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INFORMATION WE CONSIDER INTERESTING
PS Project
We are part international project “P.S. Project: Pogonomyrmex-seed interactions - natural history, ecological networks and biogeography approach”. This Project, led by Diego Anjos, Kleber Del-Klaro (Universidad Federal de Uberlandia, Brasil), Pedro Luna, and Wesley...
LIHo in the RAE
In September 2021 we participated in the Reunión Argentina de Ecología (Argentine Ecological Meeting, organized by the Ecological Association of Argentina). We presented our Project on the role of ants in pollination and biological control in agroecological...
PIP Research grants
Congratulations to Alejandro Farji Brener and Natalia Lescano on their CONICET research grant for their Project ”Coordination without central control: factors which determine the efficiency of cooperative transport in ants”. Luciana Elizalde and Gabriela Pirk also got...
LIHo in Spain
Congratulations to Daniela Ortiz who obtained a grant from Fundación Carolina to carry out her project “Seed dispersal by ants: study of the ant-plant interactions within and outside the native range of invasive plant species” Daniela worked in Parque Nacional de...
New LIHo members
In April 2021 new members became part of LIHo. Florencia Baudino is a CONICET posdoctoral grant holder and she will work on the effects of Harmonia axyridis on organic crops in the Andean region of Patagonia. Marisa Diaz is a CONICET doctoral grant holder and she will...
Marina Alma: New CONICET researcher!
Congratulations to Marina! Marina will go on investigating the effects of the wind on leafcutter ants and many other things! A great contribution to...
VI Argentine Congress of Biodiversity Conservation in La Rioja
In October, Daniela Ortiz and Gabriela Pirk attended the VI Argentine Congress of Biodiversity Conservation in La Rioja and presented results of their research in the Patagonian steppe on the dispersion of exotic seeds by ants and the effects of ant nests on decomposition of organic matter.
Last projects
GOOD OR BAD GUESTS? ROLE OF MELIVOROUS ANTS AND APHIDS ON THE FITNESS OF THISTLES
One type of biotic interaction common in nature is the mutualism between plants and ants. While the latter obtain benefits such as nesting sites, nutritional bodies and nectar, plants are favored in important processes such as pollination, seed dispersion and defense...
Factors determining the invasion of Bromus tectorum L. (Poaceae) (Directed by Karina Speziale)
We are evaluating the biological and ecological traits of the invasive grass Bromus tectorum in NW Patagonia so as to predict its capacity to expand its range under current environmental conditions. In particular, we are studying the effects of routes as the starting...
Granivory and seed dispersal by ants in arid ecosystems
We are studying ants involved in seed consumption and/or dispersal in the Patagonian steppe, and their effects on plant community as well as implications for plant biological invasions and restoration of degraded ecosystems. In particular, we have studied diet and...