Formation and structure of food bodies in Cordia nodosa (Boraginaceae)

Solano, Pascal-Jean; Belin-Depoux, Monique; Déjean, Alain

doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2005.05.004

Cited by 20 publications

(21 citation statements)

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“…Hence, A. octoarticulatus colonies that produce more reproductives should have a better chance of having some queens survive and establish new colonies in the next generation. Sterilization may also provide more food to the ant colony because C. nodosa produces food bodies on young leaves (Solano et al 2005), and young leaves are produced together with new domatia. It should be noted that Yu and Pierce (1998) considered it unlikely that the ants get any food directly from the flowers and floral buds they attack; they stated that "most tissue simply desiccates and remains in place until it drops" (p. 377).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Conflict over Reproduction in an Ant‐Plant Symbiosis: Why Allomerus octoarticulatus Ants Sterilize Cordia nodosa Trees

Frederickson

2009

The American Naturalist

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The evolutionary stability of mutualism is thought to depend on how well the fitness interests of partners are aligned. Because most ant-myrmecophyte mutualisms are persistent and horizontally transmitted, partners share an interest in growth but not in reproduction. Resources invested in reproduction are unavailable for growth, giving rise to a conflict of interest between partners. I investigated whether this explains why Allomerus octoarticulatus ants sterilize Cordia nodosa trees. Allomerus octoarticulatus nests in the hollow stem domatia of C. nodosa. Workers protect C. nodosa leaves against herbivores but destroy inflorescences. Using C. nodosa trees with Azteca ants, which do not sterilize their hosts, I cut inflorescences off trees to simulate sterilization by A. octoarticulatus. Sterilized C. nodosa grew faster than control trees, providing evidence for a trade-off between growth and reproduction. Allomerus octoarticulatus manipulates this trade-off to its advantage; sterilized trees produce more domatia and can house larger, more fecund colonies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If the tree has ants, the colony quickly fills this new domatium with brood and workers. Cordia nodosa trees also produce food bodies on the surfaces of young leaves and shoots (Solano et al 2005). Ants get additional food from the honeydew-producing scale insects (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea) they tend inside domatia.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conflict over Reproduction in an Ant‐Plant Symbiosis: Why Allomerus octoarticulatus Ants Sterilize Cordia nodosa Trees

Frederickson

2009

The American Naturalist

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“…If the tree has ants, the colony quickly fills this new domatium with brood and workers. Cordia nodosa trees produce food bodies on the surfaces of young leaves and shoots as a reward for ants (Solano et al 2005). Allomerus octoarticulatus colonies also obtain additional food from the honeydew-producing scale insects (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea) they tend inside the domatia ( fig.…”

Section: Study Site and Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Direct and Ecological Costs of an Ant-Plant Symbiosis

Frederickson

Ravenscraft

Miller

et al. 2012

The American Naturalist

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Submitted July 12, 2011; Accepted February 3, 2012; Electronically published April 25, 2012 Online enhancement: appendix. Dryad data: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.144v45c6. The University of Chicago Press andabstract: How strong is selection for cheating in mutualisms? The answer depends on the type and magnitude of the costs of the mutualism. Here we investigated the direct and ecological costs of plant defense by ants in the association between Cordia nodosa, a myrmecophytic plant, and Allomerus octoarticulatus, a phytoecious ant. Cordia nodosa trees produce food and housing to reward ants that protect them against herbivores. For nearly 1 year, we manipulated the presence of A. octoarticulatus ants and most insect herbivores on C. nodosa in a full-factorial experiment. Ants increased plant growth when herbivores were present but decreased plant growth when herbivores were absent, indicating that hosting ants can be costly to plants. However, we did not detect a cost to ant colonies of defending host plants against herbivores. Although this asymmetry in costs suggests that the plants may be under stronger selection than the ants to cheat by withholding investment in their partner, the costs to C. nodosa are probably at least partly ecological, arising because ants tend scale insects on their host plants. We argue that ecological costs should favor resistance or traits other than cheating and thus that neither partner may face much temptation to cheat.

