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1. Fungi as mutualistic partners in ant-plant interactions

Author

Veronika E. Mayer, Hermann Voglmayr, Rumsais Blatrix, Jérôme Orivel, and Céline Leroy

Subjects
ants, Chaetothyriales, Capnodiales, specificity, transmission, evolutionary history, Plant culture, SB1-1110
Abstract

Associations between fungi and ants living in mutualistic relationship with plants (“plant-ants”) have been known for a long time. However, only in recent years has the mutualistic nature, frequency, and geographical extent of associations between tropical arboreal ants with fungi of the ascomycete order Chaetothyriales and Capnodiales (belonging to the so-called “Black Fungi”) become clear. Two groups of arboreal ants displaying different nesting strategies are associated with ascomycete fungi: carton-building ants that construct nest walls and galleries on stems, branches or below leaves which are overgrown by fungal hyphae, and plant-ants that make their nests inside living plants (myrmecophytes) in plant provided cavities (domatia) where ants cultivate fungi in small delimited “patches”. In this review we summarize the current knowledge about these unsuspected plant-ant-fungus interactions. The data suggest, that at least some of these ant-associated fungi seem to have coevolved with ants over a long period of time and have developed specific adaptations to this lifestyle.

Published
2023
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2. Effects of Habitat and Competition on Niche Partitioning and Community Structure in Neotropical Ants

Author

Alex Salas-López, Cyrille Violle, François Munoz, Florian Menzel, and Jérôme Orivel

Subjects
assembly rules, niche partitioning, habitat filtering, Formicidae, resource limitation, community ecology, Evolution, QH359-425, Ecology, QH540-549.5
Abstract

Competition for limited resources can yield two contrasting outcomes in community structure, namely, either (i) dominance of most competitive species (with functional convergence of the traits conferring this ability), or (ii) niche partitioning of species using distinct resources. In addition, varying resource availability in different environmental contexts is expected to yield varying community dynamics and composition between the contexts (habitat filtering). We addressed resource-based ant community structure in a tropical ecosystem. We expected ant species to display varying trophic preferences and foraging behaviors, allowing habitat selection and niche differentiation in ant assemblages. Furthermore, we expected habitat filtering to occur between open and forested areas in the landscape mosaic, and competition to further influence local species co-occurrence. We assessed resource use in nine ant assemblages distributed in two habitats (i.e., forests and croplands), devising two separate experiments using bait-traps to characterize ant species’ trophic preference (e.g., eating prey, seeds, sugars) and their ability to obtain a same resource in heterogeneous forms (e.g., on vegetation, litter, with variable amounts…). The majority of baits offered were rapidly exploited in the two habitats suggesting important resource limitations. Forest and cropland ant communities differed, however, in the proportions of resources exploited, suggesting different competitive pressures toward specific resources between habitats. Within each habitat, ants preferentially exploited the same resources, suggesting habitat filtering, but locally, interspecific resource partitioning resulted in a reduction of resource overlap compared to habitat scale. Our study provides evidence of the effects of habitat filtering and competition for resource in tropical ant community structure. Our findings also suggest that niche filtering and niche partitioning are co-variant forces determining the identity of the species present in local assemblages.

Published
2022
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3. Cytogenetic data for sixteen ant species from North-eastern Amazonia with phylogenetic insights into three subfamilies

Author

Hilton Jeferson Alves Cardoso de Aguiar, Luísa Antônia Campos Barros, Linda Inês Silveira, Frédéric Petitclerc, Sandrine Etienne, and Jérôme Orivel

Subjects
Genetics, QH426-470
Abstract

Ants play essential roles in most terrestrial ecosystems and may be considered pests for agriculture and agroforestry. Recent morphological and molecular data have challenged conventional ant phylogeny and the interpretation of karyotypic variations. Existing Neotropical ant cytogenetic data focus on Atlantic rainforest species, and provide evolutionary and taxonomic insight. However, there are data for only 18 Amazonian species. In this study, we describe the karyotypes of 16 ant species belonging to 12 genera and three subfamilies, collected in the Brazilian state of Amapá, and in French Guiana. The karyotypes of six species are described for the first time, including that of the South American genus Allomerus Mayr, 1878. The karyotype of Crematogaster Lund, 1831 is also described for the first time for the New World. For other species, extant data for geographically distinct populations was compared with our own data, e.g. for the leafcutter ants Acromyrmex balzani (Emery, 1890) and Atta sexdens (Linnaeus, 1758). The information obtained for the karyotype of Dolichoderus imitator Emery, 1894 differs from extant data from the Atlantic forest, thereby highlighting the importance of population cytogenetic approaches. This study also emphasizes the need for good chromosome preparations for studying karyotype structure.

