Distribution, composition, and dispersal of ant gardens and tending ants in three kinds of central Amazonian habitats

Marini-Filho, Onildo João

doi:10.1080/03946975.1999.10539395

Cited by 14 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 13 publications

(19 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…nectaries and Homoptera) for ants, and the specific environmental requirements (e.g. light availability) of epiphytes (Davidson ; Marini‐Filho ; Nieder et al. ; Leroy et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Protective, dispersal and nutrition interactions occur simultaneously in AGs; consequently, these are considered as one of the most complex ant–plant mutualistic systems (Hölldobler & Wilson ; Orivel & Leroy ). The abundance of AGs in forest gaps, riparian vegetation, disturbed sites and some agroforestry plantations has been related to the identity and physical characteristics of the host tree species as well as to the resources that trees offer to ants via their extrafloral nectaries or associations with Homoptera (Davidson ; Yu ; Catling , ; Marini‐Filho ; Morales‐Linares et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Spatial structure of ant‐gardens: vertical distribution on host trees and succession/segregation of associated vascular epiphytes

Morales‐Linares

García‐Franco

Flores‐Palacios

et al. 2017

J Vegetation Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Questions: Ant-gardens (AGs) involve a close association between epiphytes and ants with concurrent mutualistic interactions including protection, dispersal and nutrition; however, little is known about the spatial structure patterns that determine their establishment and formation. Our main questions were: (1) do AGs have a particular pattern of vertical distribution on their host trees; (2) does a process of succession of epiphytes occur during development of AGs; and (3) are epiphytes segregated in AGs?Location: Anthropic landscape in southeast Mexico. Methods:We studied AGs built by Azteca gnava ants. We examined their vertical distribution on host trees as well as the diversity, composition and reproductive status of vascular epiphytes associated with the lower, middle and upper zones of small, medium and large AGs.Results: A total of 859 AGs and 10 871 epiphytes, belonging to 26 different species, were recorded. We found that AGs are primarily (75%) located within tree crowns, and that the diversity and composition of epiphytes vary among AG sizes and among AG zones. We infer that the epiphytes that first become established in AGs are the bromeliad Aechmea tillandsioides and the gesneriad Codonanthe uleana, followed by the orchid Epidendrum flexuosum and the cactus Epiphyllum phyllanthus; these species were recorded, either individually or in cooccurrence, in 74% of the AGs examined. The species Ae. tillandsioides, Coryanthes picturata and Epid. flexuosum were most frequent in the upper AG zone, while Epid. pachyrachis was most frequent in the middle AG zone. Conclusions:Our results show that AGs have distinct vertical distribution patterns on their tree hosts and that the establishment of epiphytes in AGs is successive and segregated, suggesting spatial and temporal optimization in the establishment and development of these complex mutualistic systems.

show abstract

“…nectaries and Homoptera) for ants, and the specific environmental requirements (e.g. light availability) of epiphytes (Davidson ; Marini‐Filho ; Nieder et al. ; Leroy et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial structure of ant‐gardens: vertical distribution on host trees and succession/segregation of associated vascular epiphytes

Morales‐Linares

García‐Franco

Flores‐Palacios

et al. 2017

J Vegetation Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We considered these gradients separately because of their relevance in studies of the distribution patterns of vascular epiphytes and arboreal ants (Krömer et al, 2005;Cardelús et al, 2006;Plowman et al, 2020). We then hypothesized that: (a) the richness of associated species will be higher in vegetation types with larger trees, and it will also be positively related to environmental gradients, but not elevation, since the Neotropical ant-gardens usually occur in large trees (Marini-Filho, 1999;Dejean et al, 2000;Morales-Linares et al, 2016) (Catling, 1995;Morales-Linares et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity and interactions of the epiphyte community associated with ant‐gardens are not influenced by elevational and environmental gradients

Morales‐Linares

Flores‐Palacios

Corona-López

et al. 2021

J Vegetation Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Question:The distribution and interactions of terrestrial biodiversity are influenced by environmental gradients. In general, tropical species present a hump-shaped altitudinal species richness pattern related to gradients of temperature and precipitation. However, the effects of the elevational and environmental gradients on the co-occurrence of species that form specialized mutualisms in the lowland tropical forest canopy and the relative importance of these species in interaction networks are unknown. We studied ant-gardens, which are constituted by vascular epiphytes that inhabit ant nests exclusively. Our main question was: do the vegetation type, elevation, temperature, and precipitation alter the diversity and interactions of the associated species in ant-gardens?Location: Southeastern Mexico. Methods:We recorded epiphytes and ants associated with ant-gardens in 21 sites in southeastern Mexico (elevational range of 23-643 m a.s.l.), which is located on the northern limit of the distribution of Neotropical ant-gardens. We tested whether the vegetation type and gradients of elevation, temperature and precipitation influence the diversity (richness and composition) and interactions (centrality, i.e., relative importance of each species in epiphyte-epiphyte interaction networks) of the ant-gardens. Results:We found a total of 126 ant-gardens formed by 15 epiphyte species and two ant species. Seven epiphytes and only one ant (Azteca gnava) are specialists of antgardens (true ant-garden epiphyte and ant species respectively). Neither vegetation type nor elevational and environmental gradients influenced the richness, composition and centrality of the epiphytes, although some species only occurred in sites with greater precipitation. The true ant-garden epiphytes were more central than the non-true ant-garden epiphytes, with the orchid Epidendrum flexuosum being the most frequent and central epiphytic species in Mexican ant-gardens.Conclusions: Unlike guilds of epiphytes and ants considered individually, the antgardens represent a mutualism that maintains their patterns of diversity and interspecific interactions along gradients of elevation, temperature and precipitation.

show abstract

Insect Sampling in Forest Ecosystems

Leather¹

2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Distribution, composition, and dispersal of ant gardens and tending ants in three kinds of central Amazonian habitats

Cited by 14 publications

References 13 publications

Spatial structure of ant‐gardens: vertical distribution on host trees and succession/segregation of associated vascular epiphytes

Spatial structure of ant‐gardens: vertical distribution on host trees and succession/segregation of associated vascular epiphytes

Diversity and interactions of the epiphyte community associated with ant‐gardens are not influenced by elevational and environmental gradients

Insect Sampling in Forest Ecosystems

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About