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2. Ecological strategies of (pl)ants:Towards a world-wide worker economic spectrum for ants

Author

Gibb, Heloise, Bishop, Tom R., Leahy, Lily, Parr, Catherine L, Lessard, Jean-Philippe, Sanders, Nathan J., Shik, Jonathan Z., Ibarra-Isassi, Javier, Narendra, Ajay, Dunn, Robert R., Wright, Ian J., Gibb, Heloise, Bishop, Tom R., Leahy, Lily, Parr, Catherine L, Lessard, Jean-Philippe, Sanders, Nathan J., Shik, Jonathan Z., Ibarra-Isassi, Javier, Narendra, Ajay, Dunn, Robert R., and Wright, Ian J.

Abstract

Current global challenges call for a rigorously predictive ecology. Our understanding of ecological strategies, imputed through suites of measurable functional traits, comes from decades of work that largely focussed on plants. However, a key question is whether plant ecological strategies resemble those of other organisms. Among animals, ants have long been recognised to possess similarities with plants: as (largely) central place foragers. For example, individual ant workers play similar foraging roles to plant leaves and roots and are similarly expendable. Frameworks that aim to understand plant ecological strategies through key functional traits, such as the ‘leaf economics spectrum’, offer the potential for significant parallels with ant ecological strategies. Here, we explore these parallels across several proposed ecological strategy dimensions, including an ‘economic spectrum’, propagule size-number trade-offs, apparency-defence trade-offs, resource acquisition trade-offs and stress-tolerance trade-offs. We also highlight where ecological strategies may differ between plants and ants. Furthermore, we consider how these strategies play out among the different modules of eusocial organisms, where selective forces act on the worker and reproductive castes, as well as the colony. Finally, we suggest future directions for ecological strategy research, including highlighting the availability of data and traits that may be more difficult to measure, but should receive more attention in future to better understand the ecological strategies of ants. The unique biology of eusocial organisms provides an unrivalled opportunity to bridge the gap in our understanding of ecological strategies in plants and animals and we hope that this perspective will ignite further interest. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Published
2023

6. Community‐wide trait adaptation, but not plasticity, explains ant community structure in extreme environments.

Author

Ibarra‐Isassi, Javier, Handa, Ira Tanya, and Lessard, Jean‐Philippe

Subjects
*ANT communities, *EXTREME environments, *ANT colonies, *TAIGAS, *PHYSIOLOGICAL adaptation, *TEMPERATE forests, *COMMUNITIES
Abstract

Quantifying trait–environment associations can help elucidate the processes underpinning the structure of species assemblages. However, most work has focused on trait variation across rather than within species, meaning that processes operating at the intraspecific levels cannot be detected. Incorporating intraspecific trait variation in community‐wide analyses can provide valuable insights about the role of morphological adaptation and plasticity on species persistence and the composition of ecological communities.Here, we assessed geographical variation in the direction (i.e. adaptation) and strength of selection, and the magnitude of plasticity, by examining community‐wide trait variation in ant communities along an environmental gradient spanning 9° latitude in Quebec, Canada. Specifically, we measured 9 morphological traits related to foraging strategies, resource use and thermal regulation at 20 locations across temperate and boreal forests. We then examined how the mean and variance of these traits varied along temperature and precipitation gradients. Moreover, we examined how these trait–environment relationships varied across levels of organization, from individual workers (intraspecific) to colonies (intraspecific) and species (interspecific).We observed changes in mean trait values along environmental gradients, but very little change in variance. Specifically, we observed a decrease in the mean length of antennae and an increase in the mean eye length from mild (warm and wet) to more extreme environments (cold and dry). These shifts in trait means were mostly coordinated across organizational levels (i.e. worker, colony and species). We also observed a general increase in trait variance from mild to extreme environments, but only at the species level.Our findings suggest that stressful environmental conditions exert a strong selection pressure on ant morphology causing shifts in optimal trait values. These adaptations may enable persistence at the northern edge of the boreal forest and therefore influence the composition of these ant communities. Specifically, ants with large eyes and short antennae are overrepresented at the transition zone between the boreal forest and the tundra, possibly representing an adaptation to these more open habitats. Our study demonstrates that combining spatial and community‐wide intraspecific functional trait data provides a promising way forward to gain new insights on trait adaptations and processes underpinning community structure along environmental gradients. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2023
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7. Ecological strategies of (pl)ants: Towards a world‐wide worker economic spectrum for ants.

Author

Gibb, Heloise, Bishop, Tom R., Leahy, Lily, Parr, Catherine L., Lessard, Jean‐Philippe, Sanders, Nathan J., Shik, Jonathan Z., Ibarra‐Isassi, Javier, Narendra, Ajay, Dunn, Robert R., and Wright, Ian J.

Subjects
ANTS, FORAGE plants, PLANT roots, PERIODICAL articles
Abstract

Current global challenges call for a rigorously predictive ecology. Our understanding of ecological strategies, imputed through suites of measurable functional traits, comes from decades of work that largely focussed on plants. However, a key question is whether plant ecological strategies resemble those of other organisms.Among animals, ants have long been recognised to possess similarities with plants: as (largely) central place foragers. For example, individual ant workers play similar foraging roles to plant leaves and roots and are similarly expendable. Frameworks that aim to understand plant ecological strategies through key functional traits, such as the 'leaf economics spectrum', offer the potential for significant parallels with ant ecological strategies.Here, we explore these parallels across several proposed ecological strategy dimensions, including an 'economic spectrum', propagule size‐number trade‐offs, apparency‐defence trade‐offs, resource acquisition trade‐offs and stress‐tolerance trade‐offs. We also highlight where ecological strategies may differ between plants and ants. Furthermore, we consider how these strategies play out among the different modules of eusocial organisms, where selective forces act on the worker and reproductive castes, as well as the colony.Finally, we suggest future directions for ecological strategy research, including highlighting the availability of data and traits that may be more difficult to measure, but should receive more attention in future to better understand the ecological strategies of ants. The unique biology of eusocial organisms provides an unrivalled opportunity to bridge the gap in our understanding of ecological strategies in plants and animals and we hope that this perspective will ignite further interest. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2023
Full Text
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8. Plasticity in the trophic niche of an invasive ant explains establishment success and long‐term coexistence

