Ant Fauna on Cecropia pachystachya Trécul (Urticaceae) Trees in an Atlantic Forest Area, Southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Cecropia genus comprises pioneer trees which are characteristic elements of forest borders and gaps in the Neotropics (Vasconcelos & Casimiro, 1997; Sposito & Santos, 2001). Most species are inhabited by mutualistic ants that nest inside hollow internodes where they store eggs, larvae and pupae (Harada & Benson, 1988), and feed on glycogenrich Müllerian bodies called trichilium located at the base of leaf petioles (Yu & Davidson, 1997). Although Cecropia can host a variety of resident ant genera, Azteca spp are the most common ant inhabitants (Longino, 1991a). Usually only one mature Azteca colony inhabits a Cecropia tree, however up to five Azteca species may be found in a Cecropia population (Longino, 1991a). In addition to a resident Azteca colony, other ant species can be found living or foraging on the same Cecropia tree (Vieira et al., 2010). However, the diversity of non-Azteca ants living on Cecropia trees or using them as foraging substrates is still poorly known, as well as the factors that might affect ant richness and abundance on these trees.

Interactions betweenCecropia(Urticaceae) and ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) along a longitudinal east-west transect in the Brazilian Northeast

“…As in northeast Brazil, C. pachystachya were occupied by more than one ant species, and these associations usually involved at least one Azteca species. Other genera collected in this study, such Camponotus and Crematogaster, were often frequent inhabitants of Cecropia observed in other geographic locations (Harada & Benson 1988;Longino 1989aLongino , 1991aVieira et al 2010;Reis et al 2013).…”

“…Although the pattern of association between Cecropia and ants looks like those shown by Vieira et al (2010) and Reis et al (2013), the present study provides important data defining the distribution of ant species associated with Cecropia spp. and of these trees at a regional scale, i.e.…”

“…Azteca alfari, the most frequent species on Cecropia in this study, is the most widely distributed ant among those associated with this genus (Harada & Benson 1988); it was also the most frequent in C. pachystachya individuals in an Atlantic Forest area in Minas Gerais, Brazil (Reis et al 2013). Azteca alfari nests in Cecropia in any environment (Harada & Benson 1988), but prefers open and disturbed areas, such as roadsides and agriculture landscapes (Longino 1989b): this is what the present study reveals as well.…”

“…Species richness of ants associated with Cecropia is negatively related to latitude and altitude, and positively related to humidity at site and within the plant (Longino 1989a(Longino , 1991b as well as to the architectural complexity of the latter (Reis et al 2013). Some environmental factors also influence the richness of ants associated with Cecropia, such as open or closed forest areas (Longino 1989a(Longino , 1991a.…”

Herbivores just need a calm place to feed: Ants cannot help them

“…In Brazilian Mata Atlântica Rainforest, the relationship between C. pachystachya (Urticaceae) and Azteca alfari Emery, 1893 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is quite common (de Oliveira et al 2015). This interaction system is not exclusively found in forests, and also occurs in open environments where C. pachystchya is present (Reis et al 2013). However, open and closed areas can present different patterns in the presence and ant defense (Carneiro et al 2018).…”