DOCSLIB.ORG

Trees Duroia Hirsuta Ants in 'Devil's Gardens' Is Increased Herbivory On

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Trees Duroia Hirsuta Ants in 'Devil's Gardens' Is Increased Herbivory On Downloaded from rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org on January 9, 2012 The devil to pay: a cost of mutualism with Myrmelachista schumanni ants in 'devil's gardens' is increased herbivory on Duroia hirsuta trees Megan E Frederickson and Deborah M Gordon Proc. R. Soc. B 2007 274, 1117-1123 doi: 10.1098/rspb.2006.0415 References This article cites 40 articles http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/274/1613/1117.full.html#ref-list-1 Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article - sign up in the box at the top Email alerting service right-hand corner of the article or click here To subscribe to Proc. R. Soc. B go to: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/subscriptions Downloaded from rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org on January 9, 2012 Proc. R. Soc. B (2007) 274, 1117–1123 doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.0415 Published online 13 February 2007 The devil to pay: a cost of mutualism with Myrmelachista schumanni ants in ‘devil’s gardens’ is increased herbivory on Duroia hirsuta trees Megan E. Frederickson* and Deborah M. Gordon Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020, USA ‘Devil’s gardens’ are nearly pure stands of the myrmecophyte, Duroia hirsuta, that occur in Amazonian rainforests. Devil’s gardens are created by Myrmelachista schumanni ants, which nest in D. hirsuta trees and kill other plants using formic acid as an herbicide. Here, we show that this ant–plant mutualism has an associated cost; by making devil’s gardens, M. schumanni increases herbivory on D. hirsuta. We measured standing leaf herbivory on D. hirsuta trees and found that they sustain higher herbivory inside than outside devil’s gardens. We also measured the rate of herbivory on nursery-grown D. hirsuta saplings planted inside and outside devil’s gardens in ant-exclusion and control treatments. We found that when we excluded ants, herbivory on D. hirsuta was higher inside than outside devil’s gardens. These results suggest that devil’s gardens are a concentrated resource for herbivores. Myrmelachista schumanni workers defend D. hirsuta against herbivores, but do not fully counterbalance the high herbivore pressure in devil’s gardens. We suggest that high herbivory may limit the spread of devil’s gardens, possibly explaining why devil’s gardens do not overrun Amazonian rainforests. Keywords: ant–plant interactions; density dependence; diminishing returns; Janzen–Connell hypothesis; pure stands; resource concentration hypothesis 1. INTRODUCTION isolated D. hirsuta tree. The ants kill plants around the What limits the growth of populations engaged in mutual- D. hirsuta tree and over time other D. hirsuta trees establish in ism? Some factor must keep the growth of mutualistic the vegetation-free zone created by the ants. The ant colony populations under control else they would grow to be expands to occupy these new D. hirsuta trees and clears the infinitely large (Heithaus et al.1980; May 1981; Boucher vegetation around them. Devil’s gardens grow in this et al. 1982). Current models of mutualism emphasize that manner, sometimes reaching sizes of 600 trees or more. mutualisms can be stabilized by diminishing returns to the The density of D. hirsuta trees is 40 times higher inside than mutualism as populations grow (Holland et al. 2002; outside devil’s gardens, and a single devil’s garden can cover Bronstein et al.2003). These models propose that the more than a thousand square meters (M. E. Frederickson costs and benefits of mutualism are density dependent, as 2004, unpublished work). Nonetheless, each devil’s garden has been demonstrated by a few empirical studies (Breton & is tended by one polygynous colony of M. schumanni Addicott 1992; Morales 2000; Bronstein 2001). (M. E. Frederickson & D. M. Gordon 2007, unpublished Recently, we examined the cost due to herbivory in manuscript). Since