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Wu M, Cao X, Yang M, Cao X, Guo S. A dataset of ant colonies' motion trajectories in indoor and outdoor scenes to study clustering behavior. Gigascience 2022; 11:6776178. [PMID: 36305606 PMCID: PMC9614923 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giac096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The motion and interaction of social insects (such as ants) have been studied by many researchers to understand clustering mechanisms. Most studies in the field of ant behavior have focused only on indoor environments (a laboratory setup), while outdoor environments (natural environments) are still underexplored. Findings In this article, we collect 10 videos of 3 species of ant colonies from different scenes, including 5 indoor and 5 outdoor scenes. We develop an image sequence marking software named VisualMarkData, which enables us to provide annotations of the ants in the videos. (i) It offers comprehensive annotations of states at the individual-target and colony-target levels. (ii) It provides a simple matrix format to represent multiple targets and multiple groups of annotations (along with their IDs and behavior labels). (iii) During the annotation process, we propose a simple and effective visualization that takes the annotation information of the previous frame as a reference, and then a user can simply click on the center point of each target to complete the annotation task. (iv) We develop a user-friendly window-based GUI to minimize labor and maximize annotation quality. In all 5,354 frames, the location information and the identification number of each ant are recorded for a total of 712 ants and 114,112 annotations. Moreover, we provide visual analysis tools to assess and validate the technical quality and reproducibility of our data. Conclusions We provide a large-scale ant dataset with the accompanying annotation software. It is hoped that our work will contribute to a deeper exploration of the behavior of ant colonies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ming Yang
- School of Informatics, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361000, China
| | - Xiaoyu Cao
- Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361000, China
| | - Shihui Guo
- Correspondence address. School of Informatics, Xiamen University, Binhai Street, Siming District, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, 361005, China. E-mail:
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Kannan K, Galizia CG, Nouvian M. Olfactory Strategies in the Defensive Behaviour of Insects. INSECTS 2022; 13:470. [PMID: 35621804 PMCID: PMC9145661 DOI: 10.3390/insects13050470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Most animals must defend themselves in order to survive. Defensive behaviour includes detecting predators or intruders, avoiding them by staying low-key or escaping or deterring them away by means of aggressive behaviour, i.e., attacking them. Responses vary across insect species, ranging from individual responses to coordinated group attacks in group-living species. Among different modalities of sensory perception, insects predominantly use the sense of smell to detect predators, intruders, and other threats. Furthermore, social insects, such as honeybees and ants, communicate about danger by means of alarm pheromones. In this review, we focus on how olfaction is put to use by insects in defensive behaviour. We review the knowledge of how chemical signals such as the alarm pheromone are processed in the insect brain. We further discuss future studies for understanding defensive behaviour and the role of olfaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kavitha Kannan
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany;
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - C. Giovanni Galizia
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany;
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
- Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Morgane Nouvian
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany;
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
- Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
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3
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Hornets and Honey Bees: A Coevolutionary Arms Race between Ancient Adaptations and New Invasive Threats. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12111037. [PMID: 34821837 PMCID: PMC8625458 DOI: 10.3390/insects12111037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Revised: 11/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Hornets and honey bees have a long history of coevolution resulting in a plethora of captivating adaptations and counteradaptations between predator and prey. From simple physiological mechanisms to complex behavioral strategies, some Vespa hornets have specialized in hunting honey bees, while the latter have put in place effective defenses to counteract their attack. Both hornets and honey bees have evolved the ability to detect the odors and the pheromones emitted by the other to locate the prey or to spot foraging predators. Hornets often rely on their bigger size, heavily armored body and destructive attacks, while honey bees differentiated collective defense responses finely coordinated to deter or kill the hornet menace. However, when new species of hornets and honey bees come into contact, the absence of coevolution can have a heavy impact on the defenseless bees. The evolutionary arms race between hornets and honey bees provides not only compelling examples of adaptations and counteradaptations between predator and prey, but could also represent a starting point for the development of effective and sustainable strategies to protect honey bees and beekeeping activities and to control invasive alien species of hornets.