Published
2020
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4. Cytogenetic survey of eight ant species from the Amazon rainforest

Author

Luísa Barros, Gisele Teixeira, Paulo Ferreira, Rodrigo Lod, Linda Silveira, Frédéric Petitclerc, Jérôme Orivel, and Hilton Aguiar

Subjects
Karyotype, Chromosome evolution, Biodiversity, Formicidae, Neotropics, Taxonomy, Biology (General), QH301-705.5, Cytology, QH573-671
Abstract

Even in the molecular cytogenetics era, classical cytogenetic research remains useful and can provide powerful insights about the phylogenetic relationships of several taxa, particularly those that are ultra-diverse, such as ants, which facilitate better discussions about biodiversity. In this study, we describe the karyotypes of eight ant taxa collected from Amazonian localities in French Guiana and Brazil. The chromosome numbers ranged from 2n = 18 to 68. The following chromosome numbers were observed for each organism: Azteca sp. group chartifex 2n = 28, Dolichoderus bidens (Linnaeus, 1758) 2n = 18, Gnamptogenys tortuolosa (Smith, 1858) 2n = 44, Camponotus renggeri Emery, 1894 n = 20, Pseudomyrmex unicolor (Smith, 1855) 2n = 68 and n = 34, Apterostigma sp. pilosum complex 2n = 46, Odontomachus bauri Emery, 1892 2n = 44, and Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger, 1863) 2n = 32. Three species had karyotypes similar to those from previously described species collected from the Atlantic rainorest. The karyotype of P. unicolor is reported here for the first time and showed a high chromosome number, similar to that of Pseudomyrmex gracilis. Classical cytogenetics draws attention to the need for taxonomic revision in the genera Azteca and Apterostigma and revealed aspects about chromosome evolution regarding to the polymorphism of W. auropunctata and O. bauri, as well as the heteromorphism of G. tortuolosa. The scarce information regarding ant diversity in the state of Amapá and lack of cytogenetic data from species in the northeast Amazon can hide ant biodiversity information that may be detectable with affordable cytogenetic techniques. We also discuss the importance of chromosome classification standardization using measurements.

Published
2022
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5. Multi-taxa environmental DNA inventories reveal distinct taxonomic and functional diversity in urban tropical forest fragments

Author

Julian Donald, Jérôme Murienne, Jérôme Chave, Amaia Iribar, Eliane Louisanna, Sophie Manzi, Melanie Roy, Shengli Tao, Jérôme Orivel, Heidy Schimann, and Lucie Zinger

Subjects
Tropical, Urban forest, Land use, Soil diversity, Community assembly, DNA metabarcoding, Ecology, QH540-549.5
Abstract

Urban expansion and associated habitat transformation drives shifts in biodiversity, with declines in taxonomic and functional diversity. Forests fragments within urban landscapes offer a number of ecosystem services, and help to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Here, we focus on a tropical forest environment, and on the soil biota. Using eDNA metabarcoding, we compare forest fragments within the city of Cayenne, French Guiana, with a neighbouring continuous undisturbed forest. We wished to determine if urban forest fragments conserve high levels of alpha and beta diversity as well as similar functional composition for plants, soil animals, fungi and bacteria. We found that alpha diversity is similar across habitats for plants and fungi, lower in urban forests for metazoans and higher for bacteria. We also found that urban forests communities differ from undisturbed forests in their taxonomic composition, with urban forests exhibiting greater turnover between fragments potentially caused by ecological drift and limited dispersal. However, their functional composition exhibited limited differences, with an enrichment of palms, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and bacteria and a depletion of climber plants and termites. Thus, although urban forest fragments do shelter soil biodiversity that differs from native forests, the losses of soil functions may be relatively limited. This study demonstrates the strong potential of a multi-taxa eDNA approach for rapid inventories across taxonomic kingdoms, in particular for cryptic soil diversity. It also demonstrates the key role of urban forest fragments in conserving biodiversity and ecosystem function, and points to a need for more systematic monitoring of these areas in urban management plans.

