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La interrupción del mutualismo entre hormigas y plantas da forma a las interacciones entre los leones y su presa

Douglas N Kamaru^1,2, Todd M Palmer³, Corinna Riginos^1,4

¹Department of Zoology & Physiology and Program in Ecology & Evolution, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

|January 25, 2024

Resumen

Una especie de hormiga invasora interrumpe los ecosistemas nativos, impactando la dinámica de depredador y presa. Este pequeño invasor afecta a los leones

Área de la Ciencia:

Ecología
Especies invasoras Biología
El comportamiento de los animales

Sus antecedentes:

Los mutualismos son componentes cruciales del ecosistema vulnerables a las actividades humanas.
La hormiga invasora de cabeza grande (Pheidole megacephala) representa una amenaza para las relaciones ecológicas establecidas.

Objetivo del estudio:

Para investigar cómo la hormiga invasora de cabeza grande impacta la dinámica de depredador y presa que involucra a los leones (Panthera leo) y la cebra de las llanuras (Equus quagga).
Comprender los efectos en cascada de las hormigas invasoras en la estructura del hábitat y las subsecuentes interacciones ecológicas.

Principales métodos:

Experimentos de campo y observaciones.
Investigaciones de seguimiento y mortalidad de animales.
Modelado ecológico de los cambios de hábitat.

Principales resultados:

Las hormigas invasoras interrumpieron el mutualismo entre las hormigas nativas (Crematogaster spp.) y árboles de espinas silbantes (Vachellia drepanolobium).
Esta interrupción condujo a una mayor vulnerabilidad de los árboles a los elefantes (Loxodonta africana), alterando la visibilidad del paisaje.
Los leones tuvieron menos éxito en la caza de cebras de llanuras en estos paisajes alterados, pero el cambio de presa al búfalo africano (Syncerus caffer) mantuvo las poblaciones de leones.

Conclusiones:

Las hormigas invasoras pueden reconfigurar significativamente la dinámica depredador-presa al alterar la estructura biofísica del paisaje.
Incluso las pequeñas especies invasoras pueden tener profundos efectos en cascada en las icónicas poblaciones de vida silvestre y el funcionamiento del ecosistema.

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