Aphids Alter the Community-Wide Impact of Fire Ants

Kaplan, Ian; Eubanks, Micky D.

doi:10.1890/04-0016

Cited by 135 publications

(156 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

148

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, Eubanks (2001) found patchy distributions of the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) in agricultural systems of the South-eastern United States. He suggested that the presence of anttended, honeydew-excreting aphids explained much of this variation-a supposition that was later supported by manipulative experiments (Kaplan and Eubanks 2005). Similarly, our broad-scale surveys across the Samoan Archipelago showed that the patchy distribution of A. gracilipes was strongly, positively correlated with the dominance of EFN-bearing plants (Savage et al 2009).…”

Section: Effects Of Nectar Subsidies On Forager Recruitmentsupporting

confidence: 64%

Trait-mediated indirect interactions in invasions: unique behavioral responses of an invasive ant to plant nectar

Savage

Whitney

2011

Ecosphere

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Exotic species often form beneficial, facultative associations with indigenous species.However, we still have a limited understanding of the influences that these positive associations may have on the dynamics and impacts of species invasions. Highly invasive species may respond differently than less invasive species to resources that are exchanged in mutualisms, leading to trait-mediated indirect interactions between native species via invaders that may reshape native communities. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the highly invasive ant species, Anoplolepis gracilipes, exhibits stronger trait changes in response to increasing levels of nectar than co-occurring, less invasive ant species. Across two islands in the Samoan Archipelago, we located multiple sites dominated by A. gracilipes and multiple sites dominated by other, less invasive species. At each site, we manipulated nectar levels on a common extrafloral nectary-bearing shrub and assessed short-term changes in ant worker recruitment and aggression. We found that the recruitment response of the highly invasive ant species A. gracilipes was not unique: other dominant ant species also increased recruitment in response to increasing nectar levels. However, A. gracilipes did show unique changes in aggressive behaviors: as nectar levels increased, the proportion of prey discovered, attacked and removed by A. gracilipes workers and the speed at which they performed these aggressive behaviors all increased strongly. Other ant species showed no such responses. In addition, fewer subordinate ants persisted on plants at sites invaded by A. gracilipes. Finally, plot-level, simultaneous manipulations of ant access to the plants and nectar availability demonstrated that Morinda citrifolia-ant mutualisms influenced the b-diversity of local arthropod communities differently when A. gracilipes dominated local ant assemblages. These results suggest that mutualisms between invasive ants and native plants can modify interactions between invaders and co-occurring arthropods, possibly leading to more negative consequences for native communities. They also underscore the importance of incorporating both positive species interactions and indirect pathways into our studies of both community ecology and invasion biology.

show abstract

Section: Effects Of Nectar Subsidies On Forager Recruitmentsupporting

confidence: 64%

Trait-mediated indirect interactions in invasions: unique behavioral responses of an invasive ant to plant nectar

Savage

Whitney

2011

Ecosphere

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…and S. picea did not limit the colonization of berries, considering that other studies have shown species within these two genera have important effects on herbivores (Kaplan and Eubanks 2005;Philpott et al 2008). Low ant activity on coffee bushes with Crematogaster spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Ants defend coffee from berry borer colonization

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ants frequently prevent herbivores from damaging plants. In agroecosystems they may provide pest control services, although their contributions are not always appreciated. Here we compared the ability of eight ant species to prevent the coffee berry borer from colonizing coffee berries with a field exclusion experiment. We removed ants from one branch (exclusion) and left ants to forage on a second branch (control) before releasing 20 berry borers on each branch. After 24 h, six of eight species had significantly reduced the number of berries bored by the berry borer compared to exclusion treatment branches. While the number of berries per branch was a significant covariate explaining the number of berries bored, ant activity (that varied greatly among species) was not a significant factor in models. This study is the first field experiment to provide evidence that a diverse group of ant species limit the berry borer from colonizing coffee berries.

show abstract

“…But the ants may also attack other herbivores (e.g., Harvey & Eubanks, 2004). Kaplan & Eubanks (2005) explored such interactions in cotton fields where the invasive fire ant Solenopsis invicta Buren tends cotton aphids, Aphis gossypii. These researchers found a positive correlation between ant and aphid numbers on cotton plants, and documented many adverse effects of ants on other arthropods.…”

Section: Positive Interactions Among Herbivores: Numbers Of Generalismentioning

confidence: 99%

Multitrophic interactions among plants, aphids, alternate prey and shared natural enemies - a review

Evans¹

2008

Eur. J. Entomol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Given the generalist tendencies of most predatory arthropods, it is widely thought that their impact on a particular prey species in a given habitat (e.g., an insect pest in a crop) will depend frequently on the local availability of other prey (which for omnivorous predators, can include plant resources, such as fruit and pollen). Thus, from a slightly different perspective, aphids, other herbivorous insects, and plants often may interact indirectly by sharing natural enemies. Such interactions may be either negative or positive, as in the concepts of apparent competition and apparent mutualism, and may therefore have variable impact on the herbivores' host plants as well. I examine the different mechanisms for such indirect effects among herbivores as explored in the experimental literature. An impressive collective effort by numerous researchers recently has expanded considerably our empirical base of support for a variety of hypothesized mechanisms; aphids stand out as the most commonly studied subjects in research on these mechanisms. I therefore focus especially on the recent literature of cases involving aphids interacting indirectly with other prey for generalist predators. My remarks are organized by considering how the availability of alternate prey may alter functional and numerical (aggregative and reproductive) responses of predators to focal prey density. Although the distinctions among these different classes of predator responses and the associated indirect effects are often blurred and scale-dependent, this classification remains useful for organizing the diverse ways in which aphids have been found to participate in indirect interactions among prey as mediated by predators. Collectively, the results of the numerous studies reviewed here suggest that many such indirect interactions likely occur frequently in natural settings, with consequences ultimately for host plant performance.

show abstract

Aphids Alter the Community-Wide Impact of Fire Ants

Cited by 135 publications

References 36 publications

Trait-mediated indirect interactions in invasions: unique behavioral responses of an invasive ant to plant nectar

Trait-mediated indirect interactions in invasions: unique behavioral responses of an invasive ant to plant nectar

Ants defend coffee from berry borer colonization

Multitrophic interactions among plants, aphids, alternate prey and shared natural enemies - a review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About