Published
2021
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6. Cuticular hydrocarbons as potential mediators of cryptic species divergence in a mutualistic ant association

Author

Juliane Hartke, Philipp P. Sprenger, Jacqueline Sahm, Helena Winterberg, Jérôme Orivel, Hannes Baur, Till Beuerle, Thomas Schmitt, Barbara Feldmeyer, and Florian Menzel

Subjects
environmental association, integrative taxonomy, niche differentiation, population structure, sexual selection, speciation, Ecology, QH540-549.5
Abstract

Abstract Upon advances in sequencing techniques, more and more morphologically identical organisms are identified as cryptic species. Often, mutualistic interactions are proposed as drivers of diversification. Species of the neotropical parabiotic ant association between Crematogaster levior and Camponotus femoratus are known for highly diverse cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles, which in insects serve as desiccation barrier but also as communication cues. In the present study, we investigated the association of the ants’ CHC profiles with genotypes and morphological traits, and discovered cryptic species pairs in both genera. To assess putative niche differentiation between the cryptic species, we conducted an environmental association study that included various climate variables, canopy cover, and mutualistic plant species. Although mostly sympatric, the two Camponotus species seem to prefer different climate niches. However in the two Crematogaster species, we could not detect any differences in niche preference. The strong differentiation in the CHC profiles may thus suggest a possible role during speciation itself either by inducing assortative mating or by reinforcing sexual selection after the speciation event. We did not detect any further niche differences in the environmental parameters tested. Thus, it remains open how the cryptic species avoid competitive exclusion, with scope for further investigations.

Published
2019
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7. Karyotype conservation and genomic organization of repetitive sequences in the leaf-cutting ant Atta cephalotes (Linnaeus, 1758) (Formicidae: Myrmicinae)

Author

Gisele Amaro Teixeira, Luísa Antônia Campos Barros, Linda Inês Silveira, Jérôme Orivel, Denilce Meneses Lopes, and Hilton Jeferson Alves Cardoso de Aguiar

Subjects
Genetics, General Medicine, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology
Abstract

Leaf-cutting ants are among the New World's most conspicuous and studied ant species due to their notable ecological and economic roles. Cytogenetic studies carried out in Atta show remarkable karyotype conservation among the species. We performed classical cytogenetics and physical mapping of repetitive sequences in the leaf-cutting ant Atta cephalotes (Linnaeus, 1758), the type species of the genus. Our goal was to test the karyotype conservation in Atta and to understand the genomic organization and diversity regarding repetitive sequences in leaf-cutting ants. Atta cephalotes showed 2 n = 22 (18m + 2sm + 2st) chromosomes. The heterochromatin followed a centromeric pattern, and the GC-rich regions and 18S rDNA clusters were co-located interstitially in the 4th metacentric pair. These cytogenetic characteristics were observed in other Atta species that had previously been studied, confirming the karyotype conservation in Atta. Evolutionary implications regarding the conservation of the chromosome number in leaf-cutting ants are discussed. Telomeric motif (TTAGG) n was detected in A. cephalotes as observed in other ants. Five out of the 11 microsatellites showed a scattered distribution exclusively on euchromatic areas of the chromosomes. Repetitive sequences mapped on the chromosomes of A. cephalotes are the first insights into genomic organization and diversity in leaf-cutting ants, useful in further comparative studies.

Published
2022
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8. Relative Efficiency of Pitfall Trapping vs. Nocturnal Hand Collecting in Assessing Soil-Dwelling Spider Diversity along A Structural Gradient of Neotropical Habitats

Author

Kaïna Privet, Vincent Vedel, Claire Fortunel, Jérôme Orivel, Quentin Martinez, Axel Cerdan, Christopher Baraloto, and Julien Pétillon

Subjects
araneae, guiana shield, sampling methods, diversity indices, functional diversity, species richness, turnover, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract

