Simarouba versicolor (Simaroubaceae) Dispersal by the Leaf-Cutter Ant Atta sexdens

Abstract

The importance of Simarouba versicolor St. Hil. fruit dispersal by the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens (L.) was studied in the Cerrado, Tocantins, Brazil. The trees and nests were located between a forest area and a Brachiaria decumbens Stapf pasture. Seeds were collected in October 2015 along foraging trails and on the anthill of an A. sexdens colony. Germination of three groups of seeds was tested: (1) seeds with the tegument removed by the ants; (2) seeds without tegument, cleaned manually, and (3) seeds with tegument. The germination rates for the three treatments were similar; however, it was verified that the seeds cleaned by ants germinated faster. In addition, it was verified that the ants dispersed the seeds by at least 20 meters in the study area. Simarouba versicolor is a plant studied for its insecticidal properties, and this is the first study to our knowledge reporting its dispersal by ants.

Dispersão de sementes de Copaifera arenicola (Caesalpinioideae-Fabaceae) por formigas cortadeiras em remanescentes de Caatinga

“…como importantes herbívoros no bioma (Leal et al 2007;Leal et al 2018). Em uma área no Cerrado, Lopes et al (2018) estudando a dispersão de frutos e sementes de Simarouba versicolor A. St -Hil. (Simaroubaceae) por Atta sexdens (L.) ao longo de trilhas de forrageamento e no formigueiro de uma colônia, constataram a dispersão a 20 metros da área, onde as sementes limpas pelas formigas germinaram mais rapidamente.…”

Seed germination of a myrmecochorous plant endemic to the Brazilian semiarid region: the wolf is not so bad

“…The genus Copaifera comprises 37 species of plants with propagules characterized by the presence of a lipid-rich elaiosome that represents up to 35% of seed weight. Thus far, we are aware of seeds of species of the genus Copaifera being dispersed by some species of ants of the genera Atta and Acromyrmex (Leal & Oliveira 1998;Lopes et al 2018;Fagundes et al 2021). These ants are mainly characterized by the habit of collecting and transporting plant material through trails inside their nests to cultivate fungi that constitute their basic food resource (Holldobler & Wilson 1990).…”

“…Ants of the genera Atta and Acromyrmex are mainly characterized by the habit of collecting and transporting plant material through trails into their nests to cultivate fungi that constitute their basic food resource (Holldobler & Wilson, 1990). These ants can also collect propagules from different plant species and transport them to the interior of their nests, thus acting as seed dispersers (Dalling & Wirth 1998;Lopes et al 2018).…”