M. schumanni colonies have multiple the mutualism between the ant species, Myrmelachista queens, they are potentially immortal and can live for schumanni Emery (Formicinae), and the plant species, hundreds of years (Frederickson et al.2005). These results Duroia hirsuta (Poeppig and Endl.) K. Schum (Rubiaceae). raise the question: what limits the spread of devil’s gardens? In the rainforests of the western Amazon, M. schumanni ants Here, we investigate whether herbivory could create nest in the swollen, hollow stems (domatia) on D. hirsuta. costs to the mutualism between M. schumanni and M. schumanni creates large, nearly monospecific stands of D. hirsuta, and thus potentially limit the growth of devil’s D. hirsuta by killing other plants using formic acid, thereby gardens. In addition to killing encroaching vegetation promoting the growth and establishment of D. hirsuta trees around their host plants, M. schumanni workers also (Frederickson et al.2005). These stands are called protect their host plants against herbivores, significantly supaychacras or ‘devil’s gardens’ because an Amazonian reducing leaf herbivory in an ant-exclusion experiment legend tells that the stands are cultivated by an evil forest (Frederickson 2005). In this way, M. schumanni behaves spirit. Here, we define a ‘devil’s garden’ as three or more similarly to many other ant species that act as mutualists M. schumanni-occupied trees clustered together in an area by reducing herbivory on plants in return for food or that is largely devoid of other plants. shelter (Bronstein 1998; Heil & McKey 2003). However, The mutualism between M. schumanni and D. hirsuta D. hirsuta trees occupied by M. schumanni often sustain begins when a M. schumanni queen colonizes a single high herbivore damage, despite the protection against herbivores provided by M. schumanni workers. Outside devil’s gardens, D. hirsuta trees are sometimes * Author and address for correspondence: Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA occupied by young M. schumanni colonies that spread over 02138, USA ([email protected]). just one or two D. hirsuta trees. Alternatively, outside Received 17 December 2006 1117 This journal is q 2007 The Royal Society Accepted 18 January 2007 Downloaded from rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org on January 9, 2012 1118 M. E. Frederickson & D. M. Gordon Herbivory cost of mutualism in devil’s gardens devil’s gardens, D. hirsuta trees can be occupied by another Myrmelachista cultivates nearly pure stands of myrmeco- ant species, Azteca depilis, or they can be unoccupied. Like phytes (ant-plants) throughout the western Amazon. It is not M. schumanni, A. depilis protects D. hirsuta against clear whether the ants are all M. schumanni or several species herbivores, but unlike M. schumanni, A. depilis does not of Myrmelachista. In different regions of the western Amazon, kill encroaching vegetation to make devil’s gardens Myrmelachista cultivates different species of ant-plants. In the (Frederickson 2005). As a result, one colony of A. depilis Sira Mountains of Peru, Myrmelachista makes nearly pure ants usually occupies only one D. hirsuta tree, while one stands of Tococa guianensis (Melastomataceae; Morawetz et al. colony of M. schumanni ants can occupy from one to 1992). At Jatun Sacha Biological Station in Ecuador, several hundred D. hirsuta trees. Myrmelachista makes stands consisting of a mixture of Previous work showed that herbivory is higher on T. guianensis and Clidemia heterophylla (Melastomataceae; M. schumanni-occupied D. hirsuta than on A. depilis- Renner & Ricklefs 1998).InMadredeDios,Peru, occupied D. hirsuta (Frederickson 2005). However, this Myrmelachista makes nearly pure stands of C. nodosa (M. E. study measured herbivory on M. schumanni-occupied Frederickson 1999, personal observation). It is not known D. hirsuta trees only in devil’s gardens and thus could not how Myrmelachista recognizes its host plants (Frederickson separate the effect of having M. schumanni from the effect of et al. 2005), nor why Myrmelachista cultivates only one or two growing in a devil’s garden. Hence, two factors could explain species of myrmecophytes when many species of myrmeco- the results of this study. Either A. depilis protects D. hirsuta phytes co-occur locally. against herbivores better than M. schumanni, or herbivores At MSBS, annual rainfall averages 2400–2800 mm, and are more abundant inside than outside devil’s gardens. Here, daily maximum and minimum temperatures average 31 and we test the latter hypothesis. 