Do exaptations facilitate mutualistic associations between invasive and native species

As invasive species are key threats to ecosystem structure and function, it is essential to understand the factors underlying their success. Enigmatically, mutualistic organisms are often successful in colonizing novel environments even though they commonly persist only through intricate relationshi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological invasions 2007-08, Vol.9 (6), p.623-628
Main Authors: Mondor, Edward B, Addicott, John F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
aggression
Alarm pheromone
alarm pheromones
ant-aphid interactions
Ants
Aphididae
Aphidoidea
Carbohydrates
Chaitophorus
Chaitophorus populicola
Chemical communication
colonizing ability
ecological invasion
Ecosystem structure
Emissions
Formicidae
Indigenous species
insect communication
interspecific communication
Introduced species
Invasive insects
Invasive species
Linepithema humile
mutualism
Native species
Natural enemies
Poplar
preadaptation
predation
predation risk
predatory insects
Structure-function relationships
Workers (insect caste)
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Summary:As invasive species are key threats to ecosystem structure and function, it is essential to understand the factors underlying their success. Enigmatically, mutualistic organisms are often successful in colonizing novel environments even though they commonly persist only through intricate relationships with other species. Mutualistic ants, for example, protect aphids from natural enemies while collecting carbohydrate-rich honeydew. To facilitate this interaction, ants have evolved aggressive responses to aphid alarm pheromone emissions. As invasive and native mutualists have not evolved together, however, it is unclear if this form of cross-species communication exists between these two parties thereby facilitating these novel interactions. We address this hypothesis by assessing whether the invasive Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, responds to native poplar aphid, Chaitophorus populicola, alarm signals. Here, we show that interspecific signalling does exist in this newly established mutualistic interaction. Argentine ant workers exhibit increased aggression and double the number of visits to an aphid colony after an aphid alarm signal is emitted. We suggest that pre-adaptations may facilitate the emergence of mutualistic associations between many invasive and native species.
ISSN:1387-3547
1573-1464
DOI:10.1007/s10530-006-9062-0