Dissertation committee:
Αναπλ. Καθηγητής Αναστάσιος Λεγάκις (επιβλέπων), Καθηγητής Κωνσταντίνος Θάνος, Καθηγήτρια Άρτεμις Νικολαϊδου
Summary:
Within this thesis there is an attempt of recording the activity and the
foraging strategy of harvester ants of the genus Messor. We designed and
operated four experimental methods in the field, in two places around Athens.
The first experiment aimed at correlating the activity of outbound ants from
nests with the abiotic factors of the study area, the second the choice of the
materials foraged, the third the study of the spatial selection of seeds and
the fourth the correlation between the weight and size of seeds and ants. In
each case, measuring techniques and methodology were used for recording both
the biotic and the abiotic parameters associated with the foraging of ants
following the international literature and novel techniques developed for the
experiments. The results present a model that describes the activity of the
ants in relation to abiotic factors, tables and correlations for foraging
choices of materials and especially for seeds, other plant material, animal
material, soil constituents or nothing at all, tables and charts illustrating
the correlations of spatial activities and the choices of ants around a single
nest and finally, correlations based on the fractionation of sizes of ants and
the seeds they were carrying. In conclusion, we observed activity patterns
which are mainly related to temperature and relative humidity, that the
majority of the ants do not bring something back to the nest, that the foraging
activity abruptly changes around the time of the nuptial flight and that, in
general, ants carry loads analogous to their own size.
Keywords:
Ants, Messor, Foraging, Ecology, Mediterranean ecosystem
