Ants impact sawfly oviposition on bracken fern in southern California |
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Authors: | Michele Eatough Jones Timothy D Paine |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA |
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Abstract: | Although it has been speculated that ant visits to extrafloral nectaries of bracken fern may convey a fitness benefit for
the plant, this has never been demonstrated with native herbivores and natural insect densities. We tested the hypothesis
that ants attracted to extrafloral nectaries of bracken fern provide a mutualistic benefit by protecting fronds from herbivore
damage in a field manipulation experiment in southern California. We examined densities of sawfly eggs and larvae on bracken
fronds with and without ant exclusion. Because bracken fern in this region is also impacted by nitrogenous air pollution,
we included an N addition treatment. We found that sawfly egg abundance was significantly higher for fern plants when ants
were excluded, regardless of N treatment. Ants tended to have higher abundance on fertilized plants, but there was no interaction
between N additions and ant exclusion. Bracken fern may derive a fitness benefit from attracting ants during the early phases
of plant growth, through decreased herbivore oviposition, rather than through the deterrence of feeding larvae. |
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