Effect of ant attendance on aphid population growth and above ground biomass of the aphid's host plant

Hosseini, Amin; Hosseini, Mojtaba; Katayama, Noboru; Mehrparvar, Mohsen

doi:10.14411/eje.2017.015

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…Ant care is influenced by the quality (composition) and quantity of the honeydew (Völkl, Woodring, Fischer, Lorenz, & Hoffmann, 1999;Katayama & Suzuki, 2002), which indicates that a larger colony may be more tractive to be attended by ants. However, studies carried out by Hosseini et al, (2017), indicate that regardless of the initial size of the colony, this interaction generates an increase in the density of the colony and the growth rate is higher compared to the unattended colonies. On the other hand, aphids in small colonies invest more energy supplying the supply of honeydew for ants; in large colonies, this effort is less because more individuals contribute to supply the demand for this substance (Katayama & Suzuki, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies carried out by Hosseini et al, (2017) and de Siqueira, Fagundes, Sperber and Fernandes (2011), indicate that this ant aphid interaction generates positive effects on the yield and biomass production of crop plants, among others, because the spread of microorganisms is prevented by avoiding the accumulation of aphid secretions, and the abundance of other herbivores is reduced. The interaction between A. gossypii and ants is of interest in biological control because ants interfere in the predation of this aphid by aphidophagous generalists, such as Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville, 1842 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) (Kaplan & Eubanks, 2002;Powell & Silverman, 2010a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although this interaction is facultative and not species-specific (Buckley, 1987;Collins & Leather, 2002), it contributes to the population growth of aphids, which provide sugar secretions to ants while the ants offer protection from generalist and specialist aphidophagous predators (Styrsky & Eubanks, 2007;Powell & Silverman, 2010a). Negative aspects of this interaction may include reduced size and reproductive fitness of aphids and its predation by ants (Billick, Hammer, Reithel, & Abbot, 2007;Yao, 2014;Hosseini, Hosseini, Katayama, & Mehrparvar, 2017). This mutualist association can interfere with integrated pest management and this interference is why its description in agricultural systems is relevant.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Mutualistic interaction of aphids and ants in pepper, Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutenscens (Solanaceae)

et al. 2021

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Introduction: Adequate biological identification is fundamental for establishing integrated pest management programs and identifying the trophic and mutualist relationships that can affect pest population dynamics. Aphids are the main pest of pepper Capsicum spp. (Solanaceae) crops in Southwestern Colombia, due to their role as vectors of viruses. However, the identification of aphid species is complex, limiting the investigations performed to address their interactions with other organisms. Ants and aphids present a facultative mutualistic relationship, that promotes the growth of hemipteran colonies, for this reason, the study of the ecological mutualistic association between aphids and ants is important. Objective: The main objective was to discriminate the aphid species present in commercial crops of Capsicum spp., and to identify the ant community that attends the aphid colonies and its effects on the size of the aphid colonies. Methods: Aphid species, and their ant mutualist, were collected from Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutescens, in the Cauca valley, Southwestern Colombia. We use the DNA barcoding approach to identify aphid species, and the ants were identified by morphology‐based taxonomy. To evaluate the effect of ant care on the size and structure of aphid colonies, generalized linear models were calculated using as the response variables the total number of aphids for each colony and the proportion of nymphs. Results: The aphid species that attack pepper crops, are: Aphis gossypii and Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae), with A. gossypii being the species that interacts with ants (19 ant species). A. gossypii colonies attended by ants had larger sizes and more nymphs per colony, than those not attended. Conclusions: Although the aphid-ant interaction is not species-specific, it is necessary to consider its role in the propagation of viral diseases in peppers and to determine how this interaction may affect regional biological control strategies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mutualistic interaction of aphids and ants in pepper, Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutenscens (Solanaceae)

et al. 2021

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“…Because of the protection and hygienic care provided by workers, the population of ant‐tended aphids usually grow faster than unattended aphid colonies, thus suggesting mutual benefits for both partners (El‐Ziady & Kennedy, 1956; Buckley, 1987; Flatt & Weisser, 2000; Hosseini et al ., 2017). However, the truly mutualistic nature of this relationship can be questioned in some cases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards more intimacy: moderate elevation of temperature drives increases in foraging and mutualistic interactions between Lasius niger and Aphis fabae

