Ants improve the reproduction of inferior morphs to maintain a polymorphism in symbiont aphids

Identifying stable polymorphisms is essential for understanding biodiversity. Distinctive polymorphisms are rare in nature because a superior morph should dominate a population. In addition to the three known mechanisms for polymorphism persistence, we recently reported a fourth mechanism: protection of the polymorphism by symbionts. Attending ants preferentially protect polymorphic aphid colonies consisting of green and red morphs. Here, we show that attending ants manipulate the reproductive rate of their preferred green morphs to equal that of the red morphs, leading to the persistence of the polymorphism within the colonies. We could not, however, explain how the ants maintained the polymorphism in aphid colonies regardless of inter-morph competition. Manipulation by symbionts may be important for the maintenance of polymorphisms and the resulting biodiversity in certain symbiotic systems.