Trade-offs in an ant–plant–fungus mutualism

Orivel, Jérôme; Malé, Pierre‐Jean G.; Lauth, Jérémie; Roux, Olivier; Petitclerc, Frédéric; Déjean, Alain; Leroy, Céline

doi:10.1098/rspb.2016.1679

Cited by 18 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(81 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Allomerus decemarticulatus and A. octoarticulatus, have been intensively studied in French Guiana from an ecological perspective: they build galleries using the fungus Trimmatostroma cordae Sharma & Singh, 1976(see Dejean et al 2005. The molecular phylogeny of the genus showed that A. octoarticulatus is a complex of two species that cannot be separated morphologically (Orivel et al 2017). However, these two species are associated with different plants: A. octoarticulatus var.…”

Section: Myrmicinae: Attini: Allomerusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cytogenetic data for sixteen ant species from North-eastern Amazonia with phylogenetic insights into three subfamilies

Aguiar¹,

Barros²,

Silveira³

et al. 2020

CCG

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ants play essential roles in most terrestrial ecosystems and may be considered pests for agriculture and agroforestry. Recent morphological and molecular data have challenged conventional ant phylogeny and the interpretation of karyotypic variations. Existing Neotropical ant cytogenetic data focus on Atlantic rainforest species, and provide evolutionary and taxonomic insight. However, there are data for only 18 Amazonian species. In this study, we describe the karyotypes of 16 ant species belonging to 12 genera and three subfamilies, collected in the Brazilian state of Amapá, and in French Guiana. The karyotypes of six species are described for the first time, including that of the South American genus Allomerus Mayr, 1878. The karyotype of Crematogaster Lund, 1831 is also described for the first time for the New World. For other species, extant data for geographically distinct populations was compared with our own data, e.g. for the leafcutter ants Acromyrmex balzani (Emery, 1890) and Atta sexdens (Linnaeus, 1758). The information obtained for the karyotype of Dolichoderus imitator Emery, 1894 differs from extant data from the Atlantic forest, thereby highlighting the importance of population cytogenetic approaches. This study also emphasizes the need for good chromosome preparations for studying karyotype structure.

show abstract

Section: Myrmicinae: Attini: Allomerusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cytogenetic data for sixteen ant species from North-eastern Amazonia with phylogenetic insights into three subfamilies

Aguiar¹,

Barros²,

Silveira³

et al. 2020

CCG

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Since both studied ant species are associated with ant-plants, the defensive/predatory roles of the galleries also benefit the plant in terms of biotic protection against herbivores as shown in the experiment with leaf-cutter ants (but see also Orivel et al 2017). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Convergent structure and function of mycelial galleries in two unrelated Neotropical plant-ants

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The construction process and use of galleries by Azteca brevis (Myrmicinae: Dolichoderinae) inhabiting Tetrathylacium macrophyllum (Salicaceae) were compared with Allomerus decemarticulatus (Myrmicinae: Solenopsidini) galleries on Hirtella physophora (Chrysobalanaceae). Though the two ant species are phylogenetically distant, the gallery structure seems to be surprisingly similar and structurally convergent: both are pierced with numerous holes and both ant species use Chaetothyrialean fungi to strengthen the gallery walls. Al. decemarticulatus is known to use the galleries for prey capture and whether this is also the case for Az. brevis was tested in field experiments. We placed Atta workers as potential prey/threat on the galleries and recorded the behaviour of both ant species. We found considerable behavioural differences between them: Al. decemarticulatus was quicker and more efficient at capture than was Az. brevis. While most Atta workers were captured after the first 5 min by Al. decemarticulatus, significantly fewer were captured by Az. brevis even after 20 min. Moreover, the captured Atta were sometimes simply discarded and not taken to the nest by Az. brevis. As a consequence, the major function of the galleries built by Az. brevis may, therefore, be defense against intruders in contrast to Al. decemarticulatus which uses them mainly for prey capture. This may be due to a higher need for protein in Al. decemarticulatus compared to coccid-raising Az. brevis.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00040-017-0554-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

“…, , Orivel et al. ). We observed similar carton‐like structures built by A. octoarticulatus that might play an important role on food acquisition (Leroy et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ant–plant mutualism: a dietary by‐product of a tropical ant's macronutrient requirements

Hernández

Sanders

Miller

et al. 2017

Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many arboreal ants depend on myrmecophytic plants for both food and shelter; in return, these ants defend their host plants against herbivores, which are often insects. Ant-plant and other mutualisms do not necessarily involve the exchange of costly rewards or services; they may instead result from by-product benefits, or positive outcomes that do not entail a cost for one or both partners. Here, we examined whether the plant-ant Allomerus octoarticulatus pays a short-term cost to defend their host plants against herbivores, or whether plant defense is a by-product benefit of ant foraging for insect prey. Because the food offered by ant-plants is usually nitrogen-poor, arboreal ants may balance their diets by consuming insect prey or associating with microbial symbionts to acquire nitrogen, potentially shifting the costs and benefits of plant defense for the ant partner. To determine the effect of ant diet on an ant-plant mutualism, we compared the behavior, morphology, fitness, stable isotope signatures, and gaster microbiomes of A. octoarticulatus ants nesting in Cordia nodosa trees maintained for nearly a year with or without insect herbivores. At the end of the experiment, ants from herbivore exclosures preferred protein-rich baits more than ants in the control (i.e., herbivores present) treatment. Furthermore, workers in the control treatment were heavier than in the herbivore-exclusion treatment, and worker mass predicted reproductive output, suggesting that foraging for insect prey directly increased ant colony fitness. The gaster microbiome of ants was not significantly affected by the herbivore exclusion treatment. We conclude that the defensive behavior of some phytoecious ants is a by-product of their need for external protein sources; thus, the consumption of insect herbivores by ants benefits both the ant colony and the host plant.

show abstract

Trade-offs in an ant–plant–fungus mutualism

Cited by 18 publications

References 44 publications

Cytogenetic data for sixteen ant species from North-eastern Amazonia with phylogenetic insights into three subfamilies

Cytogenetic data for sixteen ant species from North-eastern Amazonia with phylogenetic insights into three subfamilies

Convergent structure and function of mycelial galleries in two unrelated Neotropical plant-ants

Ant–plant mutualism: a dietary by‐product of a tropical ant's macronutrient requirements

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About