Atratividade de Atta sexdens rubropilosa por plantas de eucalipto atacadas previamente ou não por Thyrinteina arnobia

Oliveira, Hamilton; Lacerda, Fabrícia Gonçalves; Marinho, Cidália Gabriela Santos; Lúcia, Terezinha Maria Castro Della

doi:10.1590/s0100-204x2004000300012

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 11 publications

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“…Eucalypt plants are rich in essential oils and contain high concentration of tannins (Fox and Macauley 1977). Such secondary compounds have been reported to cause adverse effects on the growth and development of important pest insects (Faeth 1986;Coley and Barone 1996;Oliveira et al 2004). Probably, the production of these and other secondary metabolites in eucalypt plants might change with herbivory, as it was found in other species of plants either in the laboratory or in the field (Schultz and Baldwin 1982;Underwood et al 2002;Kranthi et al 2003;Rossi et al 2004).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Induced defense in Eucalyptus trees increases with prolonged herbivory

Oliveira¹,

Molina-Rugama²,

Fadini³

et al. 2010

Rev. Colomb. Entomol.

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Mechanisms of defense in plants can be activated by external stimuli such as herbivory. It is well-known that such induced defense occurs after short periods of herbivory, but little is known about long-term induction. In this paper, we studied the effects of induced defenses of Eucalyptus trees on Thyrinteina arnobia (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) over four generations. The effects of induction of eucalypt plants seemed to increase gradually with prolonged periods of herbivory. To our knowledge it is the first demonstration that induced defense changes in a gradual way with long-term herbivory. This suggests that these trees, and possibly many other plants, gradually invest more in induced defense with prolonged herbivore attacks.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Induced defense in Eucalyptus trees increases with prolonged herbivory

Oliveira¹,

Molina-Rugama²,

Fadini³

et al. 2010

Rev. Colomb. Entomol.

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Spatio-temporal permanence and plasticity of foraging trails in young and mature leaf-cutting ant colonies (Atta spp.)

et al. 2005

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The distribution and formation of foraging trails have largely been neglected as factors explaining harvesting patterns of leaf-cutting ants. We applied fractal analysis, circular, and conventional statistics to published and newly recorded trail maps of seven Atta colonies focusing on three aspects: permanence, spatio-temporal plasticity and colony life stage. In the long term, trail patterns of young and mature Atta colonies revealed that foraging activities were focused on distinct, static sectors that made up only parts of their potentially available foraging range. Within these foraging sectors, trails were typically ephemeral and highly variable in space and time. These ephemeral trails were concentrated around permanent trunk trails in mature and around nest entrances in young colonies. Besides these similarities, the comparison of trail systems between the two life stages indicated that young colonies exploited fewer leaf sources, used smaller and less-complex systems of foraging trails, preferred different life forms as host plants, and switched hosts more often compared with mature colonies. Based on these analyses, we propose a general hypothesis which describes the foraging pattern in Atta as a result of initial foraging experiences, spatio-temporal distribution of suitable host plants, energetic constraints, and other factors such as seasonality and interspecific predation.

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Do Leaf Cutting Ants Cut Undetected? Testing the Effect of Ant-Induced Plant Defences on Foraging Decisions in Atta colombica

2011

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Leaf-cutting ants (LCAs) are polyphagous, yet highly selective herbivores. The factors that govern their selection of food plants, however, remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that the induction of anti-herbivore defences by attacked food plants, which are toxic to either ants or their mutualistic fungus, should significantly affect the ants' foraging behaviour. To test this “induced defence hypothesis,” we used lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus), a plant that emits many volatile organic compounds (VOCs) upon herbivore attack with known anti-fungal or ant-repellent effects. Our results provide three important insights into the foraging ecology of LCAs. First, leaf-cutting by Atta ants can induce plant defences: Lima bean plants that were repeatedly exposed to foraging workers of Atta colombica over a period of three days emitted significantly more VOCs than undamaged control plants. Second, the level to which a plant has induced its anti-herbivore defences can affect the LCAs' foraging behaviour: In dual choice bioassays, foragers discriminated control plants from plants that have been damaged mechanically or by LCAs 24 h ago. In contrast, strong induction levels of plants after treatment with the plant hormone jasmonic acid or three days of LCA feeding strongly repelled LCA foragers relative to undamaged control plants. Third, the LCA-specific mode of damaging leaves allows them to remove larger quantities of leaf material before being recognized by the plant: While leaf loss of approximately 15% due to a chewing herbivore (coccinelid beetle) was sufficient to significantly increase VOC emission levels after 24 h, the removal of even 20% of a plant's leaf area within 20 min by LCAs did not affect its VOC emission rate after 24 h. Taken together, our results support the “induced defence hypothesis” and provide first empirical evidence that the foraging behaviour of LCAs is affected by the induction of plant defence responses.

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Atratividade de Atta sexdens rubropilosa por plantas de eucalipto atacadas previamente ou não por Thyrinteina arnobia

Cited by 4 publications

References 11 publications

Induced defense in Eucalyptus trees increases with prolonged herbivory

Induced defense in Eucalyptus trees increases with prolonged herbivory

Spatio-temporal permanence and plasticity of foraging trails in young and mature leaf-cutting ant colonies (Atta spp.)

Do Leaf Cutting Ants Cut Undetected? Testing the Effect of Ant-Induced Plant Defences on Foraging Decisions in Atta colombica

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