web in this environment.
65 citations