Review
Ecology
Daan Mertens, Karina Boege, Andre Kessler, Julia Koricheva, Jennifer S. Thaler, Noah K. Whiteman, Erik H. Poelman
Summary: In order to achieve ecological and reproductive success, plants need to mitigate various stressors by incorporating predictable patterns of stress in their life histories. This can help optimize plant responses to dynamic environments where stressors vary predictably.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2021)
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.
Review
Plant Sciences
A. K. Choudhary, S. Singh, N. Khatri, R. Gupta
Summary: Hydrogen sulphide, as a gaseous signalling molecule in plants, has potential roles in plant defence against invading pathogens through various mechanisms, such as modulating enzyme activity and inducing expression of defence-related genes.
Article
Plant Sciences
Eduardo Soares Calixto, Leticia Rodrigues Novaes, Danilo Ferreira Borges dos Santos, Denise Lange, Xoaquin Moreira, Kleber Del-Claro
Summary: This study investigated the effects of temperature and rainfall on ant-plant-herbivore interactions, discovering that rainfall directly and indirectly influenced extrafloral nectar secretion activity, leading to changes in ant abundance, but not affecting herbivore levels. The results provide insight into how climate impacts seasonal patterns in these mutualistic interactions, emphasizing the importance of plant phenology.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Plant Sciences
Junji Takabayashi
Summary: Herbivory-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) play a role in communication among plants, herbivorous insects, and carnivorous arthropods. This review focuses on the specificity of plant-carnivore communication mediated by specific blends of HIPVs, as well as the communication between plants and herbivores, and plants and other plants mediated by specific HIPVs. Factors influencing the net benefits of HIPV production are also examined. These specific means of communication contribute to the complexity of the interaction-information network, which should be further explored to understand the mechanism underlying species coexistence in ecosystems.
PLANT AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
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
Biology
Nina Xiaoning Zhang, Jorg G. Stephan, Christer Bjorkman, Adriana Puentes
Summary: Omnivorous predatory arthropods play a crucial role in pest management by not only consuming prey but also inducing plant defenses and attracting natural enemies, impacting multi-trophic interactions. Further research is needed to fully explore their potential and how it can be applied to advance plant protection strategies.
CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Daniela Remolina-Figueroa, David A. Prieto-Torres, Wesley Dattilo, Ernesto Salgado Diaz, Laura E. Nunez Rosas, Claudia Rodriguez-Flores, Adolfo G. Navarro-Siguenza, Maria del Coro Arizmendi
Summary: This study evaluated the potential impact of global climate change on Mexican endemic hummingbirds and their nectar resources plants, finding that climate change could lead to range reductions and increased mismatch in co-distribution patterns. The research also suggested future species turnover, changes in niche size and overlap in hummingbird-plant networks. These results highlight the importance of analyzing species' co-occurrence to achieve long-term protection of ecosystem services like pollination.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Myo Min Thein, La-Mei Wu, Richard T. Corlett, Rui-Chang Quan, Bo Wang
Summary: The study examined seed-animal interactions along an elevation gradient in western Myanmar and found that the removal pattern of seeds by animals varied between seasons and among plant species. This suggests that a one-off survey with few species may not accurately represent overall macroecological patterns of biotic interactions. Future studies should take into account the seasonal and species-specific variability in these interactions.
Article
Entomology
Renan Fernandes Moura, Cynthia Martins Villar Couto, Kleber Del-Claro
Summary: This study investigated the effects of ant nest abundance and richness on a Neotropical plant. The results showed that an increase in ant nest abundance reduced foliar herbivory and increased fruit production, while an increase in ant nest richness was associated with higher foliar herbivory and reduced fruit production. Furthermore, plants with higher leaf production and surrounded by more neighboring plants with extrafloral nectaries had reduced herbivory.
ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Diane R. Campbell, Mary Price, Nickolas M. Waser, Rebecca E. Irwin, Alison K. Brody
Summary: Climate change can affect plant fitness and population persistence through both direct and indirect effects on biotic interactions. Pollination and seed predation are important biotic interactions that can impact plant growth, but their relative impact compared to direct climatic effects is still uncertain.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Jordi Sardans, Albert Gargallo-Garriga, Otmar Urban, Karel Klem, Petr Holub, Ivan A. Janssens, Tom W. N. Walker, Argus Pesqueda, Josep Penuelas
Summary: Research on plant responses to biotic interactions with herbivores and fungi using metabolomics reveals that constitutive defenses are related to amino acid metabolism and the concentrations of flavones and saponins, while inducible defenses are mainly linked to increases in methyl-ketone, pantothenate, and Coenzyme A concentrations. Metabolic responses to pathogenic fungi are associated with aspartate and pyruvate metabolism, acetyl group transfer within mitochondria, and branched-chain amino acids degradation pathways, accompanied by increases in concentrations of secondary metabolites such as phenolics and decreases in polyamines.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Dean S. Janiak, David Branson
Summary: The increased presence of artificial habitat within coastal marine environments can have negative impacts on marine communities, particularly favoring introduced species. Research shows that total species richness and introduced species richness are higher in artificial habitats, with predators reducing community richness in both habitats.
