Protection Mutualisms and the Community: Geographic Variation in an Ant-Plant Symbiosis and the Consequences for Herbivores

<p>Protection mutualisms mediate trophic interactions in many systems, but their effects on the surrounding community are rarely studied. Ant-plant symbioses are classic examples of protection mutualisms: myrmecophytic plants provide nesting space and food for symbiotic ants in exchange for an...

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Autores principales:	Elizabeth G. Pringle, Deborah M Gordon
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana 2013
Materias:	Ant-plant mutualism Azteca context dependence Cordia alliodora seasonally dry tropical forest trophic cascades Zoology QL1-991 Ecology QH540-549.5 Natural history (General) QH1-278.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/878065b3ead744c68bd33102ee130ceb
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:878065b3ead744c68bd33102ee130ceb2021-12-02T16:12:23ZProtection Mutualisms and the Community: Geographic Variation in an Ant-Plant Symbiosis and the Consequences for Herbivores0361-652510.13102/sociobiology.v60i3.242-251https://doaj.org/article/878065b3ead744c68bd33102ee130ceb2013-11-01T00:00:00Zhttp://periodicos.uefs.br/ojs/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/179https://doaj.org/toc/0361-6525<p>Protection mutualisms mediate trophic interactions in many systems, but their effects on the surrounding community are rarely studied. Ant-plant symbioses are classic examples of protection mutualisms: myrmecophytic plants provide nesting space and food for symbiotic ants in exchange for ant defense. Ant defense should thus reduce the abundance of herbivores, but studies of ant-plant symbioses usually measure damage to the plant without quantifying the herbivores themselves. In this study, we investigated whether geographic variation in the quality of ant defense in a symbiotic mutualism between <em>Cordia alliodora</em> trees and <em>Azteca</em> ants was associated with the abundance and species richness of plant herbivore communities. In three tropical-dry-forest sites in Middle America, we found that the density of <em>Azteca</em> ants within trees was negatively associated with the levels of leaf herbivory. At sites where ants were effective tree defenders, tree herbivores were less abundant and herbivore assemblages on trees exhibited lower species richness than at a site where ants were poor defenders. In addition, in a site where ants reduced herbivory, herbivore communities were less abundant and diverse in the presence of ants than in their absence, where as in a site where ants did not reduce herbivory, there were no differences in herbivore abundance or richness between trees with or without ants. We conclude that geographic variation in the quality of ant defense drives variation in myrmecophytic-plant herbivore communities. Moreover, ant-plant protection mutualisms should have important but rarely considered effects on herbivore population dynamics and food-plant specialization.</p>Elizabeth G. PringleDeborah M GordonUniversidade Estadual de Feira de SantanaarticleAnt-plant mutualismAztecacontext dependenceCordia alliodoraseasonally dry tropical foresttrophic cascadesZoologyQL1-991EcologyQH540-549.5Natural history (General)QH1-278.5ENSociobiology, Vol 60, Iss 3, Pp 242-251 (2013)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Ant-plant mutualism Azteca context dependence Cordia alliodora seasonally dry tropical forest trophic cascades Zoology QL1-991 Ecology QH540-549.5 Natural history (General) QH1-278.5
spellingShingle	Ant-plant mutualism Azteca context dependence Cordia alliodora seasonally dry tropical forest trophic cascades Zoology QL1-991 Ecology QH540-549.5 Natural history (General) QH1-278.5 Elizabeth G. Pringle Deborah M Gordon Protection Mutualisms and the Community: Geographic Variation in an Ant-Plant Symbiosis and the Consequences for Herbivores
description	<p>Protection mutualisms mediate trophic interactions in many systems, but their effects on the surrounding community are rarely studied. Ant-plant symbioses are classic examples of protection mutualisms: myrmecophytic plants provide nesting space and food for symbiotic ants in exchange for ant defense. Ant defense should thus reduce the abundance of herbivores, but studies of ant-plant symbioses usually measure damage to the plant without quantifying the herbivores themselves. In this study, we investigated whether geographic variation in the quality of ant defense in a symbiotic mutualism between <em>Cordia alliodora</em> trees and <em>Azteca</em> ants was associated with the abundance and species richness of plant herbivore communities. In three tropical-dry-forest sites in Middle America, we found that the density of <em>Azteca</em> ants within trees was negatively associated with the levels of leaf herbivory. At sites where ants were effective tree defenders, tree herbivores were less abundant and herbivore assemblages on trees exhibited lower species richness than at a site where ants were poor defenders. In addition, in a site where ants reduced herbivory, herbivore communities were less abundant and diverse in the presence of ants than in their absence, where as in a site where ants did not reduce herbivory, there were no differences in herbivore abundance or richness between trees with or without ants. We conclude that geographic variation in the quality of ant defense drives variation in myrmecophytic-plant herbivore communities. Moreover, ant-plant protection mutualisms should have important but rarely considered effects on herbivore population dynamics and food-plant specialization.</p>
format	article
author	Elizabeth G. Pringle Deborah M Gordon
author_facet	Elizabeth G. Pringle Deborah M Gordon
author_sort	Elizabeth G. Pringle
title	Protection Mutualisms and the Community: Geographic Variation in an Ant-Plant Symbiosis and the Consequences for Herbivores
title_short	Protection Mutualisms and the Community: Geographic Variation in an Ant-Plant Symbiosis and the Consequences for Herbivores
title_full	Protection Mutualisms and the Community: Geographic Variation in an Ant-Plant Symbiosis and the Consequences for Herbivores
title_fullStr	Protection Mutualisms and the Community: Geographic Variation in an Ant-Plant Symbiosis and the Consequences for Herbivores
title_full_unstemmed	Protection Mutualisms and the Community: Geographic Variation in an Ant-Plant Symbiosis and the Consequences for Herbivores
title_sort	protection mutualisms and the community: geographic variation in an ant-plant symbiosis and the consequences for herbivores
publisher	Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
publishDate	2013
url	https://doaj.org/article/878065b3ead744c68bd33102ee130ceb
work_keys_str_mv	AT elizabethgpringle protectionmutualismsandthecommunitygeographicvariationinanantplantsymbiosisandtheconsequencesforherbivores AT deborahmgordon protectionmutualismsandthecommunitygeographicvariationinanantplantsymbiosisandtheconsequencesforherbivores
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Protection Mutualisms and the Community: Geographic Variation in an Ant-Plant Symbiosis and the Consequences for Herbivores

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