Author

Balzani, Paride, primary, Vizzini, Salvatrice, additional, Frizzi, Filippo, additional, Masoni, Alberto, additional, Lessard, Jean‐Philippe, additional, Bernasconi, Christian, additional, Francoeur, André, additional, Ibarra‐Isassi, Javier, additional, Brassard, François, additional, Cherix, Daniel, additional, and Santini, Giacomo, additional

Published
2021
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11. Interactions between ants, treehoppers, flowers and flower visitors in cerrado vegetations : experimental study with Byrsonima intermedia A. Juss

Author

Ibarra Isassi, Javier Eduardo, 1989, Oliveira, Paulo Sergio Moreira Carvalho de, 1957, Freitas, André Victor Lucci, Cogni, Rodrigo, Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Instituto de Biologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, and UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL DE CAMPINAS

Subjects
Plantas - Reprodução, Plants - Reproduction, Mutualism (Biology), Ants - Behavior, Relação inseto-planta, Mutualismo (Biologia), Formiga - Comportamento, Plant-insect interaction, Pollination, Polinização
Abstract

Orientador: Paulo Sérgio Moreira Carvalho de Oliveira Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia Resumo: As plantas e as formigas são os organismos predominantes em ecossistemas terrestres; e como tais, comumente interagem entre si. Na maioria das vezes estas interações são mutualistas, visto que formigas podem reduzir o número de herbívoros e/ou contribuir na dispersão de sementes em troca de alimento e/ou abrigo fornecido pelas plantas. No entanto, a presença de formigas nas flores é comumente considerada como uma relação antagônica, já que normalmente as formigas não as polinizam, mas sim utilizam os recursos oferecidos pelas flores aos polinizadores, reduzindo ou alterando a frequência ou eficiência da visitação de polinizadores. As interações formiga-planta são muito comuns no cerrado. Embora muitos estudos já tenham investigado os efeitos da presença das formigas nos herbívoros, ou a relação das formigas com a presença de nectários extraflorais (NEFs), o efeito da visitação de formigas a flores foi pouco estudado neste bioma. Associações entre formigas e insetos trofobiontes próximo a inflorescências podem alterar a abundância local e o comportamento de formigas, o que potencialmente perturbando as interações entre plantas e polinizadores. Byrsonima intermedia (conhecida no Brasil como murici-do-campo) é uma planta comum no bioma de cerrado. Esta planta possui elaióforos (glândulas que produzem óleo) na base das flores. O óleo produzido é coletado por abelhas, principalmente do gênero Epicharis, que em troca polinizam a planta por meio da polinização por vibração. Observações em campo permitiram evidenciar que formigas raramente visitam as inflorescências na ausência de membracídeos trofobiontes. Assim, a presente dissertação investiga os efeitos da presença da associação formiga-membracídeo na reprodução de B. intermedia. Observações naturais e manipulações experimentais em campo da presença de formigas e da associação formiga-membracídeo demonstraram que a presença de formigas nas inflorescências de B. intermedia causa uma diminuição no tempo de visita de abelhas polinizadoras, reduzindo a quantidade de frutos produzidos pela planta. Os resultados experimentais sugerem ainda que os efeitos negativos da associação formiga-membracídeo sobre a reprodução das plantas são devidos ao aumento do número de formigas nas inflorescências e não pelo efeito direto da herbivoria do membracídeo Abstract: Ants and plants are dominant organisms in terrestrial ecosystems; as such, ants are commonly found visiting plants. Often, ant presence benefits plants, reducing the number of herbivores and/or contributing to seed dispersion, and in turn, benefiting themselves by feeding and sheltering in structures offered by plants. However, the presence of ants in flowers is commonly considered as antagonistic, because ants rarely pollinate but collect floral resources, modifying and reducing other insects¿ floral visitation frequency or efficiency. Ant-plant interactions are very common in the Cerrado. Although many studies have investigated the effects of the presence of ants on herbivore attacks or the relation between ants and the presence of Extrafloral Nectaries (EFNs), the effect of ant floral visitation in this biome remains understudied. Associations between ants and honeydew-producing insects present near inflorescences can modify the local abundance and behavior of ants, potentially disturbing pollinator-plant interactions. Byrsonima intermedia (known in Brazil as murici-do-campo) is commonly found in the Cerrado savanna. This plant has elaiophores (oil-producing glands) in the base of flowers. The oil produced is collected by bees, which in turn, pollinate this plant through buzz-pollination. Field observations allowed us to confirm that ants rarely visit B. intermedia inflorescences when there are no treehoppers. Considering this, the focus of this dissertation is to study the effects of the presence of the ant-treehopper association in the reproduction of B. intermedia. Direct observation and experimental manipulations of the presence of ants and ant-treehopper association in the field showed that the presence of ants in inflorescences reduce the duration of the visit of pollinators, which, in turn, reduces the fruit set of the plant. Furthermore, the results of our experiments suggest that the negative effects of the ant-treehopper association on plant reproduction are caused by the increased number of ants visiting inflorescences and not by the herbivory effect Mestrado Ecologia Mestre em Ecologia FAPESP 2014/12486-8, 2014/23141-1 CAPES

Published
2016

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