Assessing spider diversity remains a great challenge, especially in tropical habitats where dozens of species can locally co-occur. Pitfall trapping is one of the most widely used techniques to collect spiders, but it suffers from several biases, and its accuracy likely varies with habitat complexity. In this study, we compared the efficiency of passive pitfall trapping versus active nocturnal hand collecting (NHC) to capture low understory-dwelling spider taxonomical (morpho-species) and functional (hunting guilds) diversity along a structural gradient of habitats in French Guiana. We focused on four habitats describing a structural gradient: garden to the orchard to the forest edge to the undisturbed forest. Overall, estimated morpho-species richness and composition did not vary consistently between habitats, but abundances of ground-hunting spiders decreased significantly with increasing habitat complexity. We found habitat-dependence differences in taxonomic diversity between sampling strategies: NHC revealed higher diversity in the orchard, whereas pitfalls resulted in higher diversity in the forest. Species turnover resulted in high dissimilarity in species composition between habitats using either method. This study shows how pitfall trapping is influenced by habitat structure, rendering this sampling method incomplete for complex, tropical environments. However, pitfall traps remain a valuable component of inventories because they sample distinct assemblage of spiders.

Published
2020
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9. Do Host Plant and Associated Ant Species Affect Microbial Communities in Myrmecophytes?

Author

Mario X. Ruiz-González, Céline Leroy, Alain Dejean, Hervé Gryta, Patricia Jargeat, Angelo D. Armijos Carrión, and Jérôme Orivel

Subjects
microbial diversity, domatia, allomerus decemarticulatus, allomerus octoarticulatus, azteca sp. cf. depilis, cordia nodosa, hirtella physophora, Science
Abstract

Ant-associated microorganisms can play crucial and often overlooked roles, and given the diversity of interactions that ants have developed, the study of the associated microbiomes is of interest. We focused here on specialist plant-ant species of the genus Allomerus that grow a fungus to build galleries on their host-plant stems. Allomerus-inhabited domatia, thus, might be a rich arena for microbes associated with the ants, the plant, and the fungus. We investigated the microbial communities present in domatia colonised by four arboreal ants: Allomerus decemarticulatus, A. octoarticulatus, A. octoarticulatus var. demerarae, and the non-fungus growing plant-ant Azteca sp. cf. depilis, inhabiting Hirtella physophora or Cordia nodosa in French Guiana. We hypothesized that the microbial community will differ among these species. We isolated microorganisms from five colonies of each species, sequenced the 16S rRNA or Internal TranscribedSpacer (ITS) regions, and described both the alpha and beta diversities. We identified 69 microbial taxa, which belong to five bacterial and two fungal phyla. The most diverse phyla were Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. The microbial community of Azteca cf. depilis and Allomerus spp. differed in composition and richness. Geographical distance affected microbial communities and richness but plant species did not. Actinobacteria were only associated with Allomerus spp.

Published
2019
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10. Environmental determinants of leaf litter ant community composition along an elevational gradient

Author

Jordan Galli, Mélanie Fichaux, Jérôme Chave, Jason Vleminckx, Jérôme Orivel, Jacques H. C. Delabie, Christopher Baraloto, Nicolas Labrière, Shengli Tao, Elodie A. Courtois, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), and Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, elevation, Soil composition, Climate, ants, [SDV.BID]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, functional traits, climate, Biology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, soil composition, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Ants, Ecology, Elevation, environmental filtering, 15. Life on land, Plant litter, ANT, French Guiana, Chemistry, Elevational Diversity Gradient, Community composition, 13. Climate action, Environmental science, Environmental filtering, Functional traits
Abstract

International audience; Ant communities are extremely diverse and provide a wide variety of ecological functions in tropical forests. Here we investigated the abiotic factors driving ant composition turnover across an elevational gradient at Mont Itoupé, French Guiana. Mont Itoupé is an isolated mountain whose top is covered by cloud forests, a biogeographical rarity that is likely to be threatened according to climate change scenarios in the region. We examined the influence of six soil, climatic and LiDAR derived vegetation structure variables on leaf-litter ant assembly (267 species) across nine 0.12-ha plots disposed at three elevations (ca. 400, 600 and 800m asl). We tested (a) whether species cooccurring within a same plot or a same elevation were more similar in terms of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic composition, than species from different plots/elevations, and (b) which environmental variables significantly explained compositional turnover among plots. We found that the distribution of species and traits of ant communities along the elevational gradient was significantly explained by a turnover of environmental conditions, particularly in soil phosphorus and sand content, canopy height and mean annual relative humidity of soil. Our results shed light on the role exerted by environmental filtering in shaping ant community assembly in tropical forests. Identifying the environmental determinants of ant species distribution along tropical elevational gradients could help predicting the future impacts of global warming on biodiversity organization in vulnerable environments such as cloud forests.

