Relative fitness of aphids: effects of plant quality and ants (original) (raw)
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European Journal of Entomology, 2017
From a general perspective on the nature of condition dependency in mutualism, ant attendance not only has positive effects (e.g. Breton & Addicott, 1992; Morales, 2000), but also negative effects on the per capita fi tness of aphids. Indeed, a reduction in body size and number of embryos in aphids (Stadler & Dixon, 1998; Yao, 2014) and predation upon aphids by ants (Pontin, 1958; Billick et al., 2007) are reported costs associated with ant attendance. Given that ant attendance can also infl uence the developmental time of aphid nymphs (Stadler & Dixon, 1998; Yao et al., 2000), examining its effect on aphids in each developmental stage can provide a critical insight into understanding the fi tness outcome and population dynamics of aphids (Cushman
Ant-aphid mutualism: the influence of ants on the aphid summer cycle
Oikos, 2012
Th ere are few longtime studies on the eff ects on aphids of being tended by ants. Th e aim of this study is to investigate how the presence of ants infl uences settling decisions by colonizing aphids and the post-settlement growth and survival of aphid colonies. We conducted a fi eld experiment using the facultative myrmecophile Aphis fabae and the ant Lasius niger . Th e experiment relied on natural aphid colonization of potted plants of scentless mayweed Tripleurospermum perforatum placed outdoors. Ants occurred naturally at the fi eld site and had access to half of the pots and were prevented from accessing the remainder. Th e presence of winged, dispersing aphids, the growth and survival of establishing aphid colonies, and the presence of parasitoids were measured in relation to presence or absence of ants, over a period of fi ve weeks. Th e presence of ants did not signifi cantly infl uence the pattern of initial host plant colonization or the initial colony growth, but ant-tended aphids were subject to higher parasitism by hymenopteran parasitoids. Th e net result over the experimental period was that the presence of ants decreased aphid colony productivity, measured as the number of winged summer migrants produced from the colonized host plants. Th is implies that aphids do not always benefi t from the presence of ants, but under some conditions rather pay a cost in the form of reduced dispersal.
International Journal of Zoological Investigations, 2021
The present study sheds light on the consumptive effects (CEs) and the non-consumptive effects (NCEs) of a generalist, Oxyopes javanus Thorell, and a specialist arthropod predator, Coccinella transversalis Fabricius, on an aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover, a pest of an extrafloral nectar-bearing, Clerodendrum infortunatum L. plant. Our results revealed that the percentage of aphids consumed (i.e. CE) by the two species of arthropod predators was significantly higher in the absence of the two species of plant-visiting ants, Camponotus compressus (Fabricius) and Crematogaster subnuda Mayr, than in the presence of either of the two ant species. Further, the ladybird beetle, Coccinella transversalis consumed a significantly higher percentage of aphids in the presence of the ant Crematogaster subnuda than in the presence of Camponotus compressus, indicating the differential effects of the two ant species on the CEs of the aphidophagous ladybird beetle. The NCEs of the predators on the aphids was insignificantly higher in the absence of both of the ant species. The inclusion of ants along with the two species of arthropod predators in the experimental arena significantly reduced the anti-predatory escape response exhibited by the aphids. This suggests that the facultative ant-aphid mutualistic association influences the CEs as well as the NCEs of the arboreal predators on the aphid pests. These results have significant implications in the use of arthropod predators as biocontrol agents in the management of honeydew producing hemipteran pests, under field conditions.
Plant Ecology, 2020
Ant–aphid mutualisms can generate cascade effects on the host plants, but these impacts depend on the ecological context. We studied the consequences of ant–aphid interactions on the reproductive performance of a Mediterranean leafless shrub (Retama sphaerocarpa), through direct and indirect effects on the arthropod community. By manipulating the presence of ants and aphids in the field, we found that ants increased aphid abundance and their persistence on the plant and reduced aphid predators by nearly half. However, the presence of ants did not affect the abundance of other plant herbivores, which were relatively scarce in the studied plants. Aphids, and particularly those tended by ants, had a negative impact on the plant reproductive performance by significantly reducing the number of fruits produced. However, fruit and seed traits were not changed by the presence of aphids or those tended by ants. We show that ants favoured aphids by protecting them from their natural enemies but did not indirectly benefit plants through herbivory suppression, resulting in a net negative impact on the plant reproductive performance. Our study suggests that the benefits obtained by plants from hosting ant–aphid mutualisms are dependent on the arthropod community and plant traits.
