Predation and parasitism in a tropical herbivore community

Memmott, Jane; Godfray, H. C. J.; Bolton, Barry

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.1993.tb01111.x

Cited by 21 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…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: 98%

“…These results support the interpretation that arboreal primary forest ants are highly predacious. Besides caterpillars, it is well known that ants also prey intensively on other arthropods like termites (Oliveira et al 1987) or leaf-mining insects (Memmott et al 1993). It has been demonstrated in temperate forests that ant predation varies during the course of the seasons (Horstmann 1975(Horstmann , 1976(Horstmann /1977.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Arboreal ants as key predators in tropical lowland rainforest trees

Floren¹,

Biun

Linsenmair³

2002

Oecologia

164

145

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arboreal ants as key predators in tropical lowland rainforest trees

Floren¹,

Biun

Linsenmair³

2002

Oecologia

164

145

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Ants are probably the most important predators in insect communities (Heads and Lawton 1985;Memmott et al 1993). The ant Myrmica rubra L.…”

Section: Defence Against Invertebratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between glucosinolate- and myrosinase-containing plants and the sawfly Athalia rosae

Müller

2008

Phytochem Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Several insects have specialised on using Brassicaceae as host plants. Therefore, they evolved metabolic pathways to cope with the defensive glucosinolate-myrosinase system of their diet. Larvae of the turnip sawfly, Athalia rosae L. (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae), incorporate various glucosinolates from their hosts into their haemolymph. The ability to sequester these metabolites makes A. rosae a useful model system to study mechanisms of glucosinolate metabolism in this species compared to other specialists, and to study effects of sawfly feeding on levels of glucosinolates and their hydrolysing enzymes in plants. The levels of plant metabolites might in turn directly affect the performance of the insect. On the one hand, costs for glucosinolate uptake and avoidance of myrosinase activity were postulated. On the other hand, sequestration of glucosinolates can be part of the insect's defence against several predators. Here, the findings on glucosinolate metabolic pathways are compared between different herbivores and the sawfly. The impact of different glucosinolate levels and myrosinase activities on the performance of A. rosae is discussed. Furthermore, effects of feeding by A. rosae larvae on the chemical composition and enzyme activities of various Brassicaceae species are summarised. Induction patterns vary not only between different plant species and cultivars but also due to the inducing agent. Finally, the plant-herbivore interactions are discussed with regard to the sawflies' defence abilities against different carnivore guilds.

show abstract

“…Thus herbivores tended by ants have been shown to suffer less parasitoid attack than untended herbivores (see review in Memmott et at, 1993). Stork (1988Stork ( , 1991 obtained a low number of ant species (n= 10-32; 3.1% of the total arthropod species) from each of ten Bornean canopies in a lowland floodplain forest, but a high number of species of other Hymenoptera (n=37-267; 23% of the total arthropod species), predominantly parasitic Chalcidoidea (739 species).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arthropods obtained from the Amazonian tree species "Cupiuba" (Goupia glabra) by repeated canopy fogging with natural Pyrethrum

et al. 1998

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

-Two canopies of a widely distributed Amazonian tree species, Goupia glabra Aubl. (Celastraceae, height 38 and 45m) were fogged several times with 1% natural pyrethrum during the rainy and dry seasons (1991)(1992)(1993)(1994) in the Adolpho Ducke Forest Reserve near Manaus/Brazil. mostly Formicidae, and Diptcra dominated. A total of 95 ant species occurred on a single tree. Most ants were permanently foraging in the canopy and their recolonization after fogging seems to building Cecidomyiidae and -2) Cecidomyiidae and the parasitic Hymenoptera.Key words: Canopy fogging, pyrethrum, arthropods, recolonization, interactions, Amazon, Neotropics.Artrópodos Obtidos Através de Nebulização Repetitiva da Copa de uma Árvore Amazônica, "Cupiuba" (Goupia glabra), com Piretróiide Natural.RESUMO -Duas copas de uma espécie de árvore amplamente distribuída na Amazônia, Goupia glabra Aubl. (Celastraceae, altura 38 e 45m) foram renebulizadas várias vezes com píretro natural 1%, durante o período chuvoso e seco (1991-94) na Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke próximo de Manaus/Brasil. Entre 50 e 158 ind./m 2 de artrópodos foram obtidos por árvore e evento de nebulização. Hymenoptera, na sua maioria Formicidae, e Diptera dominaram. Um total de 95 espécies de formigas ocorreram numa única árvore. A maioria das formigas estava permanentemente forrageando na copa e a sua recolonização depois a nebulização parece seguir vias estocásticas. Os dados sugerem uma interação entre Formicidae e Cecidomyiidae (construindo galhas) e Cecidomyiidae e Hymenoptera parasítica.

show abstract

Predation and parasitism in a tropical herbivore community

Cited by 21 publications

References 25 publications

Arboreal ants as key predators in tropical lowland rainforest trees

Arboreal ants as key predators in tropical lowland rainforest trees

Interactions between glucosinolate- and myrosinase-containing plants and the sawfly Athalia rosae

Arthropods obtained from the Amazonian tree species "Cupiuba" (Goupia glabra) by repeated canopy fogging with natural Pyrethrum

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About