238C, respectively (Sombroek 2001; M. E. Frederickson Owing to the activities of M. schumanni, devil’s gardens 2003, personal observation). The climate of the region is are patches of very low plant diversity within an otherwise often considered aseasonal, because no month of the year hyper-diverse Amazonian rainforest. Devil’s gardens receives less than 100 mm of rain (Sombroek 2001; Vieira provide a rare opportunity to compare naturally occurring et al. 2004). However, rainfall is greater from November to pure and mixed stands of plants in the Amazonian April than from May to October in most, but not all years rainforest. Herbivore abundances are often higher in (Madigosky & Vatnick 2000; Frederickson 2006). In tropical pure stands than in mixed stands; the evidence for this forests with strongly seasonal climates, herbivore abundances comes mostly from agricultural settings (Root 1973; are usually lowest in the dry season (Wolda 1978; Coley & Andow 1991). In tropical forests, a few studies have Barone 1996). However, because the seasonality of climate at shown that herbivore pressure changes with conspecific MSBS is so weak, there may be little seasonal change in plant density (Denslow 1980; Clark & Clark 1985; herbivore abundances at this site. Blundell & Peart 1998; Sullivan 2003). A positive correlation between herbivore (or pathogen) pressure (b) Standing leaf herbivory and conspecific plant density is thought to explain the We investigated the hypothesis that herbivory is higher in pure spacing of tropical trees and even the extraordinary than in mixed stands of D. hirsuta. We measured standing diversity of tropical forests (Janzen 1970; Connell 1971; leaf herbivory on: (i) A. depilis-occupied D. hirsuta trees, Clark & Clark 1984; Peters 2003; Adler & Muller-Landau (ii) M.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Proyecto De Investigación Previo a La Obtención Del Título De Ingeniero
    UNIVERSIDAD ESTATAL AMAZÓNICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA INGENIERÍA AMBIENTAL Proyecto de Investigación previo a la obtención del Título de Ingeniero Ambiental Tema Levantamiento etnobotánico de plantas medicinales de la comunidad kichwa Villaflora, Amazonia ecuatoriana. Autor Wagner Josué Cruz Coca Director Dr. Dalton Marcelo Pardo Enríquez PhD. Pastaza – Ecuador 2020 DECLARACIÓN DE AUTORÍA Y CESIÓN DE DERECHOS. RESPONSABILIDAD Yo, Wagner Josué Cruz Coca, declaro que el contenido de esta investigación es de mi autoría. Wagner Josué Cruz Coca AGRADECIMIENTO. A mis padres Ángel Gaspar Cruz Benítez y Mirian Yolanda Coca Jácome dos grandes guerreros de la vida, que desde el comienzo de mi vida han sabido darme su amor y apoyo incondicional en todo momento, por el sacrificio que han hecho para sacarnos a mis hermanos y a mi adelante, con sus enseñanzas que han sido un pilar fundamental en mi crecimiento como ser humano y profesional. A la Universidad Y todos los que lo conforman por brindarnos su apoyo y confianza. A todos y cada uno de los docentes que a lo largo de mi trayectoria estudiantil supieron transmitir sus conocimientos en busca de la excelencia. Wagner Cruz DEDICATORIA. Para las personas que siempre han sabido apoyarme y hacerme creer en mí mismo, a ustedes Ángel Cruz y Mirian Coca. A mi querido Padre, por ser un padre ejemplar, por motivarme a superarme y alcanzar mis objetivos, por luchar cada día para mantener a toda la familia, no hay detalle más grande que ser tu hijo. A mi querida madre, por ser una madre amorosa y comprensiva, por creer en mí y darme su apoyo incondicional sin importar las circunstancias, por luchar día a día por ser un pilar fundamental en la familia, no podría estar más agradecido de ser su hijo.
