Tending Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Regulate<i>Dalbulus quinquenotatus</i>(Homoptera: Cicadellidae) Population Dynamics

Larsen, Kirk J.; Staehle, Lane M.; Dotseth, Eric J.

doi:10.1603/0046-225x-30.4.757

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…rastrullus, and appeared to be more successful in herding the leafhoppers and keeping them in a group, often on exposed leaves . They were probably more adept at preventing the leafhoppers from jumping or walking away especially when disturbed and possibly keeping predators away, as was also reported by MoyaRaygoza & Nault (2000), Larsen et al (2001) and Rico-Gray & Oliveira (2007). These ants also appeared to protect the leafhoppers more vigorously than smaller sized ants.…”

Section: Ant Associations With Leafhopperssupporting

confidence: 57%

New leafhopper genera and species (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) which feed on Velloziaceae from Southern Africa, with a discussion of their trophobiosis

Stiller¹

2012

Zootaxa

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Section: Ant Associations With Leafhopperssupporting

confidence: 57%

New leafhopper genera and species (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) which feed on Velloziaceae from Southern Africa, with a discussion of their trophobiosis

Stiller¹

2012

Zootaxa

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“…Although we observed predators of aphids on treatment stems during our experiment, we did not quantify either their abundance or rates of consumption. Aphids may also beneWt indirectly from tending by ants, whether due to an increase in the ratio of reproductives to sterile adults (and thus increasing fecundity), decreased development time, or maintenance of optimum population densities (Huxley and Cutler 1991;Larsen et al 2001). These indirect eVects can be dramatic; daily oVspring production, which ranges between 0.35 and 3.3 nymphs/aphid/day in untended aphids (Kersting et al 1999;Hentz and Nuessly 2004;McCornack et al 2004;Diaz and Fereres 2004), can be nearly 2 times greater for ant-tended aphids than for aphids denied access to ants (Flatt and Weisser 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mutualism in a community context: the positive feedback between an ant–aphid mutualism and a gall-making midge

Savage

Peterson

2006

Oecologia

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Although mutualisms are widespread and often described in natural history accounts, their ecological influences on other community members remain largely unexplored. Many of these influences are likely a result of indirect effects. In this field study, we investigated the indirect effects of an ant-aphid mutualism on the abundance, survival rates and parasitism rates of a co-occurring herbivore. Rabdophaga salicisbrassicoides (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) induces rosette galls on the developing shoots of Salix exigua trees, and populations can reach outbreak densities (up to 1,000 galls/stem) in central Washington State (USA). Ant-tended aphids feed on these same stems and often feed on gall tissue. In this study we used a combination of manipulative experiments and observational surveys to test the hypothesis that the abundances of aphids, ants, and galls have positive and reciprocal effects on one another, in a manner that would create a positive feedback loop in population growth. In addition, we examined whether the combined presence of ants and aphids reduces parasitism rates for the gallers. In support of the positive feedback loop hypothesis, aphids enjoyed higher population growth rates in the presence of ants and galls, the presence of ants and aphids resulted in increased abundance of galls, and the abundances of ants, aphids and galls were all positively correlated with one another. However, the mechanism underlying the positive effect of ants and aphids on galler density remains unknown, as the mutualism did not affect parasitism rates. More broadly, this study demonstrates that mutualisms can have significant and complex indirect effects on community and population ecology.

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“…Generally, ants that attend hemipterans are not specific and several ant species can simultaneously visit Cicadellid, Delphacid or Membracid species (Larsen et al 2001). This was observed in our study as the majority of co-occurrence at honeydew source was observed with aphids and membracids.…”

Section: Hierarchy Among Ant Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How plants and honeydew-producing hemipterans affect ant species richness and structure in a tropical forest zone

et al. 2015

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Extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) and hemipteran honeydew are often discussed as two alternative mechanisms encouraging ant visitation in mutualistic ant-plant relationships, but little is known about the processes that generate distribution pattern in species-rich insect communities. A case study on the interaction between ants, EFNbearing plants and hemipterans was investigated along a gradient of increasing disturbance from regenerated forest to mixed crop field. Ants, EFN-bearing plants and hemipterans sampling was conducted in these vegetations during the wet and the dry seasons in five locations. Results showed that partitioning of ant species between season and vegetation was significantly different from random. High specialization index was observed in hemipterans/plants and ant/hemipterans interactions. Low specialization index was observed between ants and EFN-bearing plants mainly in the mixed crop field. Ant species were mostly found in non-aggressive co-occurrence at nectar sources. At the species level, specialization index was high for Anoplolepis tenella (0.86 ± 0.06) and also for its associated hemipterans Stictococcus vayssierei (0.97 ± 0.02). This association is detrimental to food crop especially cassava. These results outline the effect of vegetation and food source on the structure of the ant assemblage and interaction in tropical forest zone.

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Tending Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) RegulateDalbulus quinquenotatus(Homoptera: Cicadellidae) Population Dynamics

Cited by 15 publications

References 23 publications

New leafhopper genera and species (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) which feed on Velloziaceae from Southern Africa, with a discussion of their trophobiosis

New leafhopper genera and species (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) which feed on Velloziaceae from Southern Africa, with a discussion of their trophobiosis

Mutualism in a community context: the positive feedback between an ant–aphid mutualism and a gall-making midge

How plants and honeydew-producing hemipterans affect ant species richness and structure in a tropical forest zone

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