Forager abundance and dietary relationships in a Namib Desert ant community

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Abstract
Thirteen ant species coexist on a barren gravel plain habitat in the central Namib Desert. Numerical density of foragers of all species fluctuated considerably over a 17-month period. Peaks in abundance correlated to rainfall events and hence primary production pulses. The majority of foragers were nocturnal in summer and diurnal in winter. The community was dominated in terms of species, forager abundance and biomass by myrmicine, seed-harvesting ants. There was considerable intra-and interspecific variation in diet through time and no consistent patterns were apparent. Diet niche breadth and overlap also exhibited considerable variation between species at any one time and within a species through time. There was no consistent relationship between ant size and the size of food particle utilized. Namib Desert ants are highly opportunistic and the lack of consistent patterns suggests that interspecific competition for food is not likely to be of " major importance in this community. Dertien spesies miere hou op dieselfde onvrugbare gruisvlakte in die sentrale Namibwoestyn. Die getalsterkte van die voersoekers het oor 'n ondersoekperiode van 17 maande aanmerklik gewissel. Hoogtepunte in getaldigtheid het saamgeval met reënvalperiodes en dus die primêre voedselaanbod. Die meerderheid voersoekers het in die somer snags voer gesoek en in die winter bedags. Die gemeenskap is met betrekking tot spesies, die getalsterkte van voersoekers, en biomassa gedomineer deur myrmicine, saad-insamelende miere. Daar was 'n aanmerklike intra-en interspesievariasie in dieet met verloop van tyd, maar geen duidelike vaste patroon kon vasgestel word nie. Dieetnisbreedte en-oorvleueling vertoon aansienlike; wisseling tussen spesies op 'n bepaalde tydstip of binne 'n spesie oor 'n periode van tyd. Daar was geen konsekwente verhouding tussen die grootte van die miere en die grootte I van die kosdeeltjie wat gebruik is nie. Miere in die; Namibwoestyn is baie opportunistes en die gebrek aan 'n konsekwente patroon dui daarop dat interspesie mededinging om voedsel waarskynlik nie van groot belang is in hierdie gemeenskap nie.

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