Effect of ant attendance on aphid population growth and above ground biomass of the aphid's host plant (original) (raw)

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