The role of resource imbalances in the evolutionary ecology of tropical arboreal ants

Davidson, Diane W.

doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1997.tb01785.x

Cited by 300 publications

(344 citation statements)

References 112 publications

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“…Honeydew as a main source of food for rainforest ants has been recently stressed by Davidson (1997) and seems to be a general trend within the Camponotini (e.g., Sanders, 1970). At least two of these Camponotus species, the Mediterranean C. cruentatus (Alsina et al, 1988), and the Namib Desert dune ant C. detritus (Curtis, 1985) feed also on excrements of vertebrates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contributions to the life history of the Malaysian giant ant Camponotus gigas (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Pfeiffer¹,

Linsenmair²

2000

Insectes soc.

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We studied 4 polydomous colonies of the giant ant Camponotus gigas living on ca. 5 ha of primary rain forest in Borneo. Colony structure was flexible, comprising between 8 and 14 mostly subterranean nests. During the course of the study some nests were abandoned and others were established. Colonies appeared territorial with nests being connected by trails through the forest canopy. The best studied colony had a territory of 0.8 ha and a population of ca. 7000 workers, distributed unevenly among an average of 11 nests. Workers were bimorphic, majors on average weighed 372 mg and minors 135 mg. The castes differed in the morphology particularly by allometric growth of the head (mean head width 6.93 mm and 3.56 mm).Foraging was mainly nocturnal. At dusk large numbers of foragers (between 35 and 2287 left single nests within 75 minutes of the onset of foraging) invaded the canopy, many workers commuting between the canopy and the nests and all returning home by dawn. During the daytime foraging was reduced and was restricted to a much smaller number of workers which roamed the forest floor. C. gigas foragers collected mainly honeydew (90%) with the remainder consisting of insect prey and bird droppings. Hunting success was increased by rainfall. The numbers of foragers in each nest frequently changed naturally, but could be manipulated by altering local food supply.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contributions to the life history of the Malaysian giant ant Camponotus gigas (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Pfeiffer¹,

Linsenmair²

2000

Insectes soc.

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“…For example, individuals that have been well fed may be able to persist for longer during contests (RHP) due to their enhanced energy reserves (Poole, 1989;Kemp and Alcock, 2003;Martinez-Lendech et al, 2007;Briffa et al, 2013b) while individuals with depleted reserves may compete more intensely for a contested resource, due to placing a higher value (V) on its exploitation (Riechert, 1998). Further, the availability of macronutrients (protein, fats and carbohydrates) may promote dominance-related behaviours (Davidson, 1997) while other metabolites may physiologically constrain contest behaviour. For instance, in hermit crabs and other crustaceans, metabolites related to energy reserves (glycogen and glucose) and aerobic capacity (lactic acid) as well as hormones (biogenic amines) influence contestant motivation and contest duration (Briffa and Sneddon, 2007;Briffa et al, 2013b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustenance and Performance: Nutritional Reserves, Longevity, and Contest Outcomes of Fed and Starved Adult Parasitoid Wasps

et al. 2018

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Dyadic contests for possession of resources occur across a wide range of animal taxa, with contest outcome often being heavily influenced by the energetic reserves of the competitors. The majority of studied parasitoid wasps lack de novo lipogenesis, with adult lipid reserves being limited to those acquired throughout larval development. Carbohydrate-and lipid-rich diets can increase adult parasitoid lifespan and fecundity by potentially acting as a maintenance energy store. However, the effects of such diets on fat reserve compositions and contest outcome have not been examined. This study assesses the effects of a carbohydrate rich diet (honey) on the longevity, metabolic state and contest performance of Goniozus legneri, a bethylid wasp. The longevity of honey-fed adults was typically more than twice that of starved wasps. Compared to similarly-aged starved wasps, honey feeding increased concentrations of common haemolymph sugars and amino acids in 3-day old and 7-day old wasps, and higher concentrations of stored lipid in 7-day old wasps. However, nutritional status did not affect the outcome of dyadic contests over host possession when both contestants were either 3 days or 7 days old. While contest outcome may be unaffected by diet, it remains possible that an enhancing effect of feeding on contest ability is matched by an effect of higher value being placed on winning by starved wasps.

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“…Ant -plant interactions have a structuring role in tropical arboreal communities through their impact on populations of other arthropods and thereby on food webs [5 -7]. The diverse feeding behaviours of tropical arboreal ants predispose them to be protective mutualists of plants: they prey on many arthropod enemies of plants, they are attracted by energy-rich, solid or liquid food rewards offered by plants and they often live in symbiosis with other organisms, such as hemipteran trophobionts or bacteria that help them adapt to the nutritional imbalances that dependence on plant-produced rewards often entails [5,7,8]. In particular, diets of tropical arboreal ants are often characterized by high C : N ratios, reflecting caloric richness relative to paucity of nitrogen and mineral nutrients [5,6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant-ants feed their host plant, but above all a fungal symbiont to recycle nitrogen

et al. 2010

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In ant -plant symbioses, plants provide symbiotic ants with food and specialized nesting cavities (called domatia). In many ant -plant symbioses, a fungal patch grows within each domatium. The symbiotic nature of the fungal association has been shown in the ant-plant Leonardoxa africana and its protective mutualist ant Petalomyrmex phylax. To decipher trophic fluxes among the three partners, food enriched in 13 C and 15 N was given to the ants and tracked in the different parts of the symbiosis up to 660 days later. The plant received a small, but significant, amount of nitrogen from the ants. However, the ants fed more intensively the fungus. The pattern of isotope enrichment in the system indicated an ant behaviour that functions specifically to feed the fungus. After 660 days, the introduced nitrogen was still present in the system and homogeneously distributed among ant, plant and fungal compartments, indicating efficient recycling within the symbiosis. Another experiment showed that the plant surface absorbed nutrients (in the form of simple molecules) whether or not it is coated by fungus. Our study provides arguments for a mutualistic status of the fungal associate and a framework for investigating the previously unsuspected complexity of food webs in ant -plant mutualisms.

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The role of resource imbalances in the evolutionary ecology of tropical arboreal ants

Cited by 300 publications

References 112 publications

Contributions to the life history of the Malaysian giant ant Camponotus gigas (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Contributions to the life history of the Malaysian giant ant Camponotus gigas (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Sustenance and Performance: Nutritional Reserves, Longevity, and Contest Outcomes of Fed and Starved Adult Parasitoid Wasps

Plant-ants feed their host plant, but above all a fungal symbiont to recycle nitrogen

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