Protein marking reveals predation on termites by the woodland ant, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aphaenogaster rudis</Emphasis> |
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Authors: | G Buczkowski G Bennett |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Entomology, Purdue University, 901 W. State St., West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA |
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Abstract: | Subterranean termites provide a major potential food source for forest-dwelling ants, yet the interactions between ants and
termites are seldom investigated largely due to the cryptic nature of both the predator and the prey. We used protein marking
(rabbit immunoglobin protein, IgG) and double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) to examine the
trophic interactions between the woodland ant, Aphaenogaster rudis (Emery) and the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar). We marked the prey by feeding the termites paper treated with a solution of rabbit immunoglobin protein (IgG). Subsequently,
we offered live, IgG-fed termites to ant colonies and monitored the intracolony distribution of IgG-marked prey. Laboratory
experiments on the distribution of protein-marked termite prey in colonies of A. rudis revealed that all castes and developmental stages receive termite prey within 24 h. In field experiments, live, protein-marked
termites were offered to foraging ants. Following predation, the marker was recovered from the ants, demonstrating that A. rudis preys on R. flavipes under field conditions. Our results provide a unique picture of the trophic-level interactions between predatory ants and
subterranean termites. Furthermore, we show that protein markers are highly suitable to track trophic interactions between
predators and prey, especially when observing elusive animals with cryptic food-web ecology.
Received 19 January 2007; revised 23 March 2007; accepted 26 March 2007. |
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Keywords: | Aphaenogaster rudis Reticulitermes flavipes predation prey-predator interactions protein marking |
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