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4
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Mattila HR, Kernen HG, Otis GW, Nguyen LTP, Pham HD, Knight OM, Phan NT. Giant hornet ( Vespa soror) attacks trigger frenetic antipredator signalling in honeybee ( Apis cerana) colonies. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:211215. [PMID: 34804577 PMCID: PMC8580428 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Asian honeybees use an impressive array of strategies to protect nests from hornet attacks, although little is understood about how antipredator signals coordinate defences. We compared vibroacoustic signalling and defensive responses of Apis cerana colonies that were attacked by either the group-hunting giant hornet Vespa soror or the smaller, solitary-hunting hornet Vespa velutina. Apis cerana colonies produced hisses, brief stop signals and longer pipes under hornet-free conditions. However, hornet-attack stimuli-and V. soror workers in particular-triggered dramatic increases in signalling rates within colonies. Soundscapes were cacophonous when V. soror predators were directly outside of nests, in part because of frenetic production of antipredator pipes, a previously undescribed signal. Antipredator pipes share acoustic traits with alarm shrieks, fear screams and panic calls of primates, birds and meerkats. Workers making antipredator pipes exposed their Nasonov gland, suggesting the potential for multimodal alarm signalling that warns nestmates about the presence of dangerous hornets and assembles workers for defence. Concurrent observations of nest entrances showed an increase in worker activities that support effective defences against giant hornets. Apis cerana workers flexibly employ a diverse alarm repertoire in response to attack attributes, mirroring features of sophisticated alarm calling in socially complex vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather R. Mattila
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, USA
| | - Hannah G. Kernen
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, USA
| | - Gard W. Otis
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lien T. P. Nguyen
- Insect Ecology Department, Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Hanh D. Pham
- Bee Research Centre, National Institute of Animal Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Olivia M. Knight
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ngoc T. Phan
- Research Center for Tropical Bees and Beekeeping, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, Vietnam
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5
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Lethality of Honey Bee Stings to Heavily Armored Hornets. BIOLOGY 2021; 10:biology10060484. [PMID: 34072577 PMCID: PMC8229339 DOI: 10.3390/biology10060484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The heat ball defense of honey bees against their sympatric hornet predators is a classic and spectacular outcome of a co-evolutionary race. Hundreds of bees can encapsulate a hornet within a large ball that kills it with elevated heat. However, the role of stinging in this defense has been discounted, even though sting venom is an important weapon in bees. Surprisingly, no studies have tested the role of bee sting venom alone or in conjunction with elevated temperature on hornet survival. We surveyed dead Vespa velutina hornets found near and inside Apis cerana colonies and found stings retained in hornet bodies, most often in an intersegmental neck-like region, the veracervix. Experimentally stinging hornets in this region with A. cerana and Apis mellifera guards significantly increased hornet mortality. The combination of sting venom and elevated heat ball temperature (44 °C) was the most lethal, although there was no synergistic interaction between sting venom and temperature. As expected, hornet mortality increased when they were stung more often. The average amount of venom per insect species and the length of stinger lancets correlated with insect mass. Sting venom thus remains important in the arms race between bees and their hornet predators.
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Klett K, Zhang JJ, Zhang YY, Wang Z, Dong S, Tan K. The Nasonov gland pheromone as a potential source of death cue in Apis cerana. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 131:104238. [PMID: 33839141 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2021.104238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Revised: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The ability to detect and remove dead adult bees is an essential part of honeybee colony fitness that prevents the spread of pathogens. Fatty acid olfactory cues stimulate undertaking behavior among different social species within Hymenoptera, but the chemicals responsible for the death cue in Apis cerana have not yet been identified. We explored the Nasonov gland as a potential source of these chemicals in A. cerana. Gas chromatography indicated that unlike A. mellifera, the A. cerana Nasonov gland does not contain any volatile terpenes, only fatty acids. As a bioassay, dead honeybees were rinsed free of their individual cuticular hydrocarbons via dichloromethane and two concentrations of oleic acid and a synthetic blend of the Nasonov pheromone in A. cerana were applied to the dummies. Results showed that oleic acid did not stimulate corpse removal in A. cerana. However, the synthetic pheromone blend of A. cerana Nasonov did stimulate removal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrina Klett
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, Yunnan, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jun-Jun Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, Yunnan, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Ying-Ying Zhang
- Academy of Animal Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhengwei Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, Yunnan, China
| | - Shihao Dong
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, Yunnan, China.
| | - Ken Tan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, Yunnan, China.
