Herbivory-induced extrafloral nectar increases native and invasive ant worker survival |
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Authors: | Lori Lach Richard J Hobbs Jonathan D Majer |
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Institution: | (1) School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia;(2) Department of Environmental Biology, Curtin University of Technology, Kent Street, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia |
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Abstract: | Ascertaining the costs and benefits of mutualistic interactions is important for predicting their stability and effect on
community dynamics. Despite widespread designation of the interaction between ants and extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) as a mutualism
and over 100 years of studies on ant benefits to plants, the benefits to ants have never been experimentally quantified. The
success of invasive ants is thought to be linked to the availability of carbohydrate-rich resources, though reports of invasive
ant visits to EFNs are mixed. In two laboratory experiments, we compared worker survival of one native (Iridomyrmex chasei) and two invasive ant species (Linepithema humile and Pheidole megacephala) exposed to herbivorized or non-herbivorized EFN-bearing plants (Acacia saligna) or positive and negative controls. We found that non-herbivorized plants did not produce any measurable extrafloral nectar,
and ants with access to non-herbivorized plants had the same survival as ants with access to an artificial plant and water
(unfed ants). Ants given herbivorized plants had 7–11 times greater worker survival relative to unfed ants, but there were
no differences in survival between native and invasive ants exposed to herbivorized plants. Our results reveal that ants cannot
induce A. saligna extrafloral nectar production, but workers of both native and invasive ant species can benefit from extrafloral nectar as
much as they benefit from sucrose. |
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Keywords: | Acacia saligna Ant– plant interaction Iridomyrmex chasei Linepithema humile Mutualism Pheidole megacephala |
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