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Campbell LCE, Kiers ET, Chomicki G. The evolution of plant cultivation by ants. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 28:271-282. [PMID: 36372647 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2022.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 09/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Outside humans, true agriculture was previously thought to be restricted to social insects farming fungus. However, obligate farming of plants by ants was recently discovered in Fiji, prompting a re-examination of plant cultivation by ants. Here, we generate a database of plant cultivation by ants, identify three main types, and show that these interactions evolved primarily for shelter rather than food. We find that plant cultivation evolved at least 65 times independently for crops (~200 plant species), and 15 times in farmer lineages (~37 ant taxa) in the Neotropics and Asia/Australasia. Because of their high evolutionary replication, and variation in partner dependence, these systems are powerful models to unveil the steps in the evolution and ecology of insect agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - E Toby Kiers
- Department of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Guillaume Chomicki
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, Alfred Denny Building, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
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2
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Dejean A, Rossi V, Azémar F, Compin A, Petitclerc F, Talaga S, Corbara B. Host-tree selection by the ant garden-initiating arboreal ponerine Neoponera goeldii. Ecology 2023; 104:e3843. [PMID: 36156795 PMCID: PMC10078305 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Alain Dejean
- Laboratoire écologie fonctionnelle et environnement, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse INP, Université Toulouse 3-Paul Sabatier (UPS), Toulouse, France.,UMR EcoFoG, AgroParisTech, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Kourou, France
| | - Vivien Rossi
- Plant Systematic and Ecology Laboratory (LaBosystE), Department of Biology, Higher Teachers' Training College, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon.,RU Forests and Societies, CIRAD Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Frédéric Azémar
- Laboratoire écologie fonctionnelle et environnement, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse INP, Université Toulouse 3-Paul Sabatier (UPS), Toulouse, France
| | - Arthur Compin
- Laboratoire écologie fonctionnelle et environnement, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse INP, Université Toulouse 3-Paul Sabatier (UPS), Toulouse, France
| | - Frédéric Petitclerc
- UMR EcoFoG, AgroParisTech, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Kourou, France
| | | | - Bruno Corbara
- Université Clermont-Auvergne, CNRS, LMGE, Clermont-Ferrand, France
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3
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Abstract
Knowledge on the distribution and abundance of organisms is fundamental to understanding their roles within ecosystems and their ecological importance for other taxa. Such knowledge is currently lacking for insects, which have long been regarded as the "little things that run the world". Even for ubiquitous insects, such as ants, which are of tremendous ecological significance, there is currently neither a reliable estimate of their total number on Earth nor of their abundance in particular biomes or habitats. We compile data on ground-dwelling and arboreal ants to obtain an empirical estimate of global ant abundance. Our analysis is based on 489 studies, spanning all continents, major biomes, and habitats. We conservatively estimate total abundance of ground-dwelling ants at over 3 × 1015 and estimate the number of all ants on Earth to be almost 20 × 1015 individuals. The latter corresponds to a biomass of ∼12 megatons of dry carbon. This exceeds the combined biomass of wild birds and mammals and is equivalent to ∼20% of human biomass. Abundances of ground-dwelling ants are strongly concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions but vary substantially across habitats. The density of leaf-litter ants is highest in forests, while the numbers of actively ground-foraging ants are highest in arid regions. This study highlights the central role ants play in terrestrial ecosystems but also major ecological and geographic gaps in our current knowledge. Our results provide a crucial baseline for exploring environmental drivers of ant-abundance patterns and for tracking the responses of insects to environmental change.
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Yamada M, Hojo MK, Imamura A. Odor of achlorophyllous plants' seeds drives seed-dispersing ants. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:9308-9317. [PMID: 34306623 PMCID: PMC8293788 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Revised: 03/13/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Seed dispersal by ants is an important means of migration for plants. Many myrmecochorous plants have specialized appendages in their seeds called elaiosome, which provides nutritional rewards for ants, and enable effective seed dispersal. However, some nonmyrmecochorous seeds without elaiosomes are also dispersed by ant species, suggesting the additional mechanisms other than elaiosomes for seed dispersal by ants. The seeds of the achlorophyllous and myco-heterotrophic herbaceous plant Monotropastrum humile are very small without elaiosomes; we investigated whether odor of the seeds could mediate seed dispersal by ants. We performed a bioassay using seeds of M. humile and the ant Nylanderia flavipes to demonstrate ant-mediated seed dispersal. We also analyzed the volatile odors emitted from M. humile seeds and conducted bioassays using dummy seeds coated with seed volatiles. Although elaiosomes were absent from the M. humile seeds, the ants carried the seeds to their nests. They also carried the dummy seeds coated with the seed volatile mixture to the nest and left some dummy seeds inside the nest and discarded the rest of the dummy seeds outside the nest with a bias toward specific locations, which might be conducive to germination. We concluded that, in M. humile seeds, volatile odor mixtures were sufficient to induce seed-carrying behavior by the ants even without elaiosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Masaru K. Hojo
- Department of BioscienceSchool of Science and TechnologyKwansei Gakuin UniversitySandaJapan
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Ayyanar M, Silambarasan R, Sureshkumar J, Gurav SS. Reproductive biology of East Indian satinwood (Chloroxylon swietenia DC., Rutaceae: Sapindales), a threatened timber-yielding tree. JOURNAL OF ASIA-PACIFIC BIODIVERSITY 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.japb.2021.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
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6
