News
INFORMATION WE CONSIDER INTERESTINGLIHo in COMPORTA, Uruguay, and an award for Andrés Devegili!
From 6-8 of November, in the Faculty of Information and Communication, Montevideo, Uruguay, the II Meeting of Behavioral Biology of the Southern Cone was held. Marina Alma, Andrés Devegili and Alejandro Farji-Brener demonstrated what LIHo is doing in Patagonia. Their...
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...
Visit of Agustín Lovrich and his encounter with Patagonian ants
During January 2019 we were lucky that Agustín Lovrich, a biology student from the UBA, came to do an internship in two of the projects we are carrying out: "Ecosystem services provided by ants: implications for the restoration of degraded areas and...
Rodolfo Probst told us about ants that live in the trees of the Andean forest
In his talk of December 12, 2018, Rodolfo Probst, who is doing his PhD under the supervision of Dr. Jack Longino at the University of Utah (USA), told us about his work studying the evolution of nesting patterns of ants in plants and how is the transition...
We participated in the Newton Fund Workshop on ecosystem services and smallholder farms
We participated in the Newton Fund workshop “Biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provision to improve economic, environmental and social performance in smallholder farms“ which took place in Valparaíso, Chile (September 2018). The aim of this workshop,...
Ants in the Science Week in Bariloche
The Science Week was held and from 3 – 7 of September 2018, and LIHO was present. We showed the children what we study and why, using games, posters, magnifying glasses and colonies of an leaf-cuting ant present in Paragonia (Acromyrmex lobicornis) with its fungal...

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...