Soledad Carpintero

University of Cordoba (Spain) | UCO · Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology

The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Mayr, 1868), is displacing native ant species in Doñana National Park (Spain). This paper discusses the results of experiments aimed at analyzing exploitation competition between the invading species and other ant species in a park community. The Argentine ant was found to implement several strategies favoring...

Biotic invasions have become major agents of human-driven global change. One of the most virulent species for trees is the Dutch elm disease (DED) (Ophiostoma novo-ulmi). However, few are the studies that investigate its indirect impact on the fauna. In a well-preserved area of Sierra Morena (Cordoba, Spain), we report the repercussion of tree cove...

When sampling with pitfall traps, possible bias factors should be considered. In this study we compare traps of two depths. The results show that, on average, deeper traps captured more ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and higher numbers of workers, and that the relative abundances of the species were different depending on the depth of the tr...

The ‘dehesas’ are important and vast agro-silvo-pastoral systems typical of the Iberian Peninsula that are undergoing a crisis due to their low economic profitability and environmental degradation. Thus, it is necessary to identify effective tools that provide a reliable idea of the status of these ecosystems as a starting point for future measures...

Las trampas de caída son uno de los sis-temas de muestreo más usados y eficaces en la captura de hormigas. No obstante, existen estudios que demuestran que la variación de ciertas características de las trampas (e.g., tamaño de la boca, material , tapa, killingagent), acarrea sesgos en los resultados que dificulta su comparación con los muestreos r...

Se confirma la presencia de Serapias vomeracea en la provincia de Córdoba (España).

Pitfall traps are among the most common sampling methods used for the study of ants. There are many types of traps and many possible ways of using them. The various methodologies may introduce biases in sampling. One possible bias may be caused by the digging‐in effect (DE), resulting in higher catches of ants immediately after traps are set in the...

Las trampas de caída son un sistema de captura pasivo usado para la descripción de comunidades de artrópodos epigeos. A pesar de ser un sistema ampliamente usado por la comunidad científica, presenta ciertas deficiencias debidas a los sesgos producidos por las distintas variables y modificaciones que se le aplican. Todo esto dificulta la comparació...

Biotic resistance by native communities could have a role in the spread of invasive species. This seems to be the case in the invasion of the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, but only when the environment is unfavorable for the survival of the invader. We studied the progress of Argentine ant invasion through favorable and unfavorable habitats of...

Biotic resistance by native communities could have a role in the spread of invasive species. This seems to be the case in the invasion of the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, but only when the environment is unfavorable for the survival of the invader. We studied the progress of Argentine ant invasion through favorable and unfavorable habitats of...

Currently the introduction and spread of invasive species is an issue of great concern. To effectively manage this problem it is essential to know what constitute invasion hotspots. In this respect, the role of urban green areas in the conservation of biodiversity is a controversial matter. These areas may either favour colonization by alien specie...

Se describe una nueva especie del género Temnothorax del sur de la península Ibérica. Las primeras obreras se capturaron en el entorno del arroyo Bejarano, situado en Sierra Morena Central, a escasos km de la población de Santa María de Trassierra (Córdoba, Andalucía, España). La obrera y la reina se describen e ilustran usando fotografías convenci...

In the context of conservation biology, we have searched for the most influential characteristics of urban parks on ecological diversity. In this study, therefore, we studied the ant community of 24 parks in two cities of Southern Spain (Cordoba and Seville). In total, 46 species were found. Abundant and widely distributed species were synanthropic...

Because invasive species threaten the integrity of natural ecosystems, a major goal in ecology is to develop predictive models to determine which species may become widespread and where they may invade. Indeed, considerable progress has been made in understanding the factors that influence the local pattern of spread for specific invaders and the f...

The Tabernas Desert (Spain) is an emblematic area as it constitutes, strictly speaking, the only European desert. Under the canopy of one of the dominant shrub species, Retama sphaerocarpa, there are different microhabitat conditions that encourage the growing of a dense understory of herbs (fertile islands). However, these changes may not be enoug...

Ants are considered an effective bioindicator group. The presence and abundance of the different species that compose a community are strongly related to the environmental characteristic of the area and give clues to the ecosystem health. Hence the interest of getting to know the composition of species in areas of special environmental interest, su...

