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Behavioral mechanisms underlie an ant-plant mutualism.

Jennifer A Rudgers1, Jillian G Hodgen, J Wilson White

  • 1Center for Population Biology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. jrudgers@indiana.edu

Oecologia
|March 21, 2003
PubMed
Summary
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Predatory ants significantly reduced wild cotton plant damage by altering caterpillar behavior, not just by eating them. These non-consumptive predator effects demonstrate trait-mediated cascades in plant-insect interactions.

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Plant-Insect Interactions

Background:

  • Predators impact herbivores through direct consumption and non-consumptive effects (NCEs) that alter prey behavior and physiology.
  • NCEs can significantly influence ecological dynamics, but their cascading effects on prey's resources, like host plants, are less understood in terrestrial systems.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if non-consumptive effects of predatory ants influence the host plants of herbivorous prey.
  • To examine the role of trait-mediated effects of ants on wild cotton plants via their impact on a specific folivore.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted season-long ant exclusion experiments on wild cotton (Gossypium thurberi) to assess ant impact on folivore damage and abundance.
  • Performed behavioral experiments over two years and in two populations to observe caterpillar (Bucculatrix thurberiella) behavior in the presence and absence of ants.

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Main Results:

  • Ant exclusion led to proportionally more herbivore damage than reduced herbivore abundance, indicating strong NCEs.
  • Caterpillars exhibited reduced feeding behavior (less stationary time, more dropping) and altered spatial distribution (more time on upper leaf surfaces, damage further from margins) when ants were present.
  • Both direct ant encounters and indirect cues (ants on leaves) triggered anti-predator behaviors in caterpillars.

Conclusions:

  • Predatory ants exert significant trait-mediated effects on wild cotton plants by altering herbivore behavior.
  • Non-consumptive effects of predators can cascade to influence host plants, highlighting the ecological importance of predator-prey interactions beyond direct consumption.