Effect of ant attendance on aphid population growth and above ground biomass of the aphid's host plant (original) (raw)
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Ant Larval Demand Reduces Aphid Colony Growth Rates in an Ant-Aphid Interaction
Insects, 2012
Ants often form mutualistic interactions with aphids, soliciting honeydew in return for protective services. Under certain circumstances, however, ants will prey upon aphids. In addition, in the presence of ants aphids may increase the quantity or quality of honeydew produced, which is costly. Through these mechanisms, ant attendance can reduce aphid colony growth rates. However, it is unknown whether demand from within the ant colony can affect the ant-aphid interaction. In a factorial experiment, we tested whether the presence of larvae in Lasius niger ant colonies affected the growth rate of Aphis fabae colonies. Other explanatory variables tested were the origin of ant colonies (two separate colonies were used) and previous diet (sugar only or sugar and protein). We found that the presence of larvae in the ant colony significantly reduced the growth rate of aphid colonies. Previous diet and colony origin did not affect aphid colony growth rates. Our results suggest that ant colonies balance the flow of two separate resources from aphid colonies-renewable sugars or a protein-rich meal, depending on demand from ant larvae within the nest. Aphid payoffs from the ant-aphid interaction may change on a seasonal basis, as the demand from larvae within the ant colony waxes and wanes.
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.
Timing of dispersal: effect of ants on aphids
Oecologia, 2007
Mutualists can affect many life history traits of their partners, but it is unclear how this translates into population dynamics of the latter. Ant-aphid associations are ideal for studying this question, as ants affect aphids, both positively (e.g., protection against natural enemies) and negatively (e.g., reduction of potential growth rates). The unresolved question is whether these effects, which have been observed at the level of individuals and under controlled environmental conditions, have consequences at the population level. On estimating aerial aphid populations by using weekly suction trap data spanning up to 22 years from different locations in France, we show that in ant-attended aphid species long-distance dispersal occurs significantly later, but that the year-to-year changes in the peak number of migrants are not significantly lower than for non-attended aphids. Host alternation had the same retarding effect on dispersal as ant attendance. We discuss the delay in the timing of dispersal in ant-attended aphids, and potential costs that arise in mutualistic systems.
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.
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.
Entomological News, 2019
ABSTRACT: An aphid, Macrosiphoniella yomogicola, establishes an obligate symbiosis with ants and cannot survive without attending ants. Several species of ant attend this aphid, but differences in the effects of attending ant species on the fate of aphid colonies are unknown. Here, we report that parasitism rates by parasitic wasps and the survival of aphid colonies differ depending on the species of attending ants in this symbiotic system in autumn 2017. the proportions of mummies (parasitized aphid individuals) were significantly higher in colonies attended by ants (tetramorium tsushimae and Pheidole fervida) other than lasius japonicus, which is the most abundant attender. Only the aphid colonies attended by l. japonicus survived to the end of the observational period. Our results indicate that the species of attending ant has a crucial effect on the fate of symbiotic aphid colonies.
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.
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Effects of Aphids on Foliar Foraging by Argentine Ants and the Resulting Effects on Other Arthropods
Ecological …, 2008
1. Although interactions between ants and honeydew-producing insects have received considerable study, relatively little is known about how these interactions alter the behaviour of ants in ways that affect other arthropods. In this study, field and greenhouse experiments were performed that examined how the presence of aphids ( Aphis fabae solanella ) on Solanum nigrum influenced the foraging behaviour of Argentine ants ( Linepithema humile ) and, in turn, modified the extent to which ants deter larval lacewings ( Chrysoperla rufilabris ), which are known aphid predators.
Do aphids actively search for ant partners?
Insect Science, 2014
The aphid-ant mutualistic relationships are not necessarily obligate for neither partners but evidence is that such interactions provide them strong advantages in terms of global fitness. While it is largely assumed that ants actively search for their mutualistic partners namely using volatile cues; whether winged aphids (i.e., aphids' most mobile form) are able to select ant-frequented areas had not been investigated so far. Ant-frequented sites would indeed offer several advantages for these aphids including a lower predation pressure through ant presence and enhanced chances of establishing mutuaslistic interactions with neighbor ant colonies. In the field, aphid colonies are often observed in higher densities around ant nests, which is probably linked to a better survival ensured by ants' services. Nevertheless, this could also result from a preferential establishment of winged aphids in ant-frequented areas. We tested this last hypothesis through different ethological assays and show that the facultative myrmecophilous black bean aphid, Aphis fabae L., does not orientate its search for a host plant preferentially toward ant-frequented plants. However, our results suggest that ants reduce the number of winged aphids leaving the newly colonized plant. Thus, ants involved in facultative myrmecophilous interactions with aphids appear to contribute to structure aphid populations in the field by ensuring a better establishment and survival of newly established colonies rather than by inducing a deliberate plant selection by aphid partners based on the proximity of ant colonies.