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Elizalde L, Arbetman M, Arnan X, Eggleton P, Leal IR, Lescano MN, Saez A, Werenkraut V, Pirk GI. The ecosystem services provided by social insects: traits, management tools and knowledge gaps. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 95:1418-1441. [PMID: 32525288 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Revised: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Social insects, i.e. ants, bees, wasps and termites, are key components of ecological communities, and are important ecosystem services (ESs) providers. Here, we review the literature in order to (i) analyse the particular traits of social insects that make them good suppliers of ESs; (ii) compile and assess management strategies that improve the services provided by social insects; and (iii) detect gaps in our knowledge about the services that social insects provide. Social insects provide at least 10 ESs; however, many of them are poorly understood or valued. Relevant traits of social insects include high biomass and numerical abundance, a diversity of mutualistic associations, the ability to build important biogenic structures, versatile production of chemical defences, the simultaneous delivery of several ESs, the presence of castes and division of labour, efficient communication and cooperation, the capacity to store food, and a long lifespan. All these characteristics enhance social insects as ES providers, highlighting their potential, constancy and efficiency as suppliers of these services. In turn, many of these traits make social insects stress tolerant and easy to manage, so increasing the ESs they provide. We emphasise the need for a conservation approach to the management of the services, as well as the potential use of social insects to help restore habitats degraded by human activities. In addition, we stress the need to evaluate both services and disservices in an integrated way, because some species of social insects are among the most problematic invasive species and native pests. Finally, we propose two areas of research that will lead to a greater and more efficient use of social insects as ES providers, and to a greater appreciation of them by producers and decision-makers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luciana Elizalde
- LIHo - Laboratorio Ecotono, INIBIOMA-CONICET-Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Pasaje Gutiérrez 1125, Bariloche, 8400, Argentina
| | - Marina Arbetman
- Ecopol, INIBIOMA-CONICET - Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Pasaje Gutiérrez 1125, Bariloche, 8400, Argentina
| | - Xavier Arnan
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalunya, Barcelona, E-08193, Spain
| | - Paul Eggleton
- Life Sciences Department, The Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, U.K
| | - Inara R Leal
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, 1235 - Cidade Universitária, Recife, 50670-901, Brazil
| | - María Natalia Lescano
- LIHo - Laboratorio Ecotono, INIBIOMA-CONICET-Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Pasaje Gutiérrez 1125, Bariloche, 8400, Argentina
| | - Agustín Saez
- Ecopol, INIBIOMA-CONICET - Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Pasaje Gutiérrez 1125, Bariloche, 8400, Argentina
| | - Victoria Werenkraut
- LIHo - Laboratorio Ecotono, INIBIOMA-CONICET-Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Pasaje Gutiérrez 1125, Bariloche, 8400, Argentina
| | - Gabriela I Pirk
- LIHo - Laboratorio Ecotono, INIBIOMA-CONICET-Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Pasaje Gutiérrez 1125, Bariloche, 8400, Argentina
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Pereira IF, Costa APFD, Srbek-Araujo AC, Guimarães LJ, Merencio AF, Silva AGD. The Dispersion of Diaspores of Protium icicariba (Burseraceae) - a Networked or Multifactorial System? J Chem Ecol 2020; 46:163-175. [PMID: 32026207 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-019-01140-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The adaptive radiation of the angiosperms was strongly affected by fruit and seed dispersal since the establishment of the seedlings is a fundamental process for the recruitment of juveniles to the populations. Among the species of Burseraceae, seeds with fleshy attachments and high caloric value suggest mammaliochory as an ancestral dispersal way. In Protium icicariba, at the same time as there is a visual pattern typical of ornithochory, with a report of effective demonstration, the diaspores present the highest levels of essential oils of the whole plant, suggesting other dispersion processes by olfactory guided vectors. This work aims to monitor the diasporic dispersal process in P. icicariba in situ, aiming to identify dispersers and to investigate the role of the essential oil in the dispersion of diaspores of this plant species. The natural dispersion was monitored in situ, in weekly campaigns throughout eight months, using visual and photographic records, in daily shifts of six hours, distributed along the dawn, morning, afternoon, dusk, and night. We used both direct observation and continuous picture capturing along 43 days with photographic traps. Mature diaspores removed from pseudocapsules were pooled to determine potential dispersers. Artificial models of the diaspores, in white and green colors, were also used to test hypotheses on the role of scent in the dispersion, added 1%, weight/weight, of the essential oil extracted from the mature diaspores, which chemical composition determined by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Besides, the analysis of stomach contents of lizards collected in adjacent area was also performed. In daytime and nighttime monitoring in nature, no vertebrates were recorded dispersing diaspores. The most common was the primary wind-facilitated autochory of diaspores to the substrate, near the plant matrices. Secondarily, workers of the ant species Atta robusta can remove the pseudoarils or move the pyrenes to the anthills. The lizard species Tropidurus torquatus ingests pyrenes with the pseudoarils, and the sclerified pericarp of the pyrene is potentially resistant to chemical action of the digestive juices. Ants and lizards have also accessed the caves with natural diaspores. Concerning the artificial diaspore models, ants accessed, indistinctly, white and the green models that contained essential oils. The lizards accessed the white models, with or without essential oils, and showed insignificant access to green ones, with or without essential oil. The ingestion of pyrenes by lizards was also confirmed through analysis of stomach contents. The aggregate spatial pattern of P. icicariba at the study site, associated with clumps, may be derived from germination in the substrate near the matrices, or in the anthills or after diaspora defecation and / or regurgitation of the lizard, which is a species strongly associated with clumps of this vegetation. As the access to the diaspores by ants and lizards depends on the primary autochory, and no impediments to the germination near to the matrix plant were found, the dispersion is compatible with a multifactorial characteristic of the diplochory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Izalnei Feres Pereira
- Laboratório de Ecologia Funcional. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ecossistemas, Universidade Vila Velha - UVV, Rua Mercúrio, s/n, Boa Vista 1, Vila Velha, ES, 29102-623, Brazil
| | - Ana Paula Ferreira da Costa
- Laboratório de Ecologia Funcional. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ecossistemas, Universidade Vila Velha - UVV, Rua Mercúrio, s/n, Boa Vista 1, Vila Velha, ES, 29102-623, Brazil
| | - Ana Carolina Srbek-Araujo
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação de Biodiversidade, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ecossistemas, Universidade Vila Velha - UVV, Rua Comissário José Dantas de Melo, n° 21, Boa Vista. 29, Vila Velha, ES, 102-920, Brazil.,Instituto SerraDiCal de Pesquisa e Conservação, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Lílian Jardim Guimarães
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação de Biodiversidade, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ecossistemas, Universidade Vila Velha - UVV, Rua Comissário José Dantas de Melo, n° 21, Boa Vista. 29, Vila Velha, ES, 102-920, Brazil
| | - André Falcão Merencio
- Laboratório de Ecologia Funcional. Programa de Pós-graduação em Biotecnologia Vegetal, Universidade Vila Velha - UVV, Rua Mercúrio, s/n, Boa Vista 1, Vila Velha, ES, 29102-623, Brazil
| | - Ary Gomes da Silva
- Gerência de Pesquisa, Desenvolvimento e Inovação, Instituto Capixaba de Pesquisa, Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural - Incaper, R. Afonso Sarlo, 160, Bento Ferreira, Vitória, ES, Brazil.
