Abstract This study investigated ant seed removal ofPiper sancti‐felicis,an early successional Neotropical shrub. NeotropicalPiperare a classic example of bat‐dispersed plants, but we suggest that ants are underappreciated dispersal agents. We identified eleven ant species from the generaAphaenogaster,Ectatomma,Paratrechina,Pheidole,Trachymyrmex, andWasmanniarecruiting to and harvestingP. sancti‐felicisseeds in forest edge and secondary forest sites at La Selva, Costa Rica. We also tested for differences in ant recruitment to five states in which ants can commonly encounter seeds: unripe fruit, ripe fruit, overripe fruit, bat feces, and cleaned seeds. Overall, ants harvested more seeds from ripe and overripe fruits than other states, but this varied among species. To better understand the mechanisms behind ant preferences for ripe/overripe fruit, we also studied how alkenylphenols, secondary metabolites found in high concentrations inP. sancti‐felicisfruits, affected foraging behavior in one genus of potential ant dispersers,Ectatomma. We found no effects of alkenylphenols on recruitment ofEctatommato fruits, and thus, these compounds are unlikely to explain differences in ant recruitment among fruits of different maturity. Considering thatP. sancti‐felicisseeds have no apparent adaptations for ant dispersal, and few ants removed seeds that were cleaned of pulp, we hypothesize that most ants are harvesting its seeds for the nutritional rewards in the attached pulp. This study emphasizes the importance of ants as important additional dispersers ofP. sancti‐felicisand suggests that other non‐myrmecochorous, vertebrate‐dispersed plants may similarly benefit from the recruitment to fruit by ants.
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Southern Record of the Xenobiotic Ant Formicoxenus quebecensis from Eastern Wisconsin
The ant genus Formicoxenus is notable for the fact that all its species are xenobiotic and live inside or in close association with the nests of other ant species. Here, we report the occurrence of a colony of Formicoxenus quebecensis and its host, Myrmica alaskensis from the eastern side of the Door peninsula in Wisconsin. Both species are new records for the state, and F. quebecensis was previously known only from boreal habitats much farther north in Canada. We also provide some observations on this colony’s nest demography, morphology, and feeding behavior and discuss the ant community of this biogeographically interesting location.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1943626
- PAR ID:
- 10478013
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v70i2.8374
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Sociobiology
- Volume:
- 70
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0361-6525
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- e8374
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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This study investigated ant seed removal of Piper sancti-felicis, an early successional Neotropical shrub. Neotropical Piper are a classic example of bat-dispersed plants, but we suggest that ants are underappreciated dispersal agents. We identified eleven ant species from the genera Aphaenogaster, Ectatomma, Paratrechina, Pheidole, Trachymyrmex, and Wasmannia recruiting to and harvesting P. sancti-felicis seeds in forest edge and secondary forest sites at La Selva, Costa Rica. We also tested for differences in ant recruitment to five states in which ants can commonly encounter seeds: unripe fruit, ripe fruit, overripe fruit, bat feces, and cleaned seeds. Overall, ants harvested more seeds from ripe and overripe fruits than other states, but this varied among species. To better understand the mechanisms behind ant preferences for ripe/overripe fruit, we also studied how alkenylphenols, secondary metabolites found in high concentrations in P. sancti-felicis fruits, affected foraging behavior in one genus of potential ant dispersers, Ectatomma. We found no effects of alkenyl- phenols on recruitment of Ectatomma to fruits, and thus, these compounds are un- likely to explain differences in ant recruitment among fruits of different maturity. Considering that P. sancti-felicis seeds have no apparent adaptations for ant disper- sal, and few ants removed seeds that were cleaned of pulp, we hypothesize that most ants are harvesting its seeds for the nutritional rewards in the attached pulp. This study emphasizes the importance of ants as important additional dispersers of P. sancti-felicis and suggests that other non-myrmecochorous, vertebrate-dispersed plants may similarly benefit from the recruitment to fruit by ants.more » « less
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