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Cascading trait-mediated interactions induced by ant pheromones.

ABSTRACT: Trait-mediated indirect interactions (TMII) can be as important as density-mediated indirect interactions. Here, we provide evidence for a novel trait-mediated cascade (where one TMII affects another TMII) and demonstrate that the mechanism consists of a predator eavesdropping on chemical signaling. Ants protect scale insects from predation by adult coccinellid beetles - the first TMII. However, parasitic phorid flies reduce ant foraging activity by 50% - the second TMII, providing a window of opportunity for female beetles to oviposit in high-quality microsites. Beetle larvae are protected from ant predation and benefit from living in patches with high scale densities. We demonstrate that female beetles can detect pheromones released by the ant when attacked by phorids, and that only females, and especially gravid females, are attracted to the ant pheromone. As ants reduce their movement when under attack by phorids, we conclude that phorids facilitate beetle oviposition, thus producing the TMII cascade.

SUBMITTER: Hsieh HY

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3488669 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cascading trait-mediated interactions induced by ant pheromones.

Hsieh Hsun-Yi HY Liere Heidi H Soto Estelí J EJ Perfecto Ivette I

Ecology and evolution 20120727 9

Trait-mediated indirect interactions (TMII) can be as important as density-mediated indirect interactions. Here, we provide evidence for a novel trait-mediated cascade (where one TMII affects another TMII) and demonstrate that the mechanism consists of a predator eavesdropping on chemical signaling. Ants protect scale insects from predation by adult coccinellid beetles - the first TMII. However, parasitic phorid flies reduce ant foraging activity by 50% - the second TMII, providing a window of o ...[more]

PMID: 23139877

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Project description:Induced responses in plants, initiated by herbivory, create potential for trait-mediated indirect interactions among herbivores. Responses to an initial herbivore may change a number of plant traits that subsequently alter ecological processes with additional herbivores. Although common, indirect interactions between taxonomically distant herbivores, such as mammals and insects, are less studied than between taxonomically related species (i.e., insect-insect). In terms of mammal-insect interactions, effects on insect numbers (e.g., density) are relatively well studied, whereas effects on performance (e.g., fecundity) are rarely explored. Moreover, few studies have explored mammal-insect interactions on coniferous plants.The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of mammalian induced responses on insect performance. We specifically investigated the effect of moose (Alces alces) browsing on Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and subsequent effects on sawfly (Neodiprion sertifer) performance.Sawfly larvae were reared on browsed, clipped, and unbrowsed control pine trees in a controlled field experiment. Afterward, cocoon weight was measured. Needle C:N ratio and di-terpene content were measured in response to browsing.Sawfly performance was enhanced on trees browsed by moose. Cocoon weight (proxy for fecundity) was 9 and 13% higher on browsed and clipped trees compared to unbrowsed trees. Cocoon weight was weakly related to needle C:N ratio, and browsed trees had lower a C:N ratio compared to unbrowsed trees. Needle di-terpene content, known to affect sawfly performance, was neither affected by the browsing treatments nor did it correlate with sawfly weight.We conclude that mammalian herbivory can affect insect herbivore performance, with potential consequences for ecological communities and with particular importance for insect population dynamics. The measured plant variables could not fully explain the effect on sawfly performance providing a starting point for the consideration of additional plant responses induced by mammalian browsing affecting insect performance.

Project description:Background and aimsPlants display a wide range of traits that allow them to use animals for vital tasks. To attract and reward aggressive ants that protect developing leaves and flowers from consumers, many plants bear extrafloral nectaries (EFNs). EFNs are exceptionally diverse in morphology and locations on a plant. In this study the evolution of EFN diversity is explored by focusing on the legume genus Senna, in which EFNs underwent remarkable morphological diversification and occur in over 80 % of the approx. 350 species.MethodsEFN diversity in location, morphology and plant ontogeny was characterized in wild and cultivated plants, using scanning electron microscopy and microtome sectioning. From these data EFN evolution was reconstructed in a phylogenetic framework comprising 83 Senna species.Key resultsTwo distinct kinds of EFNs exist in two unrelated clades within Senna. 'Individualized' EFNs (iEFNs), located on the compound leaves and sometimes at the base of pedicels, display a conspicuous, gland-like nectary structure, are highly diverse in shape and characterize the species-rich EFN clade. Previously overlooked 'non-individualized' EFNs (non-iEFNs) embedded within stipules, bracts, and sepals are cryptic and may represent a new synapomorphy for clade II. Leaves bear EFNs consistently throughout plant ontogeny. In one species, however, early seedlings develop iEFNs between the first pair of leaflets, but later leaves produce them at the leaf base. This ontogenetic shift reflects our inferred diversification history of iEFN location: ancestral leaves bore EFNs between the first pair of leaflets, while leaves derived from them bore EFNs either between multiple pairs of leaflets or at the leaf base.ConclusionsEFNs are more diverse than previously thought. EFN-bearing plant parts provide different opportunities for EFN presentation (i.e. location) and individualization (i.e. morphology), with implications for EFN morphological evolution, EFN-ant protective mutualisms and the evolutionary role of EFNs in plant diversification.

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Cascading trait-mediated interactions induced by ant pheromones.

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Cascading trait-mediated interactions induced by ant pheromones.

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