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8
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Crumière AJJ, Stephenson CJ, Nagel M, Shik JZ. Using Nutritional Geometry to Explore How Social Insects Navigate Nutritional Landscapes. INSECTS 2020; 11:E53. [PMID: 31952303 PMCID: PMC7022258 DOI: 10.3390/insects11010053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Revised: 01/11/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Insects face many cognitive challenges as they navigate nutritional landscapes that comprise their foraging environments with potential food items. The emerging field of nutritional geometry (NG) can help visualize these challenges, as well as the foraging solutions exhibited by insects. Social insect species must also make these decisions while integrating social information (e.g., provisioning kin) and/or offsetting nutrients provisioned to, or received from unrelated mutualists. In this review, we extend the logic of NG to make predictions about how cognitive challenges ramify across these social dimensions. Focusing on ants, we outline NG predictions in terms of fundamental and realized nutritional niches, considering when ants interact with related nestmates and unrelated bacterial, fungal, plant, and insect mutualists. The nutritional landscape framework we propose provides new avenues for hypothesis testing and for integrating cognition research with broader eco-evolutionary principles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonin J. J. Crumière
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Calum J. Stephenson
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Manuel Nagel
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jonathan Z. Shik
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama
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9
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Sprenger PP, Hartke J, Feldmeyer B, Orivel J, Schmitt T, Menzel F. Influence of Mutualistic Lifestyle, Mutualistic Partner, and Climate on Cuticular Hydrocarbon Profiles in Parabiotic Ants. J Chem Ecol 2019; 45:741-754. [DOI: 10.1007/s10886-019-01099-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 07/31/2019] [Accepted: 08/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Nelson AS, Carvajal Acosta N, Mooney KA. Plant chemical mediation of ant behavior. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 32:98-103. [PMID: 31113639 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2018] [Revised: 10/23/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Ants are ecologically dominant members of terrestrial communities. Ant foraging is often strongly associated with plants and depends upon associative learning of chemicals in the environment. As a result, plant chemicals can affect ant behaviors and, in so doing, have strong multi-trophic indirect effects. Plant chemicals mediate ant behaviors in the contexts of floral visitation, seed dispersal and predation, leaf cutting, interactions with ant-mutualist host plants, interactions with mutualist and prey insects in plant canopies, and plant predation of ants by carnivorous plants. Here, we review what is known about these differing contexts in which plant chemicals influence ant behavior, the mechanisms by which ants are affected by plant chemicals, and future directions within these topics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika S Nelson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California at Irvine, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, United States; Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, PO Box 319, Crested Butte, CO 81224, United States
| | - Nalleli Carvajal Acosta
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California at Irvine, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, United States
| | - Kailen A Mooney
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California at Irvine, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, United States; Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, PO Box 319, Crested Butte, CO 81224, United States.
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11
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Chen G, Wang ZW, Wen P, Wei W, Chen Y, Ai H, Sun WB. Hydrocarbons mediate seed dispersal: a new mechanism of vespicochory. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2018; 220:714-725. [PMID: 29677396 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Vespicochory, seed dispersal by hornets, is an uncommon seed dispersal pattern in angiosperms. To date, this phenomenon has been recorded in only four families. Because of its rarity, the causes and consequences of vespicochory remain unclear. Hence, this seed dispersal syndrome is often regarded as anecdotal. Through field investigations, chemical analyses, electrophysiological tests, identification of chemosensory proteins from the antennae of hornets, and behavioral assays, we investigated whether olfactory and/or visual cues of the diaspores of Stemona tuberosa mediate the behavior of the social hornets and maintain their mutualism. This study demonstrated that the elaiosome of S. tuberosa emits hydrocarbons, which are attractive to hornets. However, these compounds, which induce responses in the antennae of naive hornets, are ubiquitous substances on insect cuticle surfaces. Innate preference and experienced foraging behavior of hornets can increase their seed dispersal efficiency. This is the first example in which hydrocarbons have been identified as a diaspore odour involved in the attraction of hornets. Given that the ubiquity of hornets, and the communication function of hydrocarbons in insects, we predict that this rare seed dispersal mechanism may be an overlooked mechanism of insect-plant mutualism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gao Chen
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Integrative Conservation for Plant Species with Extremely Small Populations, Kunming, 650204, China
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650204, China
| | - Zheng-Wei Wang
- Chemical Ecology Group of Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming, 650204, China
| | - Ping Wen
- Chemical Ecology Group of Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming, 650204, China
| | - Wei Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Ya Chen
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Hui Ai
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Wei-Bang Sun
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Integrative Conservation for Plant Species with Extremely Small Populations, Kunming, 650204, China
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650204, China
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12
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Morales-Linares J, García-Franco JG, Flores-Palacios A, Valenzuela-González JE, Mata-Rosas M, Díaz-Castelazo C. Orchid seed removal by ants in Neotropical ant-gardens. PLANT BIOLOGY (STUTTGART, GERMANY) 2018; 20:525-530. [PMID: 29505686 DOI: 10.1111/plb.12715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2017] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Most plants that inhabit ant-gardens (AGs) are cultivated by the ants. Some orchids occur in AGs; however, it is not known whether their seeds are dispersed by AG ants because most orchid seeds are tiny and dispersed by wind. We performed in situ seed removal experiments, in which we simultaneously provided Azteca gnava ants with seeds of three AG orchid species and three other AG epiphyte species (Bromeliaceae, Cactaceae and Gesneriaceae), as well as the non-AG orchid Catasetum integerrimum. The seeds most removed were those of the bromeliad Aechmea tillandsioides and the gesneriad Codonanthe uleana, while seeds of AG orchids Coryanthes picturata, Epidendrum flexuosum and Epidendrum pachyrachis were less removed. The non-AG orchid was not removed. Removal values were positively correlated with the frequency of the AG epiphytes in the AGs, and seeds of AG orchids were larger than those of non-AG orchids, which should favour myrmecochory. Our data show that Azt. gnava ants discriminate and preferentially remove seeds of the AG epiphytes. We report for the first time the removal of AG orchid seeds by AG ants in Neotropical AGs.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Morales-Linares
- Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Red de Ecología Funcional, Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | - J G García-Franco
- Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Red de Ecología Funcional, Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | - A Flores-Palacios
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
| | | | - M Mata-Rosas
- Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Red Manejo Biotecnológico de Recursos, Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | - C Díaz-Castelazo
- Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Xalapa, Veracruz, México
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13
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Chomicki G, Renner SS. The interactions of ants with their biotic environment. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.0013. [PMID: 28298352 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2017] [Accepted: 02/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
This special feature results from the symposium 'Ants 2016: ant interactions with their biotic environments' held in Munich in May 2016 and deals with the interactions between ants and other insects, plants, microbes and fungi, studied at micro- and macroevolutionary levels with a wide range of approaches, from field ecology to next-generation sequencing, chemical ecology and molecular genetics. In this paper, we review key aspects of these biotic interactions to provide background information for the papers of this special feature After listing the major types of biotic interactions that ants engage in, we present a brief overview of ant/ant communication, ant/plant interactions, ant/fungus symbioses, and recent insights about ants and their endosymbionts. Using a large molecular clock-dated Formicidae phylogeny, we map the evolutionary origins of different ant clades' interactions with plants, fungi and hemiptera. Ants' biotic interactions provide ideal systems to address fundamental ecological and evolutionary questions about mutualism, coevolution, adaptation and animal communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Chomicki
- Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Munich (LMU), Menzinger Strasse 67, 80638 Munich, Germany
| | - Susanne S Renner
- Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Munich (LMU), Menzinger Strasse 67, 80638 Munich, Germany
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14
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Chomicki G, Janda M, Renner SS. The assembly of ant-farmed gardens: mutualism specialization following host broadening. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2016.1759. [PMID: 28298344 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2016] [Accepted: 10/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ant-gardens (AGs) are ant/plant mutualisms in which ants farm epiphytes in return for nest space and food rewards. They occur in the Neotropics and Australasia, but not in Africa, and their evolutionary assembly remains unclear. We here use phylogenetic frameworks for important AG lineages in Australasia, namely the ant genus Philidris and domatium-bearing ferns (Lecanopteris) and flowering plants in the Apocynaceae (Hoya and Dischidia) and Rubiaceae (Myrmecodia, Hydnophytum, Anthorrhiza, Myrmephytum and Squamellaria). Our analyses revealed that in these clades, diaspore dispersal by ants evolved at least 13 times, five times in the Late Miocene and Pliocene in Australasia and seven times during the Pliocene in Southeast Asia, after Philidris ants had arrived there, with subsequent dispersal between these two areas. A uniquely specialized AG system evolved in Fiji at the onset of the Quaternary. The farming in the same AG of epiphytes that do not offer nest spaces suggests that a broadening of the ants' plant host spectrum drove the evolution of additional domatium-bearing AG-epiphytes by selecting on pre-adapted morphological traits. Consistent with this, we found a statistical correlation between the evolution of diaspore dispersal by ants and domatia in all three lineages. Our study highlights how host broadening by a symbiont has led to new farming mutualisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Chomicki
- Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Munich (LMU), Menzinger Str. 67, 80638 Munich, Germany
| | - Milan Janda
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branisovska 31, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.,Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, ENES, UNAM, Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro 8701, Morelia, Mexico
| | - Susanne S Renner
- Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Munich (LMU), Menzinger Str. 67, 80638 Munich, Germany
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Schiestl FP. Innate Receiver Bias: Its Role in the Ecology and Evolution of Plant–Animal Interactions. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2017. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110316-023039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Receiver bias in plant–animal interactions is here defined as “selection mediated by behavioral responses of animals, where those responses have evolved in a context outside the interactions.” As a consequence, the responses are not necessarily linked to fitness gains in interacting animals. Thus, receiver bias can help explain seemingly maladaptive patterns of behavior in interacting animals and the evolution of plant traits that trigger such behavior. In this review, I discuss principles of receiver bias, show its overlap with mimicry and how it differs from mimicry, and outline examples in different plant–animal interactions. The most numerous and best documented examples of receiver bias occur within plant–pollinator interactions. I elaborate on the ability of some plants to heat up their flowers (i.e., floral thermogenesis) and argue that this trait likely evolved under receiver bias, especially in pollination systems with oviposition mimicry. Further examples include signals in insect-mediated seed dispersal and plant defense through repellence of aphids. These examples show that receiver bias is widespread in different plant–animal interactions. For a broader understanding of the role of receiver bias in those interactions, we need more data on how animals respond to plant signals, the context and evolutionary history of those behaviors, and the evolutionary patterns of plant signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian P. Schiestl
- Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zürich, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland
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16
