Coping with Enemy-Filled Space: Herbivores on Endospermum in Papua New Guinea

Letourneau, Deborah K.; Arias, Gonzalo; Jebb, Matthew

doi:10.2307/2388982

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…It is generally assumed that ants exert a high predation pressure on the arthropod fauna, however, evidence for this comes almost exclusively from myrmecophilous and myrmecophytic plants (e.g. Koptur 141 Smiley 1987;Letourneau et al 1993;Gaume et al 1997;Heil et al 2000Heil et al , 2001 while studies on trees that are not associated with ants are rare (Memmott et al 1993). In this study we tested whether ants also exert a high predation pressure on arthropods on non-myrmecophilous and non-myrmecophytic trees.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Arboreal ants as key predators in tropical lowland rainforest trees

Floren¹,

Biun

Linsenmair³

2002

Oecologia

164

145

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Ants numerically dominate the canopy fauna of tropical lowland rain forests. They are considered to be key predators but their effects in this regard have only rarely been studied on non-myrmecophytes. A conspicuously low abundance of less mobile, mainly holometabolous arthropods like Lepidoptera larvae corresponds with ant dominance, while hemimetabolous highly mobile nymphs occur regularly and in large numbers in the trees. This is in contrast to the temperate regions where ants are mostly lacking on trees and holometabolous larvae are frequent. In this study we experimentally measured ant predation in the trees by offering caterpillars as baits. Fifty-four ant species were tested, of which 46 killed caterpillars and carried them away to their nests while only eight species ignored the offered larvae. Insecticidal knockdown fogging of ten trees after finishing the prey experiments showed that on average 85% of ant individuals per tree were predacious. With the analysis of another 69 foggings and meticulous observations in many other trees this suggests that arboreal ants are responsible for the low abundance of less mobile arthropods in tropical lowland rain forest canopies. Ant predation was significantly lower in a disturbed forest indicating that human disturbance induces a change in the functional interactions in these ecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Koptur 1984;Smiley 1987;Letourneau et al 1993). For our experiments we chose caterpillars of a Gelechiidae species, genus Onebala, which were found in leaf-rolls of Hibiscus shrubs.…”

Section: The Prey Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arboreal ants as key predators in tropical lowland rainforest trees

Floren¹,

Biun

Linsenmair³

2002

Oecologia

164

145

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“…The species falling at the bottom of the bud-number rank in Table 2 appear to be particularly vulnerable in this respect and thus demand closer scrutiny; they may possess as yet unrecognized herbivore defence attributes (Letourneau, Feynner & Jebb, 1993). There is expected to be a high degree of herbivory at the canopy surface (Sterck et nl., 1992, but cf.…”

Section: Bud Defencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Branch construction and bud defence status at the canopy surface of a West African rainforest

Bell

Dines

1999

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Branch specimens were collected from the very tops of tropical tree crowns in southern Cameroon, West Africa. An analysis of branching patterns revealed a consistency of form across unrelated taxa. All specimens showed evidence of rhythmic growth cither due to the regular occurrence of dormant terminal buds or due to sympodial growth with loss or flowering of terminal buds. Study of bud anatomy revealed an extensive array of protective devices associated with drought tolerance and herbivore defence. Normally a considerable excess of dormant, well protected axillary buds were present which (almost without exception) existed in a viable state. In very many instances the large dormant bud population was due to the presence of accessory buds, i.e. > 1 bud in the axil of each leaf. The microclimate at the outer surface of a tropical rainforest may experience a daily increase in temperature and associated depression in humidity; the canopy surface characteristics are more akin to chaparral shrub vegetation than to familiar rainforest understorey vegetation.

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“…Numerous studies have documented that these organisms enjoy a reduction in attacks by natural enemies when they are visited by ants and that this protection is amplified when ants visit more frequently (Bentley, 1976;Addicott, 1978;Inouye & Taylor, 1979; Koptur, 1979Koptur, , 1984Messina, 1981;Pierce & Mead, 1981;Barton, 1986;Pierce & Easteal, 1986;Pierce et aL, 1987Pierce et aL, , 1991Cushman & Addicott, 1989;Cushman & Whitham, 1989;Savignano 1990, in press;Baylis & Pierce, 1991;DeVries, 1991c;Breton & Addicott, 1992;but see O'Dowd & Catchpole, 1983;Temple, 1983;Peterson, 1993). Furthermore, these organisms may benefit developmentally and/or reproductively from ant attendance (DeVries & Baker, 1989;Fiedler & Holldobler, 1992;Letourneau, Feynner, & Jebb, 1993;Wagner, 1993;Cushman et al, 1994), although this is not always the case (Pierce et aL, 1987;Robbins, 1991). When explicitly examined, the benefits that ant-tended species gain have generally been shown to depend on the identity of their ant guard (Addicott 1979;Messina, 1981;Bristow, 1984;Horvitz & Schemske, 1984, 1986Savignano 1990, in press;Letourneau et aL, 1993;Wagner, 1993).…”

Section: Signijcance Of Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpredictability in the facultative association between larvae of Euphilotes enoptes (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) and ants

Peterson

1995

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Larvae of the lycaenid butterfly, Euphilotes enoptes, are facultatively associated with ants. To determine whether variation in this association is predictable, I documented the proportion of larvae tended by ants and the identity of those ants over a three-year period in two study areas in central Washington state. Each study area contained numerous patches of Eriogonum compositum, the sole host plant of E. enoptes in this region. Using complete censuses and random subsampling, I estimated the dispersion and densities of E. enoptes larvae occupying each patch. The results of these observations indicated significant spatial and temporal variation in the identities of ants tending larvae and the frequency of ant attendance. In addition, early instar larvae were tended less frequently and by smaller ant species, than fourth instar larvae. Although larvae were aggregated at two spatial scales: individual plants within a patch and individual inflorescences on a plant, attendance rates did not vary consistently with aggregation size at either scale. Similarly, attendance rates were independent of the patch-wide density of larvae. I discuss the potential sources of such unpredictable variation and its implications for the evolution of further specialization in this facultative association.

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Coping with Enemy-Filled Space: Herbivores on Endospermum in Papua New Guinea

Cited by 14 publications

References 5 publications

Arboreal ants as key predators in tropical lowland rainforest trees

Arboreal ants as key predators in tropical lowland rainforest trees

Branch construction and bud defence status at the canopy surface of a West African rainforest

Unpredictability in the facultative association between larvae of Euphilotes enoptes (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) and ants

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