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“…Uma grande quantidade de espécies de plantas tropicais oferece néctar extrafloral às formigas em troca de defesa contra herbívoros, sendo que essas associações, normalmente envolvem espécies de formigas generalistas (Del-Claro e oliveira 2000 ;Frederickson 2005; Rico-Gray e oliveira 2007; Del-Claro 2004). em casos mais específicos, plantas chamadas mirmecófitas, podem também oferecer estruturas ocas para formigas especializadas nidificarem (Fonseca e Ganade 1996; Vasconcelos e Davidson 2000; Solano et al 2005; edwards e Yu 2008). espécies de formigas que se associam a mirmecófitas geralmente desenvolvem uma forte relação de fidelidade com a planta hospedeira (Bronstein et al 2006), mas raramente há associações espécie-específicas (Fonseca e Ganade 1996;Guimarães et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

“…espécies de formigas que se associam a mirmecófitas geralmente desenvolvem uma forte relação de fidelidade com a planta hospedeira (Bronstein et al 2006), mas raramente há associações espécie-específicas (Fonseca e Ganade 1996;Guimarães et al 2007). no caso da associação com mirmecófitas o alto investimento na produção dessas estruturas ocas, chamadas domáceas, é compensado por manter uma colônia por um longo período patrulhando as folhas (Bronstein 1998;Solano et al 2005). Porém, como em qualquer associação, o benefício obtido pela planta varia em função da qualidade da formiga como defensora (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Relação entre diferentes espécies de formigas e a mirmecófita Cordia nodosa Lamarck (Boraginaceae) em áreas de mata ripária na Amazônia mato-grossense

Izzo

Peneti-Benelli

2011

Acta Amaz.

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Resumo os benefícios obtidos por um organismo em uma associação mutualística podem variar em função de fatores ambientais, bem como entre as diferentes espécies que podem estar associadas. neste trabalho demonstramos que quatro espécies de formigas, Crematogaster brasiliensis, Allomerus octoarticulatus e duas não identificadas do gênero Azteca podem ser encontradas associadas à mirmecófita Cordia nodosa em florestas ripárias sul-amazônicas. essa composição de espécies de formigas é mais similar a encontrada na Amazônia Andina do que aquela da Amazônia Central brasileira. A colonização por formigas parece ser determinante, pois diminuiu a herbivoria e, consequentemente, aumentou a probabilidade de C. nodosa produzir frutos. Adicionalmente, mesmo não havendo diferença na herbivoria entre plantas colonizadas pelas diferentes espécies de formigas, a probabilidade de uma planta colonizada por formigas do gênero Allomerus produzir frutos é menor do que quando colonizadas pelas outras espécies de formigas. esse estudo demonstra a dependência de C. nodosa pela colonização de formigas para sua reprodução. Contudo, conforme outros estudos realizados em outras áreas da Amazônia demonstram, nossos resultados também sugerem que Allomerus pode estar castrando as plantas hospedeiras, agindo como parasita em toda a sua distribuição geográfica. PalavRas-Chave: Mirmecófita, Cordia nodosa, formigas, mutualismo. Relationship among different plant-ants and its myrmecophite host Cordia nodosa Lamarck (Boraginaceae) in a riparian Mato Grosso Amazonian forest abstRaCtThe benefits obtained by an organism when involved in a mutualistic interaction vary depending on environmental factors, as well as among the identity of the involved species. In this study, we showed that four ant species, Crematogaster brasiliensis, Allomerus octoarticulatus, and two unidentified Azteca species can be found associated to the myrmecophite Cordia nodosa in riparian forests in the South of Amazonia. This composition of ant-associated species is more similar in forests of Andean Amazon than in Central Amazonia. The colonization of an ant colony on C. nodosa seems to be vital in order to decrease herbivory, as increased the probability of a plant sets fruits. Moreover, even though we did not find significant differences in herbivory among plants colonized by different ant species, the probability of a plant produces fruits is much lower when it is colonized by Allomerus ants. overall, this study shows that C. nodosa depends on ants to reproduce. However, based on other empirical studies across the Amazon, our results also suggest that Allomerus ants can act as flower castrator, acting as a parasite over its geographic range.

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Formation and structure of food bodies in Cordia nodosa (Boraginaceae)

Cited by 20 publications

References 19 publications

Conflict over Reproduction in an Ant‐Plant Symbiosis: Why Allomerus octoarticulatus Ants Sterilize Cordia nodosa Trees

Conflict over Reproduction in an Ant‐Plant Symbiosis: Why Allomerus octoarticulatus Ants Sterilize Cordia nodosa Trees

The Direct and Ecological Costs of an Ant-Plant Symbiosis

Relação entre diferentes espécies de formigas e a mirmecófita Cordia nodosa Lamarck (Boraginaceae) em áreas de mata ripária na Amazônia mato-grossense

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