The Protective Function of Ants Visiting the Extrafloral Nectaries of Bixa Orellana (Bixaceae)

Bentley, Barbara L.

doi:10.2307/2259060

Cited by 165 publications

(141 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Although the average numbers patrolling at night were slightly lower, large numbers were recruited in alarm situations (Fiala 1988). Our observations agree with findings by Janzen (1973), Bentley (1977b) and Windsor (1978) in that a large 468 fraction of herbivore damage in tropical forests occurs at night. Thus the temporal as well as spatial distribution of ants on Macaranga guarantees maximum protection of the host plants (Fiala and Maschwitz, in prep.…”

Section: Herbivorysupporting

confidence: 92%

Studies of a South East Asian ant-plant association: protection of Macaranga trees by Crematogaster borneensis

et al. 1989

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Summary. In the humid tropics of SE Asia there are some 14 myrmecophytic species of the pioneer tree genus M acaranga (Euphorbiaceae). In Peninsular Malaysia a close association exists between the trees and the small, non-stinging myrmicine Crema togas ter borneensis. These ants feed mainly on food bodies provided by the plants and have their colonies inside the hollow intemodes. In a ten months field study we were able to demonstrate for four Macaranga species (M. triloba, M. hypoleuca, M. hosei, M. hulletti) that host plants also benefit considerably from ant-occupation. Ants do not contribute to the nutrient demands of their host plant, they do, however, protect it against herbivores and plant competition. Cleaning behaviour of the. ants results in the removal of potential herbivores already in their earliest developmental stages. Strong aggressiveness and a mass recruiting system enable the ants to defend the host plant against many herbivorous insects. This results in a significant decrease in leaf damage due to herbivores on ant-occupied compared to ant-free myrmecophytes as well as compared to non-myrmecophytic M acaranga species. Most important is the ants' defense of the host plant against plant competitors, especially vines, which are abundant in the well-lit pioneer habitats where Macaranga grows. Ants bite off any foreign plant part coming into contact with their host plant. Both ant-free myrmecophytes and non-myrmecophytic Macaranga species had a significantly higher incidence of vine growth than specimens with active ant colonies. This may be a factor of considerable importance allowing Macaranga plants to grow at sites of strongest competition.

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Section: Herbivorysupporting

confidence: 92%

Studies of a South East Asian ant-plant association: protection of Macaranga trees by Crematogaster borneensis

et al. 1989

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“…MP in the tropics have a relative abundance from zero to 80% respect to the total plant species (Bentley 1976, 1977a, Keeler 1979, Ibarra-Manríquez & Dirzo 1990, Morellato & Oliveira 1991. Our values fall in the lower part of this large range (PEFN: 1.4 -18% ; PD: 0 -5.1%).…”

Section: Ants On Mpmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…The ant-plant associations seem to be more frequent in the tropics compared to temperate habitats. Abundance of MP varies from zero to 80% in neotropical habitats (Bentley 1976, 1977a, b, Keeler 1979, Oliveira & Leitão 1987, Ibarra-Manríquez & Dirzo 1990, Morellato & Oliveira 1991) and zero to 8.3% in temperate areas (Keeler 1980).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ant-plant associations in different forests in Venezuela

Goitía¹,

Jaffé²

2009

Neotrop. entomol.

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Associações Formiga-Planta em Diferentes Florestas na Venezuela RESUMO -Avaliou-se a hipótese de que a distribuição da abundância e o número de espécie de dois tipos diferentes de plantas mirmecófi las são infl uenciadas diferentemente pela diversidade e pela abundância de formigas. Em oito fl orestas naturais diferentes na Venezuela nós estimamos a riqueza de espécies e a abundância de plantas, de formigas no solo e no dossel, os danos às folhas e os nutrientes do solo. Os resultados mostram que as plantas com domácias para alojar formigas e plantas com nectários extrafl orais (PEFN) têm relacionamentos diferentes com formigas e sofrem confi namentos ecológicos diferentes. As plantas com domácias atraem um grupo mais específi co de formigas do que as PEFN. Os resultados são consistentes com a hipótese de que as domácias são adaptações que ajudam a planta a aumentar o acesso a nutrientes escassos para a defesa de herbívoros. PEFN atraem uma variedade maior da espécie de formigas do que as plantas com domácias, e a abundância de formigas parece limitar a escala ecológica de PEFN. A atração das formigas como mecanismo para reduzir a herbivoria, como feito por PEFN, não parece ser superior aos mecanismos alternativos de prevenção de herbivoria usados por outras plantas. Contrário a muitos estudos anteriores, as formigas mostraram-se geralmente mais diversas no solo comparado ao dossel. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Mirmecofi ta, mirmecófi loABSTRACT -We evaluated the hypothesis that the abundance and species distribution of two different kinds of myrmecophilous plants is infl uenced differently by the ant diversity and abundance. In eight different natural forests in Venezuela we estimated the species richness and abundance of plants, ants on the soil and on the canopy, the leaf damage of plants and soil nutrients. The main results of the study show that plants with domatia (PD) and plants with extrafl oral nectaries (PEFN) have different relationships with ants and suffer from different ecological constraints. PD attract a more specifi c group of ants than PEFN. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that domatia are adaptations that help plants to increase rare nutrient uptake rather than for herbivore defense. We found that PEFN attract a larger variety of ant species than PD, and ant abundance seems to limit the ecological range of PEFN. The attraction of ants as a mechanism to reduce herbivory, as done by PEFN, does not seem to be superior to alternative anti-herbivore mechanisms used by other plants. Contrary to many former studies, we found that ants are generally more diverse on the soil compared to canopies.

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“…Extrafloral nectaries have usually been associated with ants in a mutualism that provides the plant with protection from herbivory; when ants visit extrafloral nectaries to obtain nectar they exclude or prey on invertebrate herbivores (e.g., Bentley 1977;Schemske 1980). Six species of ant have been recorded from the Three Kings Islands (Taylor 1962), but none is endemic to the archipelago or likely to have evolved a specific mutualism with E. johnsonii.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%