    [Show full text]
  • Research Article Triterpenes and the Antimycobacterial Activity of Duroia Macrophylla Huber (Rubiaceae)
    Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Volume 2013, Article ID 605831, 7 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/605831 Research Article Triterpenes and the Antimycobacterial Activity of Duroia macrophylla Huber (Rubiaceae) Daiane Martins,1 Lillian Lucas Carrion,2 Daniela Fernandes Ramos,2 Kahlil Schwanka Salomé,3 Pedro Eduardo Almeida da Silva,2 Andersson Barison,3 and Cecilia Veronica Nunez1 1 Bioprospection and Biotechnology Laboratory, National Research Institute of Amazonia (INPA), 69060-001 Manaus, AM, Brazil 2 Mycobacterial Laboratory, Federal University Foundation of Rio Grande (FURG), 96200-190 Rio Grande, RS, Brazil 3 NMR Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Parana´ (UFPR), 81530-900 Curitiba, PR, Brazil Correspondence should be addressed to Cecilia Veronica Nunez; [email protected] Received 9 September 2012; Revised 17 December 2012; Accepted 1 January 2013 Academic Editor: Fabio Ferreira Perazzo Copyright © 2013 Daiane Martins et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Duroia macrophylla popularly known as “cabec¸a-de-urubu,”´ “apuru´ı,” or “puru´ı-grande-da-mata” occurs in the Amazon Forest. Its leaves and branches were collected twice and extracted with dichloromethane and methanol. All extracts were subjected to phytochemical investigation and terpenes and flavonoids were found in all dichloromethane and methanol extracts, respectively. Methanol extracts from both branches (1st collection) and leaves (2nd collection) presented hydrolyzed tannins, yet alkaloids were only detected in the dichloromethane and methanol extracts from branches at the 2nd collection.
    [Show full text]
  • Guillermo Bañares De Dios
    TESIS DOCTORAL Determinants of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity that explain the distribution of woody plants in tropical Andean montane forests along altitudinal gradients Autor: Guillermo Bañares de Dios Directores: Luis Cayuela Delgado Manuel Juan Macía Barco Programa de Doctorado en Conservación de Recursos Naturales Escuela Internacional de Doctorado 2020 © Photographs: Guillermo Bañares de Dios © Figures: Guillermo Bañares de Dios and collaborators Total or partial reproduction, distribution, public communication or transformation of the photographs and/or illustrations is prohibited without the express authorization of the author. Queda prohibida cualquier forma de reproducción, distribución, comunicación pública o transformación de las fotografías y/o figuras sin autorización expresa del autor. A mi madre. A mi padre. A mi hermano. A mis abuelos. A Julissa. “Entre todo lo que el hombre mortal puede obtener en esta vida efímera por concesión divina, lo más importante es que, disipada la tenebrosa oscuridad de la ignorancia mediante el estudio continuo, logre alcanzar el tesoro de la ciencia, por el cual se muestra el camino hacia la vida buena y dichosa, se conoce la verdad, se practica la justicia, y se iluminan las restantes virtudes […].” Fragmento de la carta bulada que el Papa Alejandro VI envió al cardenal Cisneros en 1499 autorizándole a crear una Universidad en Alcalá de Henares TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 | SUMMARY___________________________________________1 2 | RESUMEN____________________________________________4
    [Show full text]
  • SANDERS-DISSERTATION-2015.Pdf (13.52Mb)
    Disentangling the Coevolutionary Histories of Animal Gut Microbiomes The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Sanders, Jon G. 2015. Disentangling the Coevolutionary Histories of Animal Gut Microbiomes. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:17463127 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Disentangling the coevolutionary histories of animal gut microbiomes A dissertation presented by Jon Gregory Sanders to Te Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology in partial fulfllment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts April, 2015 ㏄ 2015 – Jon G. Sanders Tis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA. Professor Naomi E. Pierce Jon G. Sanders Professor Peter R. Girguis Disentangling the coevolutionary histories of animal gut microbiomes ABSTRACT Animals associate with microbes in complex interactions with profound ftness consequences. Tese interactions play an enormous role in the evolution of both partners, and recent advances in sequencing technology have allowed for unprecedented insight into the diversity and distribution of these associations.
