The ant-pollination system of Cytinus hypocistis (Cytinaceae), a Mediterranean root holoparasite

Vega, Clara de; Arista, Montserrat; Ortiz, Pedro; Herrera, Carlos M.; Lozano, Salvador Talavera

doi:10.1093/aob/mcp049

Cited by 88 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…The reproductive biology of the Cytinaceae is poorly known. Flowers of the European Cytinus hypocistus L. produce relatively limited nectar (ca 1 ml) and are visited by insects [17], as is the related genus Bdallophyton [18], whereas bird-pollination has been inferred for the South African Cytinus capensis Marloth, which has red flowers and produces abundant nectar [19].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mammal pollinators lured by the scent of a parasitic plant

et al. 2011

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To communicate with animals, plants use signals that are distinct from their surroundings. Animals generally learn to use these signals through associative conditioning; however, signals are most effective when they elicit innate behavioural responses. Many plant species have flowers specialized for pollination by ground-dwelling mammals, but the signals used to attract these pollinators have not been elucidated. Here, we demonstrate the chemical basis for attraction of mammal pollinators to flowers of the dioecious parasitic plant Cytinus visseri (Cytinaceae). Two aliphatic ketones dominate the scent of this species; 3-hexanone, which elicits strong innate attraction in rodents, and 1-hexen-3-one, which repels them in isolation, but not in combination with 3-hexanone. The aliphatic ketone-dominated scent of C. visseri contrasts with those of insect-pollinated plants, which are typically dominated by terpenoids, aromatic or non-ketone aliphatic compounds. 3-hexanone is also known from some bat-pollinated species, suggesting independent evolution of plant signals in derived, highly specialized mammal-pollination systems.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mammal pollinators lured by the scent of a parasitic plant

et al. 2011

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“…Interactions vary from facultative to obligate and range from mutualism to parasitism. Plants benefit from ants via services including seed dispersal (Gallegos et al 2014), pollination (de Vega et al 2009), nutrient enrichment (Wagner and Fleur Nicklen 2010), and protection against herbivory (Trager et al 2010). In exchange, myrmecophilic plants provide food to ants, a process that is taxonomically widespread (Weber and Keeler 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Curious Case of the Camelthorn: Competition, Coexistence, and Nest-Site Limitation in a Multispecies Mutualism

Campbell

Fellowes

Cook

2015

The American Naturalist

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Online enhancement: appendix. Dryad data: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.s9f 7c.abstract: Myrmecophyte plants house ants within domatia in exchange for protection against herbivores. Ant-myrmecophyte mutualisms exhibit two general patterns due to competition between ants for plant occupancy: (i) domatia nest sites are a limiting resource and (ii) each individual plant hosts one ant species at a time. However, individual camelthorn trees (Vachellia erioloba) typically host two to four ant species simultaneously, often coexisting in adjacent domatia on the same branch. Such fine-grain spatial coexistence brings into question the conventional wisdom on ant-myrmecophyte mutualisms. Camelthorn ants appear not to be nest-site limited, despite low abundance of suitable domatia, and have random distributions of nest sites within and across trees. These patterns suggest a lack of competition between ants for domatia and contrast strongly with other antmyrmecophyte systems. Comparison of this unusual case with others suggests that spatial scale is crucial to coexistence or competitive exclusion involving multiple ant species. Furthermore, coexistence may be facilitated when co-occurring ant species diverge strongly on at least one niche axis. Our conclusions provide recommendations for future ant-myrmecophyte research, particularly in utilizing multispecies systems to further our understanding of mutualism biology.

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“…Our previous study found that fire ants frequently foraged B. napus flowers, possibly producing negative effects on flower-visiting insects, including the Chinese honey bee Apis cerana F. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and the cabbage white butterfly Pieris rapae (L.) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). These flower-visiting insects usually play an important role in the reproduction of plants (Hickman 1974;Gómez et al 1996;Raju & Ezradanam 2002;de Vega et al 2009;Luo et al 2011Luo et al , 2012. Furthermore, fire ant workers foraged more frequently on plants when aphids were present, potentially leading to an increased problem for the pollinators.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%