Revisiting ant-plant-pollinator interactions: plant fitness depends on mutualist identity

Abstract Two species may share a mutualistic interaction if the benefits gained by the interaction outweigh the costs incurred. In this study, we tested experimentally how the identity of ants (pinned) and floral visitors of an extrafloral nectary (EFN)-bearing plant can affect plant fitness. We qua...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological journal of the Linnean Society 2024-09, Vol.143 (1)
Main Authors: Calixto, Eduardo S, Santos, Danilo B, Lange, Denise, Torezan-Silingardi, Helena M, Del-Claro, Kleber
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ants
Crop production
Fitness
Insects
Interactions
Mutualism
Plant layout
Plants
Pollinators
Qualea multiflora
Species
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Summary:Abstract Two species may share a mutualistic interaction if the benefits gained by the interaction outweigh the costs incurred. In this study, we tested experimentally how the identity of ants (pinned) and floral visitors of an extrafloral nectary (EFN)-bearing plant can affect plant fitness. We quantified ant activity and floral visitor visitation overlap over time, floral visitor behaviour, amount of floral resources collected, and plant fitness as influenced by the ant species identity in an EFN-bearing plant from Brazilian Cerrado savanna, Qualea multiflora (Vochysiaceae). We found that: (i) ant activity and floral visitation overlap greatly in time; (ii) floral visitors vary in their response to the presence of ants; (iii) different ant species have different impacts on floral visitors; (iv) ants affected the amount of floral resources collected by pollinators, but their levels were contingent on ant identity; and (v) plant fitness components (fruit production, seed weight, and seed size) were most strongly affected by the largest and most aggressive ant species. Our results suggest that the balance of the trade-off between the beneficial effects of ant protection against herbivorous insects and the negative consequences for plant fitness by deterring pollinators depends on the species identity of both the ants and the floral visitors to the plant.
ISSN:0024-4066
1095-8312
DOI:10.1093/biolinnean/blae086