Topic
Azteca
About: Azteca is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 257 publications have been published within this topic receiving 6225 citations.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
TL;DR: It is hypothesized that the high availability of homopteran honeydew provides a key resource for ant mosaics, where dominant ant colonies and species maintain mutually exclusive territories on trees.
Abstract: Ant-plant interactions in the canopy of a lowland Amazonian rainforest of the upper Orinoco, Venezuela, were studied using a modified commercial crane on rails (Surumoni project). Our observations show a strong correlation between plant sap exudates and both abundance of ants and co-occurrence of ant species in tree canopies. Two types of plant sap sources were compared: extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) and honeydew secretions by homopterans. EFNs were a frequent food source for ants on epiphytes (Philodendron spp., Araceae) and lianas (Dioclea, Fabaceae), but rare on canopy trees in the study area, whereas the majority of trees were host to aggregations of homopterans tended by honeydew-seeking ants (on 62% of the trees examined). These aggregations rarely occurred on epiphytes. Baited ant traps were installed on plants with EFNs and in the crowns of trees from three common genera, including trees with and without ant-tended homopterans: Goupia glabra (Celastraceae), Vochysia spp. (Vochysiaceae), and Xylopia spp. (Annonaceae). The number of ant workers per trap was significantly higher on plants offering one of the two plant sap sources than on trees without such resources. Extrafloral nectaries were used by a much broader spectrum of ant species and genera than honeydew, and co-occurrence of ant species (in traps) was significantly higher on plants bearing EFNs than on trees. Homopteran honeydew (Coccidae and Membracidae), on the other hand, was mostly monopolised by a single ant colony per tree. Homopteran-tending ants were generally among the most dominant ants in the canopy. The most prominent genera were Azteca, Dolichoderus (both Dolichoderinae), Cephalotes, Pheidole, Crematogaster (all Myrmicinae), and Ectatomma (Ponerinae). Potential preferences were recorded between ant and homopteran species, and also between ant-homopteran associations and tree genera. We hypothesize that the high availability of homopteran honeydew provides a key resource for ant mosaics, where dominant ant colonies and species maintain mutually exclusive territories on trees. In turn, we propose that for nourishment of numerous ants of lower competitive capacity, Philodendron and other sources of EFNs might be particularly important.
319 citations
TL;DR: It is reported that the primary ant symbiont, Allomerus cf.
Abstract: Exploring the factors governing the maintenance and breakdown of cooperation between mutualists is an intriguing and enduring problem for evolutionary ecology, and symbioses between ants and plants can provide useful experimental models for such studies. Hundreds of tropical plant species have evolved structures to house and feed ants, and these ant–plant symbioses have long been considered classic examples of mutualism. Here, we report that the primary ant symbiont, Allomerus cf. demerarae , of the most abundant ant–plant found in south–east Peru, Cordia nodosa Lam., castrates its host plant. Allomerus workers protect new leaves and their associated domatia from herbivory, but destroy flowers, reducing fruit production to zero in most host plants. Castrated plants occupied by Allomerus provide more domatia for their associated ants than plants occupied by three species of Azteca ants that do not castrate their hosts. Allomerus colonies in larger plants have higher fecundity. As a consequence, Allomerus appears to benefit from its castration behaviour, to the detriment of C. nodosa . The C. nodosa –ant system exhibits none of the retaliatory or filtering mechanisms shown to stabilize cheating in other cooperative systems, and appears to persist because some of the plants, albeit a small minority, are inhabited by the three species of truly mutualistic Azteca ants.
179 citations
TL;DR: It is experimentally demonstrated that sapling Cecropia aff.
Abstract: In this 15 month investigation I experimentally demonstrated that sapling Cecropia aff. obtusifolia in lowland western Ecuador grow more vigorously when occupied by the ant Azteca constructor than when the ants have been removed. Thus the interaction is directly beneficial to Cecropia juveniles. The difference in growth is associated with differences in herbivory and vine cover. Removal of ants significantly increases nocturnal Coleoptera herbivory on unoccupied plants. In contrast to the influence on beetle numbers, Azteca are ineffective against Homoptera and cecidomyiid gall flies. Although ant-occupied saplings had less chewing herbivore damage throughout the study, the ants were more effective protectors in the dry season than in the rainy season, when herbivore pressure increased. In addition to reducing herbivory, Azteca efficiently remove vines from occupied saplings.
160 citations
140 citations
TL;DR: Evidence that the flow of nutrients has been misjudged in the relationship between Cecropia trees and Azteca ants is presented, showing that ants rely on sources other than their host for food and make a rich source of nitrogen available to the host.
Abstract: Mutualisms, biological interactions from which each species benefits, are thought to be evolutionarily stable only under a limited set of circumstances. Underlying all mutualisms is an intrinsic conflict between the parties, in that each is under selection to further exploit the other. Conflict between mutualists will lead to instability unless each species receives a net benefit from the interaction. To understand how mutualisms persist, then, it is essential to document the exact nature of the interaction. The relationship between Cecropia trees and Azteca ants has been a model for the study of mutualism since its description more than 100 years ago. Ants live in Cecropia's hollow stems and harvest specialized food bodies produced by the host. In return, ants defend the plant from leaf-feeding herbivores and encroaching vegetation. Central to modeling this relationship is understanding the exchange of nutrients between symbionts. Here we present evidence that the flow of nutrients has been misjudged. Although ants consume plant products, they provide more nutrients than they receive. Using stable isotope analysis, we calculate that only about 18% of worker ant carbon is derived from Cecropia, whereas 93% of the nitrogen in ant-occupied host plants is derived from debris deposited by ants. Ants rely on sources other than their host for food and, in doing so, make a rich source of nitrogen available to the host.
135 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2018 | 17 |
| 2017 | 12 |
| 2016 | 15 |