PLOS ONE, 2017
Ant-aphid interactions may affect host plants in several ways, however, most studies measure only the amount of fruit and seed produced, and do not test seed viability. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the effects of the presence of ant-aphid interactions upon host plant productivity and seed viability in two different contexts: isolated and within an arthropod community. For this purpose we tested the hypothesis that in both isolated and community contexts, the presence of an ant-aphid interaction will have a positive effect on fruit and seed production, seed biomass and rate of seed germination, and a negative effect on abnormal seedling rates, in comparison to plants without ants. We performed a field mesocosm experiment containing five treatments: Ant-aphid, Aphid, Community, Ant-free community and Control. We counted fruits and seeds produced by each treatment, and conducted experiments for seed biomass and germinability. We found that in the community context the presence of an ant-aphid interaction negatively affected fruit and seed production. We think this may be because aphid attendance by tending-ants promotes aphid damage to the host plant, but without an affect on seed weight and viability. On the other hand, when isolated, the presence of an ant-aphid interaction positively affected fruit and seed production. These positive effects are related to the cleaning services offered to aphids by tending-ants, which prevent the development of saprophytic fungi on the surface of leaves, which would cause a decrease in photosynthetic rates. Our study is important because we evaluated some parameters of plant fitness that have not been addressed very well by other PLOS ONE |
Predation Success By A Plant-Ant Indirectly Favours The Growth And Fitness Of Its Host Myrmecophyte
PLoS ONE, 2013
Mutualisms, or interactions between species that lead to net fitness benefits for each species involved, are stable and ubiquitous in nature mostly due to ''byproduct benefits'' stemming from the intrinsic traits of one partner that generate an indirect and positive outcome for the other. Here we verify if myrmecotrophy (where plants obtain nutrients from the refuse of their associated ants) can explain the stability of the tripartite association between the myrmecophyte Hirtella physophora, the ant Allomerus decemarticulatus and an Ascomycota fungus. The plant shelters and provides the ants with extrafloral nectar. The ants protect the plant from herbivores and integrate the fungus into the construction of a trap that they use to capture prey; they also provide the fungus and their host plant with nutrients. During a 9-month field study, we over-provisioned experimental ant colonies with insects, enhancing colony fitness (i.e., more winged females were produced). The rate of partial castration of the host plant, previously demonstrated, was not influenced by the experiment. Experimental plants showed higher d 15 N values (confirming myrmecotrophy), plus enhanced vegetative growth (e.g., more leaves produced increased the possibility of lodging ants in leaf pouches) and fitness (i.e., more fruits produced and more flowers that matured into fruit). This study highlights the importance of myrmecotrophy on host plant fitness and the stability of ant-myrmecophyte mutualisms.
The cost of ant attendance and melezitose secretion in the black bean aphid Aphis fabae
Ecological Entomology, 2015
1. The aphid Aphis fabae (Scopoli) is facultatively tended by Lasius niger (Linnaeus) ants. Previously, we found that A. fabae colonies can be made up of several clones, and that clones display significant differences in the composition of their honeydew sugars, especially in the amount of the ant attractant sugar melezitose that they produce.
The effect size of aphid-tending ants in an agricultural tri-trophic system
Journal of Applied Entomology, 2017
Most studies regarding ant-aphid interactions focus only on the direct effects of ants on tended aphids and aphidophagous predators, or the indirect effects on the host plant. Studies evaluating the effects of aphid-tending ants on more than one trophic level are rare and evaluate only the presence or absence of such effects. Here we assessed the effect sizes of ants in a tri-trophic system (common bean plants, aphids and lacewing larvae). We tested if the presence of aphid-tending ants has positive effects on aphid abundance and host-plant production and negative effects on aphid predator abundance. We also hypothesized that aphid-tending ants affect more intensely trophic levels that are more directly related to them (i.e., first aphids, then aphid predators and then host plants). We tested these hypotheses in field mesocosms experiments using the presence and absence of ants. We found that aphid-tending ants have great positive effects on final aphid abundance. Ants also positively affected the number of seeds; however, it was not possible to measure the effect size for this trophic level. Furthermore, ants had negative effects on lacewing larvae only at first release. The effect size of ants was greater for aphids, followed by lacewing larvae, and with no effects on the number of seeds produced. Ants positively affect aphids and host-plant production, probably by way of honeydew collection preventing the development of entomophagous/saprophytic fungi. On the other hand, ants negatively affect lacewing larvae by excluding them from the host plant. In natural systems, several ant species may attend aphids, differently affecting the organisms of the various trophic levels within the ant-aphid interaction, thereby obscuring the real effect size of ants. Assessing the effect size of aphid-tending ants on the organisms involved in ant-aphid interactions provides more realistic information about the effects of this interaction on natural systems.
The cost of ant attendance and melezitose secretion in the black bean aphid A phis fabae
Ecological Entomology, 2015
1. The aphid Aphis fabae (Scopoli) is facultatively tended by Lasius niger (Linnaeus) ants. Previously, we found that A. fabae colonies can be made up of several clones, and that clones display significant differences in the composition of their honeydew sugars, especially in the amount of the ant attractant sugar melezitose that they produce. 2. These clonal differences could greatly impact the strength of the mutualistic interaction with ants as well as the aphids' fitness. 3. Hence, the aim of this study was to compare the fitness of different A. fabae clones that differed in their melezitose secretion, and whether or not they were tended by ants. 4. Individual fitness indices, colony growth, and alate production of single-clone aphid colonies were analysed. 5. The results demonstrate that the fitness consequences of ant attendance critically depend on an interaction between levels of melezitose production. In particular, we show that high-melezitose secreting clones produce fewer alates and hence might have a lower dispersal ability in the presence of ants. 6. Furthermore, these data confirm previous evidence that ant attendance is costly and results in the production of fewer apterae.