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Leroy C, Petitclerc F, Orivel J, Corbara B, Carrias JF, Dejean A, Céréghino R. The influence of light, substrate and seed origin on the germination and establishment of an ant-garden bromeliad. PLANT BIOLOGY (STUTTGART, GERMANY) 2017; 19:70-78. [PMID: 27004470 DOI: 10.1111/plb.12452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2016] [Accepted: 03/18/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Plant germination and development depend upon a seed's successful dispersal into a suitable habitat and its ability to grow and survive within the surrounding biotic and abiotic environment. The seeds of Aechmea mertensii, a tank-bromeliad species, are dispersed by either Camponotus femoratus or Neoponera goeldii, two ant species that initiate ant gardens (AGs). These two mutualistic ant species influence the vegetative and reproductive traits of the bromeliad through their divergent ecological preferences (i.e. light and substrate). We hypothesised that the seeds dispersed by these two ant species have underlying genetic differences affecting germination, growth and survival of A. mertensii seedlings in different ways. To test this, we used an experimental approach consisting of sowing seeds of A. mertensii: (i) taken from the two AG-ant associations (i.e. seed origin), (ii) in two contrasting light conditions, and (iii) on three different substrates. Light and substrate had significant effects on germination, survival and on eight key leaf traits reflecting plant performance. Seed origin had a significant effect only on germination and on two leaf traits (total dry mass and relative growth rate). Overall, this bromeliad performs better (i.e. high growth and survival rates) when growing both in the shade and in the carton nest developed by C. femoratus ants. These results suggest that the plasticity of the tank bromeliad A. mertensii is mainly due to environment but also to genetic differences related to seed origin, as some traits are heritable. Thus, these two ant species may play contrasting roles in shaping plant evolution and speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Leroy
- IRD, UMR AMAP (botAnique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des végétations), Montpellier, France
| | - F Petitclerc
- CNRS, UMR Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane (AgroParisTech, CIRAD, CNRS, INRA, Université de Guyane, Université des Antilles), Kourou, France
| | - J Orivel
- CNRS, UMR Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane (AgroParisTech, CIRAD, CNRS, INRA, Université de Guyane, Université des Antilles), Kourou, France
| | - B Corbara
- Clermont Université, Université Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, France
- CNRS, UMR 6023, Laboratoire Microorganismes: Génome et Environnement, Aubière, France
| | - J-F Carrias
- Clermont Université, Université Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, France
- CNRS, UMR 6023, Laboratoire Microorganismes: Génome et Environnement, Aubière, France
| | - A Dejean
- CNRS, UMR Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane (AgroParisTech, CIRAD, CNRS, INRA, Université de Guyane, Université des Antilles), Kourou, France
- Ecolab, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INPT, Toulouse, France
| | - R Céréghino
- Ecolab, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INPT, Toulouse, France
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17
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Chomicki G, Renner SS. Obligate plant farming by a specialized ant. NATURE PLANTS 2016; 2:16181. [PMID: 27869787 DOI: 10.1038/nplants.2016.181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2016] [Accepted: 10/24/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Many epiphytic plants have associated with ants to gain nutrients. Here, we report a novel type of ant-plant symbiosis in Fiji where one ant species actively and exclusively plants the seeds and fertilizes the seedlings of six species of Squamellaria (Rubiaceae). Comparison with related facultative ant plants suggests that such farming plays a key role in mutualism stability by mitigating the critical re-establishment step.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Chomicki
- Department of Biology, Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Munich (LMU), Menzinger Str. 67, Munich 80638, Germany
| | - Susanne S Renner
- Department of Biology, Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Munich (LMU), Menzinger Str. 67, Munich 80638, Germany
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18
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Proximity shapes similarity in epiphytic composition of Neotropical ant gardens. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467416000298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Abstract:Ant gardens (AGs) are specialized ant-plant associations where arboreal ants build their carton nests in association with epiphytes that use the carton as a substrate. Most of the epiphytes are planted by ants; therefore, seed selection by ants is a key driver of the epiphyte composition of AGs. However, deterministic post-dispersal factors, such as the surrounding environmental conditions and plant succession, may also influence epiphyte composition. Here we ask whether epiphyte composition on a local scale is associated with dispersal constraints, local environmental conditions (light availability, number of branches and nest height) or AG successional stage. We sampled all epiphyte species in 18 AGs formed by Camponotus femoratus and Crematogaster levior in Central Amazon, Brazil. AGs were located within a range of 1 km and at a maximum of 20 m from the edges of a dirt road within a primary forest. Epiphytic composition showed strong spatial structure, decreasing in similarity with increasing distance. Environmental conditions and AG successional stage were not related to AG floristic composition, suggesting a key role of stochastic processes related to seed dispersal. A combination of seed abundance and attractiveness in neighbouring AGs seems to drive the higher similarity in epiphyte composition among closer AGs.
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19
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Ranganathan Y, Bessière JM, Borges RM. A coat of many scents: Cuticular hydrocarbons in multitrophic interactions of fig wasps with ants. ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2015.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Adaptive Advantage of Myrmecochory in the Ant-Dispersed Herb Lamium amplexicaule (Lamiaceae): Predation Avoidance through the Deterrence of Post-Dispersal Seed Predators. PLoS One 2015. [PMID: 26197397 PMCID: PMC4510857 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) is found worldwide, but the benefits that plants obtain from this mutualism remain uncertain. In the present study, we conducted laboratory experiments to demonstrate seed predator avoidance as a benefit of myrmecochory using the annual ant-dispersed herb Lamium amplexicaule, the disperser ant Tetramorium tsushimae, and the seed predatory burrower bug Adomerus rotundus. We compared the predation intensity of Lamium amplexicaule seeds by Adomerus rotundus under the presence or absence of Tetramorium tsushimae. Both the number of seeds sucked by Adomerus rotundus adults and the feeding duration of sucked seeds by nymphs were significantly reduced in the presence of ants. This effect was most likely due to the behavioral alteration of Adomerus rotundus in response to the ant presence, because ants seldom predated Adomerus rotundus during the experiment. Our results demonstrated that the presence of ants decreases post-dispersal seed predation, even when the ants do not bury the seeds. The present study thus suggests that the non-consumptive effects of ants on seed predators benefit myrmecochorous plants.
