The Ecological Effects of Ant-Aphid Mutualism on Plants at a Large Spatial Scale

<p align="left">The protective ant-plant interaction has been considered as a model system in studying mutualistic interactions, but we know little about the ecological effects of the mutualism at relatively larger spatial scales. In this study, by excluding an aphid-tending ant spec...

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Autores principales:	Shuang Zhang, Yuxin Zhang, Keming Ma
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana 2013
Materias:	Ant defense ant-plant interaction herbivory exclusion experiment Zoology QL1-991 Ecology QH540-549.5 Natural history (General) QH1-278.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/55586b3657da46c1979dc237a5abcdab
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:55586b3657da46c1979dc237a5abcdab2021-12-02T15:45:51ZThe Ecological Effects of Ant-Aphid Mutualism on Plants at a Large Spatial Scale0361-652510.13102/sociobiology.v60i3.236-241https://doaj.org/article/55586b3657da46c1979dc237a5abcdab2013-11-01T00:00:00Zhttp://periodicos.uefs.br/ojs/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/175https://doaj.org/toc/0361-6525<p align="left">The protective ant-plant interaction has been considered as a model system in studying mutualistic interactions, but we know little about the ecological effects of the mutualism at relatively larger spatial scales. In this study, by excluding an aphid-tending ant species <em>(Lasius fuliginosus</em>) from all host oak trees (<em>Quercus liaotungensis</em>) in 20x20 m plots, we evaluated the effects of ants on herbivory, fruit production and leaf toughness of the host tree. Through a two years study, we found that ants have a significant anti-herbivory effect on the host tree, with no effects on fruit production. At the end of the growing season, leaf toughness for plants without ants increased significantly. This suggests that ants are reliable and effective bodyguards for plants at larger spatial scales. For plants, the possible tradeoff between different defensive strategies at larger scale should be focused in further works.</p>Shuang ZhangYuxin ZhangKeming MaUniversidade Estadual de Feira de SantanaarticleAnt defenseant-plant interactionherbivoryexclusion experimentZoologyQL1-991EcologyQH540-549.5Natural history (General)QH1-278.5ENSociobiology, Vol 60, Iss 3, Pp 236-241 (2013)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Ant defense ant-plant interaction herbivory exclusion experiment Zoology QL1-991 Ecology QH540-549.5 Natural history (General) QH1-278.5
spellingShingle	Ant defense ant-plant interaction herbivory exclusion experiment Zoology QL1-991 Ecology QH540-549.5 Natural history (General) QH1-278.5 Shuang Zhang Yuxin Zhang Keming Ma The Ecological Effects of Ant-Aphid Mutualism on Plants at a Large Spatial Scale
description	<p align="left">The protective ant-plant interaction has been considered as a model system in studying mutualistic interactions, but we know little about the ecological effects of the mutualism at relatively larger spatial scales. In this study, by excluding an aphid-tending ant species <em>(Lasius fuliginosus</em>) from all host oak trees (<em>Quercus liaotungensis</em>) in 20x20 m plots, we evaluated the effects of ants on herbivory, fruit production and leaf toughness of the host tree. Through a two years study, we found that ants have a significant anti-herbivory effect on the host tree, with no effects on fruit production. At the end of the growing season, leaf toughness for plants without ants increased significantly. This suggests that ants are reliable and effective bodyguards for plants at larger spatial scales. For plants, the possible tradeoff between different defensive strategies at larger scale should be focused in further works.</p>
format	article
author	Shuang Zhang Yuxin Zhang Keming Ma
author_facet	Shuang Zhang Yuxin Zhang Keming Ma
author_sort	Shuang Zhang
title	The Ecological Effects of Ant-Aphid Mutualism on Plants at a Large Spatial Scale
title_short	The Ecological Effects of Ant-Aphid Mutualism on Plants at a Large Spatial Scale
title_full	The Ecological Effects of Ant-Aphid Mutualism on Plants at a Large Spatial Scale
title_fullStr	The Ecological Effects of Ant-Aphid Mutualism on Plants at a Large Spatial Scale
title_full_unstemmed	The Ecological Effects of Ant-Aphid Mutualism on Plants at a Large Spatial Scale
title_sort	ecological effects of ant-aphid mutualism on plants at a large spatial scale
publisher	Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
publishDate	2013
url	https://doaj.org/article/55586b3657da46c1979dc237a5abcdab
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The Ecological Effects of Ant-Aphid Mutualism on Plants at a Large Spatial Scale

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