Patterns of <i>Azteca</i> ants’ defence of <i>Cecropia</i> trees in a tropical rainforest: support for optimal defence theory

Gianoli, Ernesto; Sendoya, Sebastián F.; Vargas, Fernando; Mejía, Paula; Jaffé, Rodolfo; Rodriguez, M. Correoso; Gutiérrez, Aida

doi:10.1007/s11284-007-0454-0

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…and Cordia spp. (Janzen, 1969;Gianoli et al, 2008) (Figure 1). A symbiotic relationship among the host tree is established against invading herbivores through a biological defense as they swarm 2 out of their nest and attack any invaders (Agrawal, 1998;Do Nascimento et al, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Volatiles defenses of AmazonAztecaants (repellent ants)

Jardine

Piva

Rodrigues

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Azteca ants are widely distributed in the neotropics and have been utilized as natural insect repellent for centuries. Azteca oils provide natural defense against herbivores in mutualistic interactions between ants and their host trees. While chemical characterization of oil secretions revealed a composition dominated by iridoids and ketones, the volatile emissions from Azteca ants, and therefore the active gas-phase semiochemicals, remain uncharacterized. In this study, we determined the composition of volatile emissions from a sample of an Azteca ant nest near the Rio Negro in the central Amazon. We found Azteca emissions were composed of a blend of methyl cyclopentyl and methyl cyclopentenyl based volatiles previously identified in Azteca oil extracts as potent alarm pheromones. The ketone 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, which also waspreviously identified as a major component of the Azteca oil, was found to be the dominant volatile emitted. For the first time, we report emissions of the highly volatile ketones 2,3-butadione and acetoin from the Azteca nest. Our study has important implications for the better understanding of the ecology and defense strategies of Azteca ants in herbivore defense and provides a base for future commercial applications involving Azteca ant essential oils as natural insect repellents.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Volatiles defenses of AmazonAztecaants (repellent ants)

Jardine

Piva

Rodrigues

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…As only one young ant colony takes over the Cecropia plant, several initial patch communities are finally fused and expected to increase microbial diversity. Second, new diazotrophs could be introduced from outside when ant workers in established Azteca colonies are patrolling on the surface of the Cecropia tree [63]. Third, the difference between diazotrophic communities in IPs and EPs could be due to the patch transformation during ant colony growth.…”

Section: Mature Diazotrophic Community Differs From Initial Patches A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen fixation by diverse diazotrophic communities can support population growth of arboreal ants

et al. 2022

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Background Symbiotic ant-plant associations, in which ants live on plants, feed on plant-provided food, and protect host trees against threats, are ubiquitous across the tropics, with the Azteca-Cecropia associations being amongst the most widespread interactions in the Neotropics. Upon colonization of Cecropia’s hollow internodes, Azteca queens form small patches with plant parenchyma, which are then used as waste piles when the colony grows. Patches—found in many ant-plant mutualisms—are present throughout the colony life cycle and may supplement larval food. Despite their initial nitrogen (N)-poor substrate, patches in Cecropia accommodate fungi, nematodes, and bacteria. In this study, we investigated the atmospheric N2 fixation as an N source in patches of early and established ant colonies. Results Via 15N2 tracer assays, N2 fixation was frequently detected in all investigated patch types formed by three Azteca ant species. Quantified fixation rates were similar in early and established ant colonies and higher than in various tropical habitats. Based on amplicon sequencing, the identified microbial functional guild—the diazotrophs—harboring and transcribing the dinitrogenase reductase (nifH) gene was highly diverse and heterogeneous across Azteca colonies. The community composition differed between early and established ant colonies and partly between the ant species. Conclusions Our data show that N2 fixation can result in reasonable amounts of N in ant colonies, which might not only enable bacterial, fungal, and nematode growth in the patch ecosystems but according to our calculations can even support the growth of ant populations. The diverse and heterogeneous diazotrophic community implies a functional redundancy, which could provide the ant-plant-patch system with a higher resilience towards changing environmental conditions. Hence, we propose that N2 fixation represents a previously unknown potential to overcome N limitations in arboreal ant colonies.

