Desert ants on a thermal tightrope | Semantic Scholar

This species daily activity schedule and diet composition is investigated, and foraging behaviour is examined; Melophorus bagoti foragers have the ability to recruit nestmates to profitable food sources, but the exact mechanism requires further investigation.

It is argued that in functional terms direction fidelity is related to the navigational benefits resulting from exploiting familiar (route-based) landmark information, and hence reduces round-trip time and by this physiological stress and predatory risk.

Activity times of Pogonomyrmex occidentalis (Cresson) were found to vary with soil surface temperatures, and studies conducted on populations in lightly- and heavily-grazed pastures showed no significant differences in the rate of foraging extraction, foraging distance, time per foraging trip, or availability of forage (seeds).

This work discusses the maintenance of Physiological Homeostasis in the Desert Environment, growth and Population Dynamics of Desert Reptiles, and Causes and Incidence of Mortality in Desert Lizards.