Sodium‐specific foraging by leafcutter ant workers (<i>Atta cephalotes</i>, Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Pizarro, Laura Chavarría; McCreery, Helen F.; Lawson, Sarah P.; Winston, Max; O’Donnell, Sean

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.2012.01380.x

Cited by 17 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Recent work has emphasized the potential importance of less-studied elements that exist in both organic molecules and ionic forms, but are essential to herbivores (Behmer and Joern, 2012; Joern et al, 2012). Sodium can be limiting for insect herbivores because it occurs in low concentration in plant tissues (Kaspari et al, 2008; Behmer and Joern, 2012; Chavarria Pizarro et al, 2012), and potassium was also identified as a predictor of insect herbivore abundance (Joern et al, 2012). If AMF alter plant concentrations of these elements (in organic or inorganic forms) that are important to insect nutrition, it may provide an additional mechanism of indirect mycorrhizal effects on insect herbivore preference and performance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Context-dependency of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant-insect interactions in an agroecosystem

Barber¹,

Kiers²,

Hazzard³

et al. 2013

Front. Plant Sci.

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Plants interact with a variety of other community members that have the potential to indirectly influence each other through a shared host plant. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are generally considered plant mutualists because of their generally positive effects on plant nutrient status and growth. AMF may also have important indirect effects on plants by altering interactions with other community members. By influencing plant traits, AMF can modify aboveground interactions with both mutualists, such as pollinators, and antagonists, such as herbivores. Because herbivory and pollination can dramatically influence plant fitness, comprehensive assessment of plant–AMF interactions should include these indirect effects. To determine how AMF affect plant–insect interactions, we grew Cucumis sativus (Cucurbitaceae) under five AMF inoculum treatments and control. We measured plant growth, floral production, flower size, and foliar nutrient content of half the plants, and transferred the other half to a field setting to measure pollinator and herbivore preference of wild insects. Mycorrhizal treatment had no effect on plant biomass or floral traits but significantly affected leaf nutrients, pollinator behavior, and herbivore attack. Although total pollinator visitation did not vary with AMF treatment, pollinators exhibited taxon-specific responses, with honey bees, bumble bees, and Lepidoptera all responding differently to AMF treatments. Flower number and size were unaffected by treatments, suggesting that differences in pollinator preference were driven by other floral traits. Mycorrhizae influenced leaf K and Na, but these differences in leaf nutrients did not correspond to variation in herbivore attack. Overall, we found that AMF indirectly influence both antagonistic and mutualistic insects, but impacts depend on the identity of both the fungal partner and the interacting insect, underscoring the context-dependency of plant–AMF interactions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Context-dependency of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant-insect interactions in an agroecosystem

Barber¹,

Kiers²,

Hazzard³

et al. 2013

Front. Plant Sci.

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“…By contrast, AMF derived from both organic and conventional farms resulted in plants with nearly double the Na content of commercial AMF plants. Sodium has recently received greater attention as an important nutrient for herbivores given its generally low concentration in plant relative to herbivore tissues (Kaspari et al 2008, Chavarria Pizarro et al 2012. Thus, farm AMF communities may have mixed effects on foliage nutrient quality for herbivores by decreasing availability of one potentially limiting element (P) but increasing another (Na).…”

Section: Leaf and Root Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking agricultural practices, mycorrhizal fungi, and traits mediating plant–insect interactions

Barber

Kiers

Theis

et al. 2013

Ecological Applications

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Agricultural management has profound effects on soil communities. Activities such as fertilizer inputs can modify the composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) communities, which form important symbioses with the roots of most crop plants. Intensive conventional agricultural management may select for less mutualistic AMF with reduced benefits to host plants compared to organic management, but these differences are poorly understood. AMF are generally evaluated based on their direct growth effects on plants. However, mycorrhizal colonization also may alter plant traits such as tissue nutrients, defensive chemistry, or floral traits, which mediate important plant-insect interactions like herbivory and pollination. To determine the effect of AMF from different farming practices on plant performance and traits that putatively mediate species interactions, we performed a greenhouse study by inoculating Cucumis sativus (cucumber, Cucurbitaceae) with AMF from conventional farms, organic farms, and a commercial AMF inoculum. We measured growth and a suite of plant traits hypothesized to be important predictors of herbivore resistance and pollinator attraction. Several leaf and root traits and flower production were significantly affected by AMF inoculum. Both conventional and organic AMF reduced leaf P content but increased Na content compared to control and commercial AMF. Leaf defenses were unaffected by AMF treatments, but conventional AMF increased root cucurbitacin C, the primary defensive chemical of C. sativus, compared to organic AMF. These effects may have important consequences for herbivore preference and population dynamics. AMF from both organic and conventional farms decreased flower production relative to commercial and control treatments, which may reduce pollinator attraction and plant reproduction. AMF from both farm types also reduced seed germination, but effects on plant growth were limited. Our results suggest that studies only considering AMF effects on growth may overlook changes in plant traits that have the potential to influence interactions, and hence yield, on farms. Given the effects of AMF on plant traits documented here, and the great importance of both herbivores and pollinators to wild and cultivated plants, we advocate for comprehensive assessments of mycorrhizal effects in complex community contexts, with the aim of incorporating multispecies interactions both above and below the soil surface.

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“…Since plant tissues are deficient in key micronutrients, foraging on nonplant resources is thought to function as dietary supplementation (Dudley et al ., 2012). In particular, this behaviour is common among herbivorous social insects that maintain multiple life stages—each of which has different nutritional requirements—within a colony (Kaspari et al ., 2009; Chavarria Pizarro et al ., 2012). Yet, apart from sodium, the foraging behaviour and preferences of social insects for micronutrients is largely unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) seek sodium at carrion baits in Costa Rica

Dorian

Bonoan

2020

Ecological Entomology

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1. Many terrestrial herbivores supplement their diets with minerals. Neotropical stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) supplement their floral diets by visiting diverse non-floral resources such as rotting fruit and muddy water. 2. Some stingless bees also visit carrion; however, it is unknown whether bees visit carrion for minerals or for another resource. Here, we investigated the mineral preferences of stingless bees visiting carrion. 3. We deployed raw chicken baits at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica consisting of six treatments: baits soaked in sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium, or deionised water, and unsoaked baits. We identified and counted bee and non-bee visitors to baits over three days. 4. We observed five species from three genera of stingless bee on the baits. Sodium baits and unsoaked baits were visited more often than other baits. Our findings demonstrate that stingless bees do forage for minerals on carrion, but that preferences are mineral-specific. 5. In addition, three species packed carrion into their corbiculae. We hypothesise that facultatively necrophagous stingless bees may be using carrion as an alternative source of protein or nest-building materials.

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Sodium‐specific foraging by leafcutter ant workers (Atta cephalotes, Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Cited by 17 publications

References 17 publications

Context-dependency of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant-insect interactions in an agroecosystem

Context-dependency of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant-insect interactions in an agroecosystem

Linking agricultural practices, mycorrhizal fungi, and traits mediating plant–insect interactions

Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) seek sodium at carrion baits in Costa Rica

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