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Vicente RE, Dáttilo W, Izzo TJ. Differential Recruitment of Camponotus femoratus (Fabricius) Ants in Response to Ant Garden Herbivory. NEOTROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2014; 43:519-525. [PMID: 27194059 DOI: 10.1007/s13744-014-0245-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2014] [Accepted: 09/22/2014] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Although several studies have shown that ants can recognize chemical cues from their host plants in ant-plant systems, it is poorly demonstrated in ant gardens (AGs). In this interaction, ant species constantly interact with various epiphyte species. Therefore, it is possible to expect a convergence of chemical signals released by plants that could be acting to ensure that ants are able to recognize and defend epiphyte species frequently associated with AGs. In this study, it was hypothesized that ants recognize and differentiate among chemical stimuli released by AG epiphytes and non-AG epiphytes. We experimentally simulated leaf herbivore damage on three epiphyte species restricted to AGs and a locally abundant understory herb, Piper hispidum, in order to quantify the number of recruited Camponotus femoratus (Fabricius) defenders. When exposed to the AG epiphytes Peperomia macrostachya and Codonanthe uleana leaves, it was observed that the recruitment of C. femoratus workers was, on average, respectively 556% and 246% higher than control. However, the number of ants recruited by the AG epiphyte Markea longiflora or by the non-AG plant did not differ from paper pieces. This indicated that ants could discern between chemicals released by different plants, suggesting that ants can select better plants. These results can be explained by evolutionary process acting on both ants' capability in discerning plants' chemical compounds (innate attraction) or by ants' learning based on the epiphyte frequency in AGs (individual experience). To disentangle an innate behavior, a product of classical coevolutionary process, from an ant's learned behavior, is a complicated but important subject to understand in the evolution of ant-plant mutualisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- R E Vicente
- Lab de Ecologia de Comunidades, Depto de Ecologia e Botânica, Univ Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, MT, Brasil.
| | - W Dáttilo
- Institute of Neuroethology, Univ Veracruzana, Xalapa, VZ, Mexico
| | - T J Izzo
- Lab de Ecologia de Comunidades, Depto de Ecologia e Botânica, Univ Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, MT, Brasil
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22
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Wanjiku C, Khamis FM, Teal PEA, Torto B. Plant Volatiles Influence the African Weaver Ant-Cashew Tree Mutualism. J Chem Ecol 2014; 40:1167-75. [DOI: 10.1007/s10886-014-0512-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2014] [Revised: 08/22/2014] [Accepted: 08/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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23
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Kreuzwieser J, Scheerer U, Kruse J, Burzlaff T, Honsel A, Alfarraj S, Georgiev P, Schnitzler JP, Ghirardo A, Kreuzer I, Hedrich R, Rennenberg H. The Venus flytrap attracts insects by the release of volatile organic compounds. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2014; 65:755-66. [PMID: 24420576 PMCID: PMC3904726 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/ert455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Does Dionaea muscipula, the Venus flytrap, use a particular mechanism to attract animal prey? This question was raised by Charles Darwin 140 years ago, but it remains unanswered. This study tested the hypothesis that Dionaea releases volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to allure prey insects. For this purpose, olfactory choice bioassays were performed to elucidate if Dionaea attracts Drosophila melanogaster. The VOCs emitted by the plant were further analysed by GC-MS and proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). The bioassays documented that Drosophila was strongly attracted by the carnivorous plant. Over 60 VOCs, including terpenes, benzenoids, and aliphatics, were emitted by Dionaea, predominantly in the light. This work further tested whether attraction of animal prey is affected by the nutritional status of the plant. For this purpose, Dionaea plants were fed with insect biomass to improve plant N status. However, although such feeding altered the VOC emission pattern by reducing terpene release, the attraction of Drosophila was not affected. From these results it is concluded that Dionaea attracts insects on the basis of food smell mimicry because the scent released has strong similarity to the bouquet of fruits and plant flowers. Such a volatile blend is emitted to attract insects searching for food to visit the deadly capture organ of the Venus flytrap.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jürgen Kreuzwieser
- Professur für Baumphysiologie, Institut für Forstwissenschaften, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee Geb. 053/054, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ursel Scheerer
- Professur für Baumphysiologie, Institut für Forstwissenschaften, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee Geb. 053/054, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jörg Kruse
- Professur für Baumphysiologie, Institut für Forstwissenschaften, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee Geb. 053/054, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Tim Burzlaff
- Professur für Forstzoologie und Entomologie, Institut für Forstwissenschaften, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Tennenbacher Strasse 4, 79085 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Anne Honsel
- Professur für Baumphysiologie, Institut für Forstwissenschaften, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee Geb. 053/054, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Saleh Alfarraj
- Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Plamen Georgiev
- Fly Facility, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Stübeweg 51, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jörg-Peter Schnitzler
- Research Unit Environmental Simulation (EUS), Institute of Biochemical Plant Pathology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Andrea Ghirardo
- Research Unit Environmental Simulation (EUS), Institute of Biochemical Plant Pathology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Ines Kreuzer
- Lehrstuhl für Botanik I, Julius-von-Sachs-Institut für Biowissenschaften, Julius-von-Sachs-Platz 2, 97082 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Rainer Hedrich
- Lehrstuhl für Botanik I, Julius-von-Sachs-Institut für Biowissenschaften, Julius-von-Sachs-Platz 2, 97082 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Heinz Rennenberg
- Professur für Baumphysiologie, Institut für Forstwissenschaften, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee Geb. 053/054, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
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24
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Dellicour S, Lecocq T. GCALIGNER 1.0: An alignment program to compute a multiple sample comparison data matrix from large eco-chemical datasets obtained by GC. J Sep Sci 2013; 36:3206-9. [DOI: 10.1002/jssc.201300388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2013] [Revised: 06/21/2013] [Accepted: 07/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Simon Dellicour
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology; Université Libre de Bruxelles; Brussels Belgium
| | - Thomas Lecocq
- Laboratoire de Zoologie; University of Mons; Mons Belgium
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25
