The chemistry of competition: exploitation of heterospecific cues depends on the dominance rank in the community

Binz, Hellena; Foitzik, Susanne; Staab, Franziska; Menzel, Florian

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.05.024

Cited by 22 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Such an effect could have occurred through predation, disturbance (e.g. interspecies competition; Binz et al, 2014), higher fitness costs for tending ants and therefore a lower willingness to defend against aphid natural enemies (reviewed in Stadler & Dixon, 2005). Furthermore, it is also possible that these ants change their mutualistic behaviour to an antagonistic behaviour and act as predators after a few weeks of tending, leading to a higher probability that colonies will become extinct.…”

Section: Mutualistsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat variation, mutualism and predation shape the spatio‐temporal dynamics of tansy aphids

Senft

Weisser

Zytynska

2017

Ecological Entomology

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1. Spatially distributed resources can lead to the formation of metapopulations, where individual subpopulations are often small and can experience frequent local extinction events followed by recolonisation. An example of terrestrial metapopulations are specialised phytophagous insects on their patchily distributed host plants.2. The present study investigated the population dynamics of a specialised aphid (Metopeurum fuscoviride) on its patchily distributed host plant (Tanacetum vulgare) and associated community of mutualistic ants and predators in a small-scale field site. Furthermore, aphid habitat differences (plant size, C/N ratio, location and surrounding vegetation) were quantified, and seasonal timing and precipitation were considered.3. Seasonal timing and precipitation both had effects on aphid colonisation, extinction events and aphid colony persistence. Towards the end of the season, and after higher precipitation, aphid colonisation events decreased and extinction events increased. Plant size and location as well as aphid within-field dispersal determined the spatio-temporal distribution of aphid colonies.4. Mutualistic ants (Lasius niger and Myrmica rubra) increased the chance of establishment of aphid colonies. However, when M. rubra was tending, aphid colony persistence was reduced. Aphid persistence and extinction were dependent on aphid abundance, as a higher colony size reduced the probability of extinction by predation.5. The results emphasise the importance of dispersal limitation, population growth and the presence of mutualists when studying the spatio-temporal dynamics of tansy aphids, particularly in a small-scale field site.

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Section: Mutualistsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat variation, mutualism and predation shape the spatio‐temporal dynamics of tansy aphids

Senft

Weisser

Zytynska

2017

Ecological Entomology

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“…Chemical signaling forms a crucial part of an organism's extended phenotype and has several advantages over more direct (e.g., visual, behavioral) forms of signaling such as safety from competitors or predators (K. F. Haynes & Yeargan, 1999;Schaedelin & Taborsky, 2009). Chemical signals such as latrines simultaneously transmit multiple channels of information about the signaller including sex and breeding status (Jordan, 2007), dominance (Binz, Foitzik, Staab, & Menzel, 2014), frequency of visitation (Eltz, 2006), individual identity (Burgener, Dehnhard, Hofer, & East, 2009), and even health status (Zala, Potts, & Penn, 2004) without the need for direct contact. In terrestrial mammals, chemical signaling is particularly adaptive in species that are solitary, wide-ranging, occur at low densities, or occupy closed habitats in which direct conspecific interactions are rare (Heinsohn & Packer, 1995).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Logging roads as surrogates for elephant trails: Facilitating social signaling by small forest ungulates despite increasing risks

Naude¹,

Becker²,

Mayberry

et al. 2019

Conservat Sci and Prac

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With global elephant populations in decline, a grave consideration is the loss of their ecological engineering effects that benefit other species, such as the maintenance of extensive trails through tropical forests. Anthropogenic roads can serve as surrogates for elephant trails despite exposing users to higher risk from bushmeat harvest. We explored the use of forest management roads by Weyns's duiker (Cephalophus weynsi) in Kibale Forest, Uganda. Faecal latrines were located on the road, clustered, and frequently revisited and replaced, with no latrines found in the surrounding forest or trails. Latrines occurred most frequently at road/trail intersections, at the road center, and where canopy and ground vegetation cover were lowest. Latrine decay in the forest was significantly higher than on the road and an exclusion treatment indicated coprophagous beetles as the primary agents of dung removal. Our findings demonstrate the dependence of a forest ungulate on roads for social signaling through dung, which is a behavior common to cryptic forest mammals that coevolved with trail-forging megaherbivores. While logging roads pose multiple threats to forest biodiversity, the catastrophic decline of elephant populations means that forest managers must consider weighing these costs against the benefits of conserving at least some roads as surrogates for elephant trails. K E Y W O R D S

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“…coxipoensis were attracted to allocolonial odor cues that they were previously exposed ( Figure 3). The use of interindividual/interspecific cues to obtain own benefits, such as access to resource or information about risk, has already been demonstrated for a range of animals (e.g., Binz, Foitzik, Staab, & Menzel, 2014;Goodale, Beauchamp, Magrath, Nieh, & Ruxton, 2010;Silverman, Veit, & Nevitt, 2004), including termites Cristaldo, Rodrigues, Elliot, Araújo, & DeSouza, 2016;Evans et al, 2009). Although the use of allocolonial foraging cues is still an unexplored subject in termites (but see Cristaldo, 2018), the attraction of allocolonial odor cues observed here strongly indicates that termites could use this cues to access new food sources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attraction and vibration: Effects of previous exposure and type of food resource in the perception of allocolonial odors in termites

et al. 2018

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Social insects have an efficient recognition system that guarantees social cohesion and protection against intruders in their colonies and territories. However, the energy costs in constant conflicts with neighboring colonies could promote a reduction in the fitness of colonies. Here, we evaluated the effect of previous exposure to allocolonial odor and the consumption of similar food resources on aggressive behavior and choice of allocolonial cues in Nasutitermes aff. coxipoensis (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae). Our results showed that intercolonial aggressiveness was not affected by previous exposure to allocolonial odor and by the consumption of similar food resources. However, individuals previously exposed to allocolonial odor were more attracted to these odors than individuals who had no prior exposure to allocolonial odor. In addition, individuals from colonies of N. aff. coxipoensis that use similar food resources increased alertness via a greater number of vibration than individuals who consumed different food resources. In general, our results indicate that colonies of N. aff coxipoensis perceive allocolonial cues that have been previously exposed and that the consumption of similar resources triggers an alert signal between individuals. Additional studies are necessary to assess how widespread this capacity of perception is present among the different Isoptera groups and the consequences of colony recognition odor cues on termite space use.

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The chemistry of competition: exploitation of heterospecific cues depends on the dominance rank in the community

Cited by 22 publications

References 68 publications

Habitat variation, mutualism and predation shape the spatio‐temporal dynamics of tansy aphids

Habitat variation, mutualism and predation shape the spatio‐temporal dynamics of tansy aphids

Logging roads as surrogates for elephant trails: Facilitating social signaling by small forest ungulates despite increasing risks

Attraction and vibration: Effects of previous exposure and type of food resource in the perception of allocolonial odors in termites

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