    [Show full text]
  • Research Article Triterpenes and the Antimycobacterial Activity of Duroia Macrophylla Huber (Rubiaceae)
    Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Volume 2013, Article ID 605831, 7 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/605831 Research Article Triterpenes and the Antimycobacterial Activity of Duroia macrophylla Huber (Rubiaceae) Daiane Martins,1 Lillian Lucas Carrion,2 Daniela Fernandes Ramos,2 Kahlil Schwanka Salomé,3 Pedro Eduardo Almeida da Silva,2 Andersson Barison,3 and Cecilia Veronica Nunez1 1 Bioprospection and Biotechnology Laboratory, National Research Institute of Amazonia (INPA), 69060-001 Manaus, AM, Brazil 2 Mycobacterial Laboratory, Federal University Foundation of Rio Grande (FURG), 96200-190 Rio Grande, RS, Brazil 3 NMR Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Parana´ (UFPR), 81530-900 Curitiba, PR, Brazil Correspondence should be addressed to Cecilia Veronica Nunez; [email protected] Received 9 September 2012; Revised 17 December 2012; Accepted 1 January 2013 Academic Editor: Fabio Ferreira Perazzo Copyright © 2013 Daiane Martins et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Duroia macrophylla popularly known as “cabec¸a-de-urubu,”´ “apuru´ı,” or “puru´ı-grande-da-mata” occurs in the Amazon Forest. Its leaves and branches were collected twice and extracted with dichloromethane and methanol. All extracts were subjected to phytochemical investigation and terpenes and flavonoids were found in all dichloromethane and methanol extracts, respectively. Methanol extracts from both branches (1st collection) and leaves (2nd collection) presented hydrolyzed tannins, yet alkaloids were only detected in the dichloromethane and methanol extracts from branches at the 2nd collection.
    [Show full text]
  • Species Richness and Abundance of Epiphytic Araceae on Adjacent floodplain and Upland Forest in Amazonian Ecuador
    Biodiversity and Conservation 10: 1579–1593, 2001. © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. Species richness and abundance of epiphytic Araceae on adjacent floodplain and upland forest in Amazonian Ecuador RALF M. LEIMBECK∗ and HENRIK BALSLEV Department of Systematic Botany, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Aarhus, Nordlandsvej 68, DK-8240 Risskov, Denmark; *Author for correspondence (e-mail: [email protected]; fax: +45-89424747) Received 23 May 2000; accepted in revised form 26 October 2000 Abstract. Terrestrial plant communities of adjacent upland and floodplain forest of the Amazonian low- land differ from each other in species richness and composition. Epiphytes are generally not considered as being affected by flooding, but we found considerable variation in the communities of epiphytic Araceae of flooded and unflooded forest. Contrary to findings from tree or ground herb communities, no depletion in overall species richness was observed among epiphytic aroids of the floodplains. Abundance and number of epiphytic aroid species per phorophyte were significantly higher than in upland forest, and the species composition varied conspicuously between the two forest types. We suggest that these differences are due to elevated humidity and better soil quality on the floodplains and reject the assumption that flooding has no effect on the epiphytic community. Key words: Araceae, α-diversity, epiphytes, flooding effects, habitat heterogeneity, lowland rain forest, species composition, species distribution, species turnover Introduction The lowland Amazon rain forest is usually seen as consisting of two broad forest types, the unflooded upland forest (terra firme) and the floodplain forest (varzea, ígapo, etc., Prance 1979). Although many different forms within each of these types are recognised, inventories of their tree communities demonstrate that species richness (α-diversity) is higher in the unflooded upland forests than in floodplain forests (Campbell et al.