Published
2020
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11. First Report of the Tramp ant

Author

Luísa Antônia Campos, Barros, Júlio Cezar Mário, Chaul, Gisele Amaro, Teixeira, Rodrigo Batista, Lod, Jérôme, Orivel, and Hilton Jeferson Alves Cardoso, de Aguiar

Subjects
Research Article
Abstract

Invasive ants are usually harmful taxa and are considered a potential problem to biodiversity due to their negative ecological impacts, as they can outcompete native ant species. Ten such species are reported in Brazil. In this study, we report for the first time the Asian tramp ant Technomyrmex vitiensis Mann, 1921 at the municipality of Oiapoque, in the Brazilian Amazon. The colony studied contained workers, intercastes, males and larvae, which provided sperm structure and cytogenetic data. Considering the unprecedented report of the genus Technomyrmex as well as the recent finding of the primarily Australian genus Leptomyrmex in Brazil, we present a revised key for the workers of Brazilian Dolichoderinae genera. Technomyrmex vitiensis presented 2n = 16 chromosomes; all metacentrics and comparative cytogenetics on the genus is provided. A single rDNA 18S site located in intrachromosomal region was observed in this species, which is a common trait in ants. The spermatozoa of T. vitiensis had a filiform shape, with 78.13 (± 1.96) μm of total length and 11.43 (± 0.51) μm of nucleus length. Total and nucleus sperm size length fit with the known variation observed in other ant species. The occurrence of T. vitiensis in Brazil is probably a result of traffic between French Guiana and the Amapá state. Cytogenetics and sperm structures of T. vitiensis enhance the biological knowledge of this tramp species. We highlight the scarce knowledge of ant diversity in the state of Amapá and the consequences that the presence of this species may have in this region.

Published
2021

12. Spatial and functional structure of an entire ant assemblage in a lowland Panamanian rainforest

Author

Alain Dejean, Ricardo I. Campos, Ivan Cardoso do Nascimento, Héctor Barrios, Sérvio Pontes Ribeiro, Alexey K. Tishechkin, Jérôme Orivel, Maurice Leponce, Henri Pierre Aberlenc, Arthur Compin, Jacques H. C. Delabie, Yves Roisin, Johannes Bail, Juergen Schmidl, Yves Basset, Bruno Corbara, Enrique Medianero, Andreas Floren, Raphael K. Didham, Neville N. Winchester, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, CP 160/12, Universite' Libre de Bruxelles, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, Laboratoire Microorganismes : Génome et Environnement (LMGE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA), Laboratorio de Mirmecologia (Itabuna, Brazil), Universidade Estadual De Santa Cruz [Brazil] (UESC), Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais, Universidade Estadual Santa Cruz, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (UMR CBGP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Département Systèmes Biologiques (Cirad-BIOS), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Maestria de Entomologia, Universidad de Panamá, Departamento de Biologia Geral,Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Laboratório de Zoologiade Invertebrados, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia, Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (ECOLAB), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Centre for Environment and Life Sciences, Universität Würzburg, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Laboratory of Ecology of Diseases & Forests NUPEB/ICEB, Federal University of Ouro Preto, California State Collection of Arthropods, Department of Biology, University of Victoria, University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology and Conservation Ecology, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (LEFE), Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), and Université de Toulouse (UT)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Canopy, Arboreal locomotion, Fauna, Rainforest, Stratification (vegetation), Generalist and specialist species, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, horizontal beta diversity, functional groups, feeding habits, Structure de la population, Formicidae, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, colony size, canopy, Panama, ant diversity, Ecology, nesting mode, Understory, 15. Life on land, vertical stratification, Geography, Organisation, L20 - Écologie animale, ant sampling 88methods, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, Forêt humide, 010606 plant biology & botany
Abstract