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Fricke EC, Simon MJ, Reagan KM, Levey DJ, Riffell JA, Carlo TA, Tewksbury JJ. When condition trumps location: seed consumption by fruit-eating birds removes pathogens and predator attractants. Ecol Lett 2013; 16:1031-6. [PMID: 23786453 PMCID: PMC3806274 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2013] [Revised: 04/18/2013] [Accepted: 05/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Seed ingestion by frugivorous vertebrates commonly benefits plants by moving seeds to locations with fewer predators and pathogens than under the parent. For plants with high local population densities, however, movement from the parent plant is unlikely to result in ‘escape’ from predators and pathogens. Changes to seed condition caused by gut passage may also provide benefits, yet are rarely evaluated as an alternative. Here, we use a common bird-dispersed chilli pepper (Capsicum chacoense) to conduct the first experimental comparison of escape-related benefits to condition-related benefits of animal-mediated seed dispersal. Within chilli populations, seeds dispersed far from parent plants gained no advantage from escape alone, but seed consumption by birds increased seed survival by 370% – regardless of dispersal distance – due to removal during gut passage of fungal pathogens and chemical attractants to granivores. These results call into question the pre-eminence of escape as the primary advantage of dispersal within populations and document two overlooked mechanisms by which frugivores can benefit fruiting plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan C Fricke
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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Dudareva N, Klempien A, Muhlemann JK, Kaplan I. Biosynthesis, function and metabolic engineering of plant volatile organic compounds. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2013; 198:16-32. [PMID: 23383981 DOI: 10.1111/nph.12145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 722] [Impact Index Per Article: 65.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2012] [Accepted: 12/13/2012] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Plants synthesize an amazing diversity of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that facilitate interactions with their environment, from attracting pollinators and seed dispersers to protecting themselves from pathogens, parasites and herbivores. Recent progress in -omics technologies resulted in the isolation of genes encoding enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of many volatiles and contributed to our understanding of regulatory mechanisms involved in VOC formation. In this review, we largely focus on the biosynthesis and regulation of plant volatiles, the involvement of floral volatiles in plant reproduction as well as their contribution to plant biodiversity and applications in agriculture via crop-pollinator interactions. In addition, metabolic engineering approaches for both the improvement of plant defense and pollinator attraction are discussed in light of methodological constraints and ecological complications that limit the transition of crops with modified volatile profiles from research laboratories to real-world implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Dudareva
- Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Antje Klempien
- Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Joëlle K Muhlemann
- Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Ian Kaplan
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
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Emery VJ, Tsutsui ND. Recognition in a social symbiosis: chemical phenotypes and nestmate recognition behaviors of neotropical parabiotic ants. PLoS One 2013; 8:e56492. [PMID: 23451053 PMCID: PMC3579830 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2012] [Accepted: 01/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Social organisms rank among the most abundant and ecologically dominant species on Earth, in part due to exclusive recognition systems that allow cooperators to be distinguished from exploiters. Exploiters, such as social parasites, manipulate their hosts' recognition systems, whereas cooperators are expected to minimize interference with their partner's recognition abilities. Despite our wealth of knowledge about recognition in single-species social nests, less is known of the recognition systems in multi-species nests, particularly involving cooperators. One uncommon type of nesting symbiosis, called parabiosis, involves two species of ants sharing a nest and foraging trails in ostensible cooperation. Here, we investigated recognition cues (cuticular hydrocarbons) and recognition behaviors in the parabiotic mixed-species ant nests of Camponotus femoratus and Crematogaster levior in North-Eastern Amazonia. We found two sympatric, cryptic Cr. levior chemotypes in the population, with one type in each parabiotic colony. Although they share a nest, very few hydrocarbons were shared between Ca. femoratus and either Cr. levior chemotype. The Ca. femoratus hydrocarbons were also unusually long-chained branched alkenes and dienes, compounds not commonly found amongst ants. Despite minimal overlap in hydrocarbon profile, there was evidence of potential interspecific nestmate recognition -Cr. levior ants were more aggressive toward Ca. femoratus non-nestmates than Ca. femoratus nestmates. In contrast to the prediction that sharing a nest could weaken conspecific recognition, each parabiotic species also maintains its own aggressive recognition behaviors to exclude conspecific non-nestmates. This suggests that, despite cohabitation, parabiotic ants maintain their own species-specific colony odors and recognition mechanisms. It is possible that such social symbioses are enabled by the two species each using their own separate recognition cues, and that interspecific nestmate recognition may enable this multi-species cooperative nesting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginia J Emery
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America.
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Carrias JF, Brouard O, Leroy C, Céréghino R, Pélozuelo L, Dejean A, Corbara B. An ant–plant mutualism induces shifts in the protist community structure of a tank-bromeliad. Basic Appl Ecol 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2012.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Unusual macrocyclic lactone sex pheromone of Parcoblatta lata, a primary food source of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2011; 109:E490-6. [PMID: 22184232 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1111748109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Wood cockroaches in the genus Parcoblatta, comprising 12 species endemic to North America, are highly abundant in southeastern pine forests and represent an important prey of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, Picoides borealis. The broad wood cockroach, Parcoblatta lata, is among the largest and most abundant of the wood cockroaches, constituting >50% of the biomass of the woodpecker's diet. Because reproduction in red-cockaded woodpeckers is affected dramatically by seasonal and spatial changes in arthropod availability, monitoring P. lata populations could serve as a useful index of habitat suitability for woodpecker conservation and forest management efforts. Female P. lata emit a volatile, long-distance sex pheromone, which, once identified and synthesized, could be deployed for monitoring cockroach populations. We describe here the identification, synthesis, and confirmation of the chemical structure of this pheromone as (4Z,11Z)-oxacyclotrideca-4,11-dien-2-one [= (3Z,10Z)-dodecadienolide; herein referred to as "parcoblattalactone"]. This macrocyclic lactone is a previously unidentified natural product and a previously unknown pheromonal structure for cockroaches, highlighting the great chemical diversity that characterizes olfactory communication in cockroaches: Each long-range sex pheromone identified to date from different genera belongs to a different chemical class. Parcoblattalactone was biologically active in electrophysiological assays and attracted not only P. lata but also several other Parcoblatta species in pine forests, underscoring its utility in monitoring several endemic wood cockroach species in red-cockaded woodpecker habitats.