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“…A produção de recursos alimentares deve ser incrementada constantemente e possui maiores custos de manutenção do que as defesas químicas (DaviDson & FisHer 1991), alocando para a defesa, recursos que seriam dirigidos ao crescimento ou reprodução da planta (Gianoli et al 2008). Assim, os investimentos em defesa devem ser diretamente associados ao valor do tecido da planta e à probabilidade de ataques por herbívoros (Gianoli et al 2008). Defesas químicas podem ter sido reduzidas ou perdidas em algumas plantas mirmecófitas (Janzen 1966), e as formigas cumprem as funções que seriam fornecidas por essas defesas químicas (Heil et al 2001).…”

Section: Custo Da Interaçãounclassified

Interação planta-inseto: Aspectos biológicos e ecológicos do mutualismo Cecropia-Azteca

2015

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EntomoBrasilis 8 (2): 85-90 (2015) FórumResumo. Uma associação bem conhecida dentre as interações ecológicas é o mutualismo entre plantas do gênero Cecropia e formigas, na maioria das vezes pertencentes ao gênero Azteca. Nesta interação, as formigas nidificam nas domáceas presentes no tronco oco das mirmecófitas e se alimentam de recursos alimentares fornecidos pela planta, conhecidos como corpúsculos mullerianos. Em compensação, as formigas protegem a planta hospedeira contra o ataque de herbívoros e a invasão por trepadeiras, e nutrem-na através de resíduos abandonados no tronco. Entretanto, a efetividade desta associação pode variar em função de vários fatores, como por exemplo, a espécie de formiga associada e o tipo de habitat da planta mirmecófita. Cerca de 10% das espécies de Cecropia perderam suas características atrativas, como por exemplo, espécies que habitam ilhas e altas altitudes. Aspectos como a riqueza de formigas associadas e estudos moleculares evidenciam que a colonização destas plantas ocorreu diversas vezes e independentemente por alguns gêneros de formigas. A pressão de seleção exercida por algumas espécies de formigas pode ter sido um dos fatores decisivos para o desenvolvimento dos traços atrativos para as formigas em Cecropia. Com a evolução destas características as formigas puderam se tornar um parceiro efetivo da planta, facilitando a co-evolução de interações mais específicas. Palavras-chave:Associação; Benefícios; Co-evolução; Formigas; Mirmecófita. Plant-Insect Interactions: Biological and Ecological Aspects of Cecropia-Azteca MutualismAbstract. A well-known association is the mutualism between plants is between plant species of the genus Cecropia and ants, mostly belonging to the genus Azteca. In this association, the ants nest in domatia present in the hollow trunk of this myrmecophytes and feed on food bodies provided by the plant, known as mullerian bodies. In return, the ants protect the host plant against herbivore attacks and invasion by vines, and nourish it through waste laid in the trunk. However, the effectiveness of this association may vary with several factors, such as the associated ant species and the habitat type of the myrmecophyte. About 10% of Cecropia species lost their attractive characteristics, such as species living in high altitude and inhabit islands. Aspects like associated ant richness and molecular studies show that the colonization of these plants by ants occurred several times and independently by different genera. The selection pressure exerted by some species of ants may have been one of the decisive factors for the development of attractive traits for ants in Cecropia. With the evolution of these features ants might become an effective partner of the plant, facilitating the co-evolution of specific interactions.

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Patterns of Azteca ants’ defence of Cecropia trees in a tropical rainforest: support for optimal defence theory

Cited by 8 publications

References 24 publications

Volatiles defenses of AmazonAztecaants (repellent ants)

Volatiles defenses of AmazonAztecaants (repellent ants)

Nitrogen fixation by diverse diazotrophic communities can support population growth of arboreal ants

Interação planta-inseto: Aspectos biológicos e ecológicos do mutualismo Cecropia-Azteca

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