    [Show full text]
  • (Rubiaceae), a Uniquely Distylous, Cleistogamous Species Eric (Eric Hunter) Jones
    Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2012 Floral Morphology and Development in Houstonia Procumbens (Rubiaceae), a Uniquely Distylous, Cleistogamous Species Eric (Eric Hunter) Jones Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES FLORAL MORPHOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT IN HOUSTONIA PROCUMBENS (RUBIACEAE), A UNIQUELY DISTYLOUS, CLEISTOGAMOUS SPECIES By ERIC JONES A dissertation submitted to the Department of Biological Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2012 Eric Jones defended this dissertation on June 11, 2012. The members of the supervisory committee were: Austin Mast Professor Directing Dissertation Matthew Day University Representative Hank W. Bass Committee Member Wu-Min Deng Committee Member Alice A. Winn Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii I hereby dedicate this work and the effort it represents to my parents Leroy E. Jones and Helen M. Jones for their love and support throughout my entire life. I have had the pleasure of working with my father as a collaborator on this project and his support and help have been invaluable in that regard. Unfortunately my mother did not live to see me accomplish this goal and I can only hope that somehow she knows how grateful I am for all she’s done. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the members of my committee for their guidance and support, in particular Austin Mast for his patience and dedication to my success in this endeavor, Hank W.
    [Show full text]
  • "An Overview of the Species and Ecological Diversity of Ants"
    An Overview of the Advanced article Species and Ecological Article Contents . Introduction Diversity of Ants . Origin and Diversification of Ants Through Time . Taxonomic Diversity . Biogeography and Diversity Patterns of Ants Benoit Gue´nard, Biodiversity and biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and . Ecological Diversity of Ants Technology, Onna-son, Okinawa, Japan . Conclusion Online posting date: 15th May 2013 Since their appearance during the Cretaceous, ants have approximately 12 500 species of ants, all eusocial, have diversified to become today the most diverse group of been described and hundreds of new species are described social insects and one of the most influential groups of each year. Ant biologists estimate that the Formicidae organisms on the planet. More than 12 500 species of ants family could include no less than 20 000 species (Ho¨lldobler and Wilson, 1990). In comparison, there are ‘only’ are presently described, distributed within 21 sub- approximately 3000 termite species (Engel et al., 2009), families, with a large majority of the species belonging to 2000 species of social bees (8% of the total bees) and 1100 only four subfamilies. Ants are present in almost all ter- social wasp species (James Carpenter, personal communi- restrial ecosystems, their peak of diversity is found within cation) known. See also: Ecology and Social Organisation the tropical regions, and ant richness tends to decline of Bees both with increasing latitude and altitude. In most eco- In the first part of this article the diversity of ants from systems the ecological importance of ants, involved in geologic times to the present is reviewed, focusing on four numerous interactions with organisms ranging from taxonomically dominant groups and their spatial distri- bacteria, plants, fungi, arthropods to vertebrates, plays a bution.
    [Show full text]
  • Defense and Dispersal Mutualisms
    Defense and dispersal mutualisms Cecropia peltata wattled bellbird Mutualism review • Mutually beneficial associations of species (reciprocal parasitism). Benefits of the interaction tend to be context-dependent. • Horizontally transmitted (partners find each other each generation) • Vertically transmitted (partnership is inherited from previous generation) Defense mutualisms • Many examples of insect-plant defensive mutualisms. Particularly common for fast- growing plant species of high light environments • Plant-fungal mutualisms are much more widespread and important, but are much less conspicuous and therefore poorly studied Pioneer species often have ant defenses Cecropia (Urticaceae) Macaranga (Euphorbiaceae) Neotropics (61 spp) South East Asia (~300 spp) - Hollow stems inhabited by - Obligate relationship? Azteca ant species Crematogaster ants live in -prostomata (thin wall) hollow stems -Glycogen rich food bodies -prostomata (thin wall) (Mullerian bodies) produced at -Beccarian bodies produced petiole base on leaves and stipules Cecropia prostomata and mullerian bodies Bull-horn Acacia species (Americas, Africa) Pseudomyrmex ants (in central America) Obligate mutualism? Ant acacias lack alkaloid defenses present in species lacking ant mutualists Ants are extremely aggressive predators Ant-wasp commensalism? Many other plants have extra-floral nectaries to feed ants How context-dependent are ant-plant defensive mutualisms? Chamberlain and Holland (2009) – meta-analysis of the generality of ant effects on herbivory and plant performance.