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Bernadou A, Espadaler X, Dos-Reis V, Fourcassié V. Effect of substrate roughness on load selection in the seed-harvester ant Messor barbarus L. (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-011-1184-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Youngsteadt E, Guerra Bustios P, Schal C. Divergent chemical cues elicit seed collecting by ants in an obligate multi-species mutualism in lowland Amazonia. PLoS One 2010; 5:e15822. [PMID: 21209898 PMCID: PMC3012710 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0015822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2010] [Accepted: 11/29/2010] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In lowland Amazonian rainforests, specific ants collect seeds of several plant species and cultivate them in arboreal carton nests, forming species-specific symbioses called ant-gardens (AGs). In this obligate mutualism, ants depend on the plants for nest stability and the plants depend on ant nests for substrate and nutrients. AG ants and plants are abundant, dominant members of lowland Amazonian ecosystems, but the cues ants use to recognize the seeds are poorly understood. To address the chemical basis of the ant-seed interaction, we surveyed seed chemistry in nine AG species and eight non-AG congeners. We detected seven phenolic and terpenoid volatiles common to seeds of all or most of the AG species, but a blend of the shared compounds was not attractive to the AG ant Camponotus femoratus. We also analyzed seeds of three AG species (Anthurium gracile, Codonanthe uleana, and Peperomia macrostachya) using behavior-guided fractionation. At least one chromatographic fraction of each seed extract elicited retrieval behavior in C. femoratus, but the active fractions of the three plant species differed in polarity and chemical composition, indicating that shared compounds alone did not explain seed-carrying behavior. We suggest that the various AG seed species must elicit seed-carrying with different chemical cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsa Youngsteadt
- Department of Entomology and W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
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Ness JH, Morin DF, Giladi I. Uncommon specialization in a mutualism between a temperate herbaceous plant guild and an ant: areAphaenogasterants keystone mutualists? OIKOS 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2009.17430.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Willmer PG, Nuttman CV, Raine NE, Stone GN, Pattrick JG, Henson K, Stillman P, McIlroy L, Potts SG, Knudsen JT. Floral volatiles controlling ant behaviour. Funct Ecol 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2009.01632.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Leroy C, Corbara B, Dejean A, Céréghino R. Ants mediate foliar structure and nitrogen acquisition in a tank-bromeliad. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2009; 183:1124-1133. [PMID: 19500265 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.02891.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Aechmea mertensii is a tank-bromeliad that roots on ant-gardens initiated by the ants Camponotus femoratus and Pachycondyla goeldii. Its leaves form compartments acting as phytotelmata that hold rainwater and provide habitats for invertebrates. In this article, we aimed to determine whether the association with either C. femoratus or P. goeldii influenced the vegetative traits of A. mertensii, invertebrate diversity and nutrient assimilation by the leaves. Transmitted light, vegetative traits and phytotelmata contents were compared between the two A. mertensii ant-gardens. Camponotus femoratus colonized partially shaded areas, whereas P. goeldii colonized exposed areas. The bromeliads' rosettes had a large canopy (C. femoratus ant-gardens), or were smaller and amphora shaped (P. goeldii ant-gardens). There were significant differences in leaf anatomy, as shaded leaves were thicker than exposed leaves. The mean volumes of water, fine particulate organic matter and detritus in C. femoratus-associated bromeliads were three to five times higher than in P. goeldii-associated bromeliads. Moreover, the highest invertebrate diversity and leaf delta(15)N values were found in C. femoratus-associated bromeliads. This study enhances our understanding of the dynamics of biodiversity, and shows how ant-plant interactions can have trophic consequences and thus influence the architecture of the interacting plant via a complex feedback loop.
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Affiliation(s)
- Céline Leroy
- EcoFoG, Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane, UMR-CNRS 8172, Campus Agronomique, 97379 Kourou Cedex, France
- EDB, Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, UMR-CNRS 5174, Université Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Bruno Corbara
- Laboratoire Microorganismes: Génome & Environnement, Université Blaise Pascal, Clermont II, UMR-CNRS 6023, Campus des Cézeaux, 63177 Aubière Cedex, France
| | - Alain Dejean
- EcoFoG, Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane, UMR-CNRS 8172, Campus Agronomique, 97379 Kourou Cedex, France
| | - Régis Céréghino
- Ecolab, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle, UMR-CNRS 5245, Université Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
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Ranganathan Y, Borges RM. Predatory and trophobiont-tending ants respond differently to fig and fig wasp volatiles. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Ramos CS, Vanin SA, Kato MJ. Sequestration of prenylated benzoic acid and chromenes by Naupactus bipes (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) feeding on Piper gaudichaudianum (Piperaceae). CHEMOECOLOGY 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/s00049-009-0011-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Youngsteadt E, Baca JA, Osborne J, Schal C. Species-specific seed dispersal in an obligate ant-plant mutualism. PLoS One 2009; 4:e4335. [PMID: 19194502 PMCID: PMC2632754 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0004335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2008] [Accepted: 12/16/2008] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Throughout lowland Amazonia, arboreal ants collect seeds of specific plants and cultivate them in nutrient-rich nests, forming diverse yet obligate and species-specific symbioses called Neotropical ant-gardens (AGs). The ants depend on their symbiotic plants for nest stability, and the plants depend on AGs for substrate and nutrients. Although the AGs are limited to specific participants, it is unknown at what stage specificity arises, and seed fate pathways in AG epiphytes are undocumented. Here we examine the specificity of the ant-seed interaction by comparing the ant community observed at general food baits to ants attracted to and removing seeds of the AG plant Peperomia macrostachya. We also compare seed removal rates under treatments that excluded vertebrates, arthropods, or both. In the bait study, only three of 70 ant species collected P. macrostachya seeds, and 84% of observed seed removal by ants was attributed to the AG ant Camponotus femoratus. In the exclusion experiment, arthropod exclusion significantly reduced seed removal rates, but vertebrate exclusion did not. We provide the most extensive empirical evidence of species specificity in the AG mutualism and begin to quantify factors that affect seed fate in order to understand conditions that favor its departure from the typical diffuse model of plant-animal mutualism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsa Youngsteadt
- Department of Entomology and W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Jeniffer Alvarez Baca
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Cusco, Perú
| | - Jason Osborne
- Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Coby Schal
- Department of Entomology and W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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