Article
Ecology
Mario A. A. Sandoval-Molina, Jose G. Garcia-Franco, Cecilia Diaz-Castelazo, Mariusz Krzysztof Janczur
Summary: In exchange for extrafloral nectar, ants can deter herbivores from plants and improve their growth and survival. This study investigates the sex-related differences in ant-plant interactions in Opuntia robusta plants with extrafloral nectaries, and how resource investment influences the outcomes of these interactions in terms of ant foraging, herbivory, growth, and survival.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Laura C. Leal, Anselmo Nogueira, Paulo E. C. Peixoto
Summary: This study investigated the outcome of protective mutualisms between ants and plants with extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) and found that both plant and ant traits influenced the mutualistic outcome. The combination of traits exhibited by the partners can vary in intricate ways and affect the impact of ant attendance on plants.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yangqing Luo, Amanda Taylor, Patrick Weigelt, Benoit Guenard, Evan P. Economo, Arkadiusz Nowak, Inderjit Inderjit, Holger Kreft
Summary: Biotic interactions, especially mutualistic interactions with invertebrates, are important for shaping global plant diversity patterns. A global-scale biogeographic analysis of ant-plant mutualisms reveals distinct patterns, with domatium- and EFN-bearing plant diversity decreasing towards the poles, while elaiosome-bearing plants prevail at mid-latitudes. Climate, particularly temperature and precipitation, emerge as strong predictors of ant-associated plant diversity, with EFN-bearing plants increasing in hot and moist regions and elaiosome-bearing plants linked to interacting ant seed dispersers in dry regions. These results highlight the importance of mutualistic interactions for understanding plant biogeography.
Article
Ecology
Eduardo Soares Calixto, Kleber Del-Claro, Denise Lange, Judith Bronstein
Summary: Plants have evolved inducible defenses to minimize costs of constitutive defenses. However, this can leave them vulnerable between damage and defense onset. Little research has examined time course in inducible protective mutualism between ants and extrafloral nectary-bearing plants. This study evaluates extrafloral nectar production and ant attendance over time in response to different levels of herbivore damage in a Brazilian tree.
Article
Plant Sciences
Priscila Bruno Cardoso, Eduardo Soares Calixto, Helena Maura Torezan-Silingardi, Kleber Del-Claro
Summary: In plant-ant mutualisms, the behavior of visiting ants can deter hummingbirds and disrupt pollination, directly influencing fruit production. However, this influence is species-specific, with large predatory ants having a negative impact on hummingbird behavior while mid-sized ants show no effects.
Article
Plant Sciences
Eduardo Soares Calixto, Denise Lange, Judith Bronstein, Helena Maura Torezan-Silingardi, Kleber Del-Claro
Summary: Plants allocate defenses to decrease costs and maximize benefits against herbivores. Optimal Defense Theory predicts that continuously expressed defenses are expected in structures of high value, while induced defenses are expected in structures of low value. This study showed that extrafloral nectar production and ant recruitment varied according to the plant structure on which EFNs are located, supporting predictions from ODT.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Emily H. Mooney, Audrey C. Fahland, Hailee A. Nolan, Abbey M. Swift, Robert Schorr
Summary: This study investigates how host-plant flowering phenology shapes a facultative ant-lycaenid mutualism. The results suggest that early-stage inflorescences enhance larval growth while reducing ant recruitment.
ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Enrico Schifani, Ezio Peri, Daniele Giannetti, Stefano Colazza, Donato A. Grasso
Summary: Many ants and hemipterans have a mutualistic relationship, where ants receive food and protection while providing different kinds of protection. Ant protection against arthropod natural enemies is common and can interfere with biological control strategies of hemipteran pests. A field experiment in Italy showed that ant attendance does not necessarily protect aphids from arthropod natural enemies, and the outcome depends on the species of ants involved.
ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
L. A. Oliveira-Filho, E. S. Calixto, D. F. B. Santos, K. Del-Claro
Summary: This study evaluated the cascading effects of predatory larvae on the outcomes of ant-plant interactions. The presence of larvae decreased ant abundance and the absence of ants negatively influenced larval development and survival. Fruits with larvae and without ants had lower quality and the pericarpial nectar sugar concentration was higher in plants with larvae and without ants.
ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Patrick D. Milligan, Timothy A. Martin, Grace P. John, Corinna Riginos, Jacob R. Goheen, Scott M. Carpenter, Todd M. Palmer
Summary: The study in East Africa showed that the invasion of Pheidole megacephala ants led to a significant decrease in photosynthesis of Acacia drepanolobium trees, with an interaction between invasive ants and large herbivores causing further declines in leaf- and canopy-level photosynthesis. The results suggest the potential of invasive species to alter ecosystem-level carbon fixation and other biogeochemical cycles.
Article
Ecology
Lauren N. Carley, Susan G. Letcher
Summary: Research shows that chemically intensive agriculture can lead to reduced expression of putative antiherbivore defenses in plant populations, potentially weakening chemical defenses. This change is associated with a decrease in herbivore damage on plants downstream from agricultural areas.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Klaus Mehltreter, Raimund Tenhaken, Steven Jansen
Summary: This study provides a global review of nectaries in ferns, examining their structure, function, and nectar sugar composition in two genera. The researchers found evidence for nectaries in 101 species of ferns from 11 genera and 6 families. The results suggest that fern nectaries have multiple evolutionary origins.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Camila Benedita da Silva-Viana, Ricardo E. Vicente, Lucas A. Kaminski, Thiago J. Izzo
Summary: Ant gardens, formed by aggressive parabiotic ants, play a key role in maintaining diversity in tropical forests, particularly in the Amazon. These ants extend their protective effect to neighboring plants with extrafloral nectaries, reducing herbivory on these plants. This mutualistic relationship can impact ecological succession and coevolution in the Amazon forest.
Article
Biology
Pooja Nathan, Evan P. Economo, Benoit Guenard, Anna K. Simonsen, Megan E. Frederickson
Summary: Mutualism plays an important role in the spread and adaptation of species in new environments. Generalized mutualisms increase the likelihood of species establishing and thriving beyond native ranges, while specialized mutualisms do not affect or even reduce non-native spread.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Plant Sciences
Jessica T. Kansman, Jorge L. Jaramillo, Jared G. Ali, Sara L. Hermann
Summary: Threats to food security require sustainable agriculture practices for insect pest management. Conservation biological control (CBC) relies on pest control services provided by local populations of arthropod natural enemies. This review discusses past strategies using chemical ecology in CBC and proposes future directions, including leveraging induced plant defenses and genetically engineered crops.
TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)