    [Show full text]
  • Laura K. Marsh Colin A. Chapman Editors Complexity and Resilience
    Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects Series Editor: Louise Barrett Laura K. Marsh Colin A. Chapman Editors Primates in Fragments Complexity and Resilience Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects Series Editor: Louise Barrett For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/5852 Laura K. Marsh • Colin A. Chapman Editors Primates in Fragments Complexity and Resilience Editors Laura K. Marsh Colin A. Chapman Global Conservation Institute Department of Anthropology Santa Fe , NM , USA McGill School of Environment McGill University Montreal , QC , Canada ISBN 978-1-4614-8838-5 ISBN 978-1-4614-8839-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-8839-2 Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London Library of Congress Control Number: 2013945872 © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifi cally for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Alvaro J. Duque M
    Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Alvaro J. Duque M. Introduction 1.1 INTRODUCTION Northwestern Amazonian forest conservation: a challenge for ecologists The actual deforestation rates in Amazonian rain forests are extremely high. The worst case scenario could lead to an almost total disappearance of the largest tropical forest mass that nowadays exists on the earth, in a relatively short time (Laurance et al. 2001). Patterns of rain forest plant diversity in northwestern (NW) Amazonia have particular importance as plant diversity in this area reaches exceptional high values per unit area (Gentry 1988a, Valencia et al. 1994, ter Steege et al. 2003). To guarantee an effective conservation planning, basic knowledge on the distribution of individual species and species assemblages is necessary. In spite of the fact that information concerning to plant communities has much increased in the last decade, most studies have focused on trees because they are the most conspicuous elements in the forests (Gentry 1988b, Duivenvoorden 1995, 1996, Pitman et al. 1999, 2001, ter Steege et al. 2000, Condit et al. 2002). However, it is well known that vascular plant diversity in tropical rain forests is also well represented by other growth forms, such as climbers, shrubs, epiphytes and herbs (Gentry and Dobson 1987, Duivenvoorden 1994, Balslev et al. 1998, Galeano et al. 1998). In addition to this lack of knowledge on non-tree growth forms, most studies have been based on different methodological approaches at individual species or community level, different sample designs, and different spatial scales, which hampers the comparisons and extrapolations among independent case studies. The Pleistocene and Miocene-Pliocene climate history has been considered as the cornerstone to understand the origin of the plant and animal biodiversity and biogeography in Amazonian rain forests (Haffer 1969, Colinvaux 1987, Van der Hammen and Absy 1994, Hooghiemstra and van der Hammen 1998).
    [Show full text]
  • Position, (Botanical Museum and Herbarium, Utrecht) Played an Important Part in the Rubiaceae, Belong the of Pluriovular Cells
    Acta Botanica Neerlandica 15 (1966) 1-33 Remarks on the position, the delimitation and the subdivision of the Rubiaceae C.E.B. Bremekamp (Botanical Museum and Herbarium, Utrecht) (received October 22nd, 1965) Introduction It is often assumed that the delimitation and the subdivision of the various families which have been distinguished in the Angiosperms, do offer serious no longer difficulties. They would belong to those of for which objects study already long ago a fairly satisfactory so- found. If wish be with this lution was we to acquainted solution, the would have would be look such works only thing we to do, to up as Benthamand Hooker’s “Genera Plantarum” and Engler and Brand's “Nattirliche Pflanzenfamilien”. Some improvements might still be but these would be of minor desirable, importance only. These as- be sumptions, however, are to regarded as dangerous illusions. That the very serious nature of the shortcomings found in the delimitation and subdivision of these families, especially of the larger ones, is so often overlooked, is apparently due to an attitude of mind which is observed in of a comparatively large part the taxonomists, viz. a lack of interest in the development of a truly natural classi- fication. This is not incomprehensible. Most of them spend the major part of their time in the elaboration of floras covering areas of more but of or less limited extent, and they are rarely aware the fact that the the which is in knowledge of families obtained this way, remains in necessarily incomplete. Moreover, the elaboration of a flora the most essential point is the construction of serviceable keys to the species as well as to the groups of higher rank, not the exact deli- mitation of these the latter end material is groups; to usually more than the of flora has required compiler a at his disposition.
    [Show full text]