Does mining waste concentration in the soil interfere with leaf selection by Acromyrmex subterraneus (Formicidae)

Revegetation programs are proposed to recover the soil and biodiversity of disturbed sites, this being the case of the Rio Doce basin, Brazil. This region was hugely affected by a mining waste dam disruption, whose leakage on the soil altered its chemical and physical characteristics, and consequently the physiology and performance of plants. The expected alterations of the plants can make them more attractive for leaf-cutting ants, as lower water content induces an increase of non-structural carbohydrates. In this context, we evaluated whether Acromyrmex subterraneus workers differentiate among plants grown on soil with different mining waste concentrations. Leaf discs from plants grown in soil containing 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of mining waste were simultaneously offered to ant colonies in a foraging arena. The number of transported discs from each mining waste concentration was recorded until all discs of any concentration had been transported. Leaf selection assays were repeated afte...植被恢复计划旨在恢复受干扰场地的土壤与生物多样性，巴西里约多溪（Rio Doce）流域即为典型应用场景。该区域曾遭受严重的矿业尾矿坝（mining waste dam）溃坝事故影响，尾矿泄漏至土壤后改变了其理化性质，进而影响植物的生理状态与生长表现。植株的此类预期变化可能使其更易吸引切叶蚁（leaf-cutting ants），因为植株含水量降低会诱导非结构性碳水化合物（non-structural carbohydrates）含量上升。在此背景下，本研究旨在探究地下切叶蚁（Acromyrmex subterraneus）工蚁是否会对种植于不同尾矿浓度土壤中的植物产生选择分化。研究人员将种植于含0%、25%、50%、75%及100%尾矿的土壤中的植物叶片圆盘，同时放置于觅食竞技场（foraging arena）中供蚁群取食。记录各尾矿浓度组的叶片圆盘被搬运的数量，直至任意浓度组的全部圆盘均被搬运完毕。叶片选择实验将在……后重复开展。