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Dong S, Tan K, Nieh JC. Visual contagion in prey defence signals can enhance honest defence. J Anim Ecol 2020; 90:594-601. [PMID: 33216987 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The co-evolutionary arms race between predators and their prey has led to complex signalling, especially in groups that benefit from the social transmission of alarm signals. In particular, pursuit deterrence signals can allow individuals and groups to indicate, at relatively low cost, that a predator's further approach is futile. Pursuit deterrence signals are usually more effective if amplified, for example, by becoming contagious and rapidly spreading among prey without requiring individual prey to confirm predator presence. However, this can also lead to runaway false signalling. We provide the first evidence of a contagious pursuit deterrence signal in social insects. The Asian honey bee Apis cerana, performs an I See You (ISY) signal that deters attacking hornets. We show that these signals enhance defensive signalling by also attracting guard bees and that the visual movements of appropriate stimuli alone (hornets and ISY signalling bees, but not harmless butterflies) provide sufficient stimuli. Olfaction and other potential cues are not necessary. The ISY signal is visually contagious and is buffered from runaway false signals because it is specifically triggered and by likely selection for honesty within the highly cooperative bee colony. These results expand our understanding of contagious signals and how they can be honestly maintained in highly cooperative collectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shihao Dong
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.,Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China
| | - Ken Tan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.,Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China
| | - James C Nieh
- Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
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8
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Brown rats and house mice eavesdrop on each other's volatile sex pheromone components. Sci Rep 2020; 10:17701. [PMID: 33077874 PMCID: PMC7572391 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74820-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Mammalian pheromones often linger in the environment and thus are particularly susceptible to interceptive eavesdropping, commonly understood as a one-way dyadic interaction, where prey sense and respond to the scent of a predator. Here, we tested the “counterespionage” hypothesis that predator and prey co-opt each other’s pheromone as a cue to locate prey or evade predation. We worked with wild brown rats (predator of mice) and wild house mice (prey of brown rats) as model species, testing their responses to pheromone-baited traps at infested field sites. The treatment trap in each of two trap pairs per replicate received sex attractant pheromone components (including testosterone) of male mice or male rats, whereas corresponding control traps received only testosterone, a pheromone component shared between mouse and rat males. Trap pairs disseminating male rat pheromone components captured 3.05 times fewer mice than trap pairs disseminating male mouse pheromone components, and no female mice were captured in rat pheromone-baited traps, indicating predator aversion. Indiscriminate captures of rats in trap pairs disseminating male rat or male mouse pheromone components, and fewer captures of rats in male mouse pheromone traps than in (testosterone-only) control traps indicate that rats do eavesdrop on the male mouse sex pheromone but do not exploit the information for mouse prey location. The counterespionage hypothesis is supported by trap catch data of both mice and rats but only the mice data are in keeping with our predictions for motive of the counterespionage.
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9
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Wang Z, Tan K. Honey Bee Alarm Pheromone Mediates Communication in Plant-Pollinator-Predator Interactions. INSECTS 2019; 10:insects10100366. [PMID: 31640201 PMCID: PMC6835895 DOI: 10.3390/insects10100366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Revised: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 10/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Honey bees play a crucial role in pollination, and in performing this critical function, face numerous threats from predators and parasites during foraging and homing trips. Back in the nest, their defensive behavior drives some individuals to sacrifice themselves while fighting intruders with their stingers or mandibles. During these intense conflicts, bees release alarm pheromone to rapidly communicate with other nest mates about the present danger. However, we still know little about why and how alarm pheromone is used in plant–pollinator–predator interactions. Here, we review the history of previously detected bee alarm pheromones and the current state of the chemical analyses. More new components and functions have been confirmed in honey bee alarm pheromone. Then, we ask how important the alarm pheromones are in intra- and/or inter-species communication. Some plants even adopt mimicry systems to attract either the pollinators themselves or their predators for pollination via alarm pheromone. Pheromones are honest signals that evolved in one species and can be one of the main driving factors affecting co-evolution in plant–pollinator–predator interactions. Our review intends to stimulate new studies on the neuronal, molecular, behavioral, and evolutionary levels in order to understand how alarm pheromone mediates communication in plant–pollinator–predator interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengwei Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, China.
- Center for Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China.
| | - Ken Tan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, China.
- Center for Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China.
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10
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Li Y, Jiang X, Wang Z, Zhang J, Klett K, Mehmood S, Qu Y, Tan K. Losing the Arms Race: Greater Wax Moths Sense but Ignore Bee Alarm Pheromones. INSECTS 2019; 10:insects10030081. [PMID: 30909564 PMCID: PMC6468870 DOI: 10.3390/insects10030081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2019] [Revised: 03/09/2019] [Accepted: 03/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella L., is one of main pests of honeybees. The larvae burrow into the wax, damaging the bee comb and degenerating bee products, but also causes severe effects like driving the whole colony to abscond. In the present study, we used electroantennograms, a Y maze, and an oviposition site choice bioassay to test whether the greater wax moth can eavesdrop on bee alarm pheromones (isopentyl acetate, benzyl acetate, octyl acetate, and 2-heptanone), to target the bee colony, or if the bee alarm pheromones would affect their preference of an oviposition site. The results revealed that the greater wax moth showed a strong electroantennogram response to these four compounds of bee alarm pheromones even in a low concentration (100 ng/μL), while they showed the highest response to octyl acetate compared to the other three main bee alarm components (isopentyl acetate, benzyl acetate, and 2-heptanone). However, the greater wax moth behavioral results showed no significant preference or avoidance to these four bee alarm pheromones. These results indicate that bees are currently losing the arms race since the greater wax moth can sense bee alarm pheromones, however, these alarm pheromones are ignored by the greater wax moth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, China.
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Xingchuan Jiang
- College of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China.
| | - Zhengwei Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, China.
| | - Junjun Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, China.
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Katrina Klett
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, China.
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Shahid Mehmood
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, China.
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Yufeng Qu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, China.
| | - Ken Tan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650000, China.
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