The recently described Tetramorium parvioculum was known only from Gibraltar, its type locality. Here, we record it from two new sites around the Strait of Gibraltar, in Ceuta (North Africa) and mainland Spain. In both cases, the species was found in natural habitats, as is the case in Gibraltar.

RESUMEN Se citan 7 especies por primera vez en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Níjar. Así mis-mo, se confirma la presencia de Goniomma hispanicum, y Pheidole pallidula, con lo que se amplía el catálogo de especies de hormigas hasta 34. Hypoponera eduardi constituye además una primera cita para la provincia de Almería. Se aportan nuevas localidade...

Interference competition is a frequent phenomenon in ants, since there are numerous references to aggressive behaviour, from ritualized patterns to authentic battles, even with the annihilation of the weakest colony. In these agonistic encounters there are many variables that may determine the result of the contest. From individual skills, which in...

To assess the importance of competition in the advance of invasive species, bait stations have been used to determine the dominance hierarchy of a community of native ants in Doñana National Park, southern Spain, and the status of the introduced species Linepithema humile (Argentine ant). Some native species, e.g. Cataglyphis floricola or Camponotu...

En el presente trabajo se presenta una recopilación de las especies de formícidos detectados en la comunidad andaluza. Para ello se han realizado muestreos a lo largo del valle del Guadalquivir (especialmente en los sotos de los ríos Guadalquivir, Guadajoz, Guadiamar, Genil y Guadiato) y varias ciudades andaluzas durante los años 2003-2007. Como re...

Se ha realizado un estudio de las comunidades de hormigas en bosques de ribera del río Guadalquivir y tres de sus principales afluentes en la provincia de Córdoba (Guadiato, Guadajoz y Genil). A lo largo de 6 años (2001-2006), se colocaron 1.713 trampas de caída, siendo útiles 1.597 y registrándose 56 especies de formícidos, lo que supone una gran...

Thirtyone species of ants have been detected in eight of the principal ecotopes of Doñana National Park (South Spain). Sandy soil and xerophytic environment determine each one of the ecotopes being poor in ant species, but the whole area is relatively rich, for a sandy place as Doñana. This is because of the differences among the ecotopes in their...

Due to the invasive character of the exotic Argentine ant (Linepithema humile), its use of aphids in trees, and the ecological importance of the Doana National Park (Spain) that is invaded by this species, we designed a study to analyze the extent of the problem with native species of arboreal ants. By searching for de visu the species that inhabit...

The invasive Argentine ant Linepithema humile was found in close perimeters to inhabited houses situated in various habitat types in Doñana National Park (Southern Spain). We suggest that the Argentine ant is found in these sites largely due to passive importation by man, but from there may have the potential to spread into surrounding favourable n...

La hormiga argentina (Linepithema humile) es una especie procedente de Sudamérica, que se esta extendiendo por el mundo, desde finales del S.XIX. Las primeras citas en España son de 1923. Produce daños a distintos niveles, como plaga domestica, plaga agricola y en el medio natural, sobre flora y fauna. Algunos aspectos de su biología la convierten...

RESUMEN Se citan 41 especies de formícidos, 12 por primera vez, en el Parque Nacional de Doñana, lo que supone una gran riqueza para una comunidad litoral. Las especies presentan diversidad de factores eco-etológicos, especialmente con adaptaciones a medios sabulícolas, con Messor marocanus y Cataglyphis floricola como especialistas de medios dunar...

RESUMEN En la cuenca superior del río Hozgarganta (P.N. Los Alcornocales, Cádiz), se han recogido 24 especies de formícidos, dos de ellas son citadas por primera vez para la pro-vincia de Cádiz. Aparece una alta frecuencia de especies montanas, hidrófilas o en ge-neral de origen paleártico, inusual si se considera únicamente la latitud de la zona,...

Cataglyphis floricolais an ant species from the Southern Iberian Peninsula; its most striking feature is that it collects petals as an important part of its diet. The caste system is based upon a monophasic polymorphism of workers, displayed over a short span of size variation. There is also a slight polymorphism between queen and workers. The numb...

C. floricola is an endemic species from the southern Iberian Peninsula which collects large amounts of Halimium halimifolium petals. Laboratory and field observations confirm that both workers and larvae feed on these petals, which represent an important food resource forC. floricola colonies. This petal consumption is a very unusual ant diet.