International audience; Ants are a major ecological group in tropical rainforests. Few studies in the Neotropics have documented the distribution of ants from the ground to the canopy, and none have included the understorey. A previous analysis of an intensive arthropod study in Panama, involving 11 sampling methods, showed that the factors influencing ant β diversity (i.e., changes in assemblage composition) were, in decreasing order of importance, the vertical (height), temporal (season), and horizontal (geographic distance) dimensions. In the present study, we went one step further and aimed (1) to identify the best sampling methods to study the entire ant assemblage across the three strata, (2) to test if all strata show a similar horizontal β diversity and (3) to analyze the functional structure of the entire ant assemblage. We identified 405 ant species from 11 subfamilies and 68 genera. Slightly more species were sampled in the canopy than on the ground; they belonged to distinct sub-assemblages. The understorey fauna was mainly a mixture of species found in the other two strata. The horizontal β diversity between sites was similar for the three strata. About half of the ant species foraged in two (29%) or three (25%) strata. A single method, aerial flight interception traps placed alongside tree trunks, acting as arboreal pitfall traps, collected half of the species and reflected the vertical stratification. Using the functional traits approach, we observed that generalist species with mid-sized colonies were by far the most numerous (31%), followed by ground- or litter-dwelling species, either specialists (20%), or generalists (16%), and arboreal species, either generalists (19%) or territorially dominant (8%), and finally army ants (5%). Our results reinforce the idea that a proper understanding of the functioning of ant assemblages requires the inclusion of arboreal ants in survey programs.

Published
2021
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13. Arthropod Distribution in a Tropical Rainforest: Tackling a Four Dimensional Puzzle.

Author

Yves Basset, Lukas Cizek, Philippe Cuénoud, Raphael K Didham, Vojtech Novotny, Frode Ødegaard, Tomas Roslin, Alexey K Tishechkin, Jürgen Schmidl, Neville N Winchester, David W Roubik, Henri-Pierre Aberlenc, Johannes Bail, Héctor Barrios, Jonathan R Bridle, Gabriela Castaño-Meneses, Bruno Corbara, Gianfranco Curletti, Wesley Duarte da Rocha, Domir De Bakker, Jacques H C Delabie, Alain Dejean, Laura L Fagan, Andreas Floren, Roger L Kitching, Enrique Medianero, Evandro Gama de Oliveira, Jérôme Orivel, Marc Pollet, Mathieu Rapp, Sérvio P Ribeiro, Yves Roisin, Jesper B Schmidt, Line Sørensen, Thomas M Lewinsohn, and Maurice Leponce

Subjects
Medicine, Science
Abstract

Quantifying the spatio-temporal distribution of arthropods in tropical rainforests represents a first step towards scrutinizing the global distribution of biodiversity on Earth. To date most studies have focused on narrow taxonomic groups or lack a design that allows partitioning of the components of diversity. Here, we consider an exceptionally large dataset (113,952 individuals representing 5,858 species), obtained from the San Lorenzo forest in Panama, where the phylogenetic breadth of arthropod taxa was surveyed using 14 protocols targeting the soil, litter, understory, lower and upper canopy habitats, replicated across seasons in 2003 and 2004. This dataset is used to explore the relative influence of horizontal, vertical and seasonal drivers of arthropod distribution in this forest. We considered arthropod abundance, observed and estimated species richness, additive decomposition of species richness, multiplicative partitioning of species diversity, variation in species composition, species turnover and guild structure as components of diversity. At the scale of our study (2 km of distance, 40 m in height and 400 days), the effects related to the vertical and seasonal dimensions were most important. Most adult arthropods were collected from the soil/litter or the upper canopy and species richness was highest in the canopy. We compared the distribution of arthropods and trees within our study system. Effects related to the seasonal dimension were stronger for arthropods than for trees. We conclude that: (1) models of beta diversity developed for tropical trees are unlikely to be applicable to tropical arthropods; (2) it is imperative that estimates of global biodiversity derived from mass collecting of arthropods in tropical rainforests embrace the strong vertical and seasonal partitioning observed here; and (3) given the high species turnover observed between seasons, global climate change may have severe consequences for rainforest arthropods.