Blanchard

Offelen

Verheggen

et al. 2020

Ecological Entomology

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1. Climate change will likely affect the association between species interacting at different trophic levels. However, studies focusing on the impact of an elevation of temperature on ant-hemipteran mutualism remain scarce. 2. In the present study we investigated, in laboratory conditions, the foraging behaviour of the ant Lasius niger and its mutualistic interaction with the aphid Aphis fabae under three conditions of temperatures (i.e. 20 ∘ C, 23 ∘ C, and 26 ∘ C), as predicted by climatic scenarios. 3. Aphids were more mobile but as likely to release honeydew droplets at higher temperatures. As regards the ants, a moderate 3 ∘ C increase of temperature positively impacted their mutualistic interaction with aphids. Such reinforcement was achieved through an increase in the walking speed of ant foragers, in the number of mobilised ants as well as in the total amount of honeydew harvested by the colony. 4. A further elevation of temperature to 26 ∘ C reduced the benefits gained by the aphid-tending ants, in terms of lower amount of collected honeydew. 5. Based on our results, we hypothesise that, in temperate regions, a moderate increase of ambient atmospheric temperature by 3 ∘ C will benefit to the L. niger-A. fabae mutualistic interaction. A more marked elevation of 6 ∘ C may represent a threshold thermal value above which a switch of partners or a disruption of the interaction may occur under the temperatures predicted for the end of the century. These results demonstrate the fragility of mutualistic interactions, and more particularly their sensitivity to temperature increases predicted by realistic forecast models.

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“…These interactions are common and conspicuous in terrestrial communities from tropical to temperate regions (Buckley, 1987;Hölldobler and Wilson, 1990;Delabie, 2001;Styrsky and Eubanks, 2007). These associations trigger the dynamics of ecological communities by influencing the environmental variables, species evolution and survival rate (Bronstein, 2009;Hosseini et al, 2017). One classic example of mutualistic relationship are the interactions between aphids and ants (Darwin, 1859;Stadler and Dixon, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meta-Analysis of the Global Diversity and Spatial Patterns of Aphid-Ant Mutualistic Relationships

Siddiqui¹

2019

Appl. Ecol. Env. Res.

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Mutualism is a fundamental relationship that can shape species communities through coevolutionary adaptations and also has great ability to change ecosystem functions. Aphids and ants are common insect groups which are distributed widely across the world. The mutualistic relationships between them have gained much attention in history. However, very few studies have been carried out on the diversity of associated aphid and ant species pairs. In this study, we tried to gather available published data about the diversity of species pairs of aphids and ants to find out potential ecological and geographical patterns. The results showed that 284 species of aphids belonging to 83 genera and 9 subfamilies were mutualistically associated with 193 species of ants belonging to 38 genera and 4 subfamilies. In this report we elucidated a total of 972 aphid-ant interactions and 915 ant-aphid interactions (one aphid species may associate with many ant species and vice versa). Among these relationships, a highest number of ant species were associated with the aphid genus Aphis, while a highest number of aphids were associated with the ant genus Formica. Besides, an obvious geographical pattern was indicated that the subtropical region may have a higher diversity of aphid-ant associations. This global analysis of current knowledge about diversity and patterns of aphid-ant mutualistic relationships also indicates that more taxonomic and ecological studies are needed to enrich our understanding of these associations.

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Effect of ant attendance on aphid population growth and above ground biomass of the aphid's host plant

Cited by 12 publications

References 45 publications

Mutualistic interaction of aphids and ants in pepper, Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutenscens (Solanaceae)

Mutualistic interaction of aphids and ants in pepper, Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutenscens (Solanaceae)

Towards more intimacy: moderate elevation of temperature drives increases in foraging and mutualistic interactions between Lasius niger and Aphis fabae

Meta-Analysis of the Global Diversity and Spatial Patterns of Aphid-Ant Mutualistic Relationships

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