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Plant Sciences
Wen Song, Alexander Forderer, Dongli Yu, Jijie Chai
Summary: Plants use both membrane-bound and intracellular immune receptors to distinguish self from invaders, initiating pattern-triggered immunity and effector-triggered immunity respectively. Pathogens can overcome pattern-triggered immunity by secreting effectors, which are specifically recognized by intracellular NLRs receptors.
Article
Ecology
Heidi K. Mod, Tuuli Rissanen, Pekka Niittynen, Janne Soininen, Miska Luoto
Summary: By assessing the relationships between species occupancy and niche metrics, as well as trait variability, at different spatial scales in four study areas north of the Arctic Circle, this study found that species' traits were more important at fine scales, while abiotic filtering played a larger role at broad scales. These findings highlight the scale-dependency of factors driving species occupancy.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Stanislas Talaga, Alain Dejean, Clemence Mouza, Yves Dumont, Celine Leroy
Article
Environmental Sciences
Olivier Dezerald, Celine Leroy, Bruno Corbara, Alain Dejean, Stanislas Talaga, Regis Cereghino
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Regis Cereghino, Bruno Corbara, Yann Henaut, Camille Bonhomme, Arthur Compin, Alain Dejean
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2019)
Article
Entomology
Pablo Servigne, Jerome Orivel, Frederic Azemar, James Carpenter, Alain Dejean, Bruno Corbara
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alain Dejean, Frederic Azemar, Frederic Petitclerc, Jacques H. C. Delabie, Bruno Corbara, Celine Leroy, Regis Cereghino, Arthur Compin
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alain Dejean, Frederic Azemar, Frederic Petitclerc, Jacques H. C. Delabie, Bruno Corbara, Celine Leroy, Regis Cereghino, Arthur Compin
Article
Ecology
Angelica L. Gonzalez, Regis Cereghino, Olivier Dezerald, Vinicius F. Farjalla, Celine Leroy, Barbara A. Richardson, Michael J. Richardson, Gustavo Q. Romero, Diane S. Srivastava
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Entomology
Stanislas Talaga, Alain Dejean, Frederic Azemar, Yves Dumont, Celine Leroy
JOURNAL OF PEST SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Maurice Leponce, Alain Dejean, Ondrej Mottl, Petr Klimes
Summary: Ants, especially territorially dominant arboreal ants, are ecologically important in tropical forests, but are rarely used in conservation monitoring due to difficulties in collection. A standardized baitline protocol and a procedure to objectively define species dominance have been developed to study and monitor the distribution and behavior of arboreal ants, providing a potential tool for understanding and detecting ant mosaics efficiently.
INSECT CONSERVATION AND DIVERSITY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
A. Dejean, P. Naskrecki, C. Faucher, F. Azemar, M. Tindo, S. Manzi, H. Gryta
Summary: The African ant species Crematogaster clariventris cuts leaves from different plant species to reinforce their nests with fungal mycelia. Using scanning electron microscopy and metabarcoding, the presence of specific fungal OTUs was detected in the ant nests and workers' bodies. This case of convergent evolution with leaf-cutting, fungus-growing Attina ants of the New World is characterized by differences in fungus cultivation, geographical origin, ant tribe, and mandible usage.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Review
Evolutionary Biology
Alain Dejean, Celine Leroy, Bruno Corbara, Frederic Azemar, Jerome Orivel
Summary: In ecological communities, different species interact with each other in various ways, such as mutualism, commensalism, competition, and predation. This study focuses on the biological interactions between the myrmecophyte Hirtella physophora and other organisms. It reveals the intricate relationships involving Allomerus ants, social wasps, insects, and the reduviid Zelus annulosus, highlighting the complexity of ecological interactions in this system.
BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2023)
Review
Ecology
Alain Dejean, Frederic Azemar, Piotr Naskrecki, Maurice Tindo, Vivien Rossi, Christian Faucher, Herve Gryta
Summary: The final extinction events caused a proliferation of fungi, which differentiated into saprophytes, parasites, predators, commensals, and mutualists. Ant-Attina mutualism involves cultivating Basidiomycota for food. Leaf-cutting, fungus-growing ants innovate by growing fungal gardens from fresh plant material. Certain Ascomycota in domatia eaten by ants exhibit convergence as a form of farming for protection. Ant gardens shelter endophytic fungi promoting epiphyte growth. Ascomycota fibers are used by leaf-cutting ants to reinforce their nests, representing farming for structural materials.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)