Published
2015
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14. Venomics survey of six myrmicine ants provides insights into the molecular and structural diversity of their peptide toxins

Author

Valentine Barassé, Nathan Téné, Christophe Klopp, Françoise Paquet, Niklas Tysklind, Valérie Troispoux, Hadrien Lalägue, Jérôme Orivel, Benjamin Lefranc, Jérôme Leprince, Martin Kenne, Maurice Tindo, Michel Treilhou, Axel Touchard, and Elsa Bonnafé

Subjects
Proteomics, Ants, Ant Venoms, Insect Science, Animals, Peptides, Transcriptome, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry
Abstract

Among ants, Myrmicinae represents the most speciose subfamily. The venom composition previously described for these social insects is extremely variable, with alkaloids predominant in some genera while, conversely, proteomics studies have revealed that some myrmicine ant venoms are peptide-rich. Using integrated transcriptomic and proteomic approaches, we characterized the venom peptidomes of six ants belonging to the different tribes of Myrmicinae. We identified a total of 79 myrmicitoxins precursors which can be classified into 38 peptide families according to their mature sequences. Myrmicine ant venom peptidomes showed heterogeneous compositions, with linear and disulfide-bonded monomers as well as dimeric toxins. Several peptide families were exclusive to a single venom whereas some were retrieved in multiple species. A hierarchical clustering analysis of precursor signal sequences led us to divide the myrmicitoxins precursors into eight families, including some that have already been described in other aculeate hymenoptera such as secapin-like peptides and voltage-gated sodium channel (Na

Published
2022
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15. Cuticular hydrocarbons as potential mediators of cryptic species divergence in a mutualistic ant association

Author

Till Beuerle, Philipp P. Sprenger, Florian Menzel, Jacqueline Sahm, Thomas Schmitt, Hannes Baur, Jérôme Orivel, Barbara Feldmeyer, Juliane Hartke, Helena Winterberg, Johannes Gutenberg - Universität Mainz (JGU), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Institut f. Pharmazeutische Biologie, Technische Universität Braunschweig = Technical University of Braunschweig [Braunschweig], Laboratoire de Recherche en Informatique (LRI), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-CentraleSupélec-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), German Research Foundation (DFG) : FE 1333/7-1, ME 3842/5-1, SCHM 2645/7-1, and ANR : 10-LABX-25-01

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Species complex, Crematogaster, media_common.quotation_subject, Niche, Biology, environmental association, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, lcsh:QH540-549.5, sexual selection, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, integrative taxonomy, 030304 developmental biology, Nature and Landscape Conservation, media_common, Original Research, Ecological niche, 0303 health sciences, Ecology, Assortative mating, Niche differentiation, population structure, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, niche differentiation, Speciation, speciation, Sympatric speciation, Evolutionary biology, lcsh:Ecology, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Abstract

International audience; Upon advances in sequencing techniques, more and more morphologically identical organisms are identified as cryptic species. Often, mutualistic interactions are proposed as drivers of diversification. Species of the neotropical parabiotic ant association between Crematogaster levior and Camponotus femoratus are known for highly diverse cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles, which in insects serve as desiccation barrier but also as communication cues. In the present study, we investigated the association of the ants' CHC profiles with genotypes and morphological traits, and discovered cryptic species pairs in both genera. To assess putative niche differentiation between the cryptic species, we conducted an environmental association study that included various climate variables, canopy cover, and mutualistic plant species. Although mostly sympatric, the two Camponotus species seem to prefer different climate niches. However in the two Crematogaster species, we could not detect any differences in niche preference. The strong differentiation in the CHC profiles may thus suggest a possible role during speciation itself either by inducing assortative mating or by reinforcing sexual selection after the speciation event. We did not detect any further niche differences in the environmental parameters tested. Thus, it remains open how the cryptic species avoid competitive exclusion, with scope for further investigations.

Published
2019
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16. Habitats shape taxonomic and functional composition of Neotropical ant assemblages

Author

Jérôme Orivel, Julian Donald, Jérôme Murienne, Benoît Béchade, Jacques H. C. Delabie, Arthur Weyna, Mélanie Fichaux, Christopher Baraloto, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Université des Antilles (UA)-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AgroParisTech-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UPA Laboratorio de Mirmecologia, Convênio UESC/CEPLAC, Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Investissement d'Avenir grant of the Agence Nationale de la Recherche [CEBA: ANR-10-LABX-25-01], DIADEMA project (Dissecting Amazonian Diversity by Enhancing a Multiple taxonomic-groups approach), Programme Convergence 2007-2013, Region Guyane from the European community (BREGA) [757/2014/SGAR/DE/BSF], PO-FEDER 2014-2020 Region Guyane (BING) [GY0007194], CNPq, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Assembly rules, Rainforest, media_common.quotation_subject, Forests, Functional diversity, Biology, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Swamp, Habitat filtering, Competition (biology), Animals, Formicidae, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Ecosystem, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, media_common, geography, geography.geographical_feature_category, Ecology, Community, Ants, Null model, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, Biodiversity, Understory, 15. Life on land, Traits, French Guiana, Habitat, Species richness, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Abstract

International audience; Determining assembly rules of co-occurring species persists as a fundamental goal in community ecology. At local scales, the relative importance of environmental filtering vs. competitive exclusion remains a subject of debate. In this study, we assessed the relative importance of habitat filtering and competition in structuring understory ant communities in tropical forests of French Guiana. Leaf-litter ants were collected using pitfall and Winkler traps across swamp, slope and plateau forests near Saul, French Guiana. We used a combination of univariate and multivariate analyses to evaluate trait response of ants to habitat characteristics. Null model analyses were used to investigate the effects of habitat filtering and competitive interactions on community assembly at the scale of assemblages and sampling points, respectively. Swamp forests presented a much lower taxonomic and functional richness compared to slope and plateau forests. Furthermore, marked differences in taxonomic and functional composition were observed between swamp forests and slope or plateau forests. We found weak evidence for competitive exclusion based on null models. Nevertheless, the contrasting trait composition observed between habitats revealed differences in the ecological attributes of the species in the different forest habitats. Our analyses suggest that competitive interactions may not play an important role in structuring leaf-litter ant assemblages locally. Rather, habitats are responsible for driving both taxonomic and functional composition of ant communities.

Published
2019
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17. Characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the neotropical plant-ant Allomerus decemarticulatus (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) and multiplexing with other microsatellites from the ant subfamily Myrmicinae

Author

Pierre-Jean G. MALÉ, Anne LOISEAU, Arnaud ESTOUP, Angélique QUILICHINI, and Jérôme ORIVEL

Subjects
hymenoptera, formicidae, myrmicinae, allomerus, ant-plant mutualism, microsatellites, plant-ant, Zoology, QL1-991
Abstract

Five polymorphic microsatellite loci of the arboreal ant Allomerus decemarticulatus (Myrmicinae) were isolated and characterized. The amplification and polymorphism of seven additional microsatellite loci, previously developed for the ant species A. octoarticulatus and Wasmannia auropunctata, were also tested and the amplification conditions necessary for genotyping the complete set of 12 multiplexed markers in A. decemarticulatus determined. The number of alleles per locus ranged from three to 15 and observed heterozygosity varied from 0.09 to 0.95. Cross-species amplification of these loci was also successfully achieved in additional species of the same ant subfamily, Myrmicinae. This set of microsatellite markers will be used in studies on the mating system and population genetic structure of Myrmicinae in general and A. decemarticulatus in particular.

Published
2010
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18. Decay of similarity across tropical forest communities: integrating spatial distance with soil nutrients

Author

Jordi Sardans, Jérôme Murienne, Lucie Zinger, Leandro Van Langenhove, Romà Ogaya, Albert Gargallo-Garriga, Amaia Iribar, Olga Margalef, Irene Ramirez-Rojas, Elodie A. Courtois, Lore T. Verryckt, Ivan A. Janssens, Jérôme Orivel, Guille Peguero, Josep Peñuelas, Andreas Richter, Erik Verbruggen, Dolores Asensio, Oriol Grau, Clément Stahl, Joan Llusià, Miquel Ferrín, Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de biologie de l'ENS Paris (IBENS), Département de Biologie - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Laboratoire Ecologie, Evolution, Interactions des Systèmes amazoniens (LEEISA), Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Département de Biologie - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Guyane (UG)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), and Institut de biologie de l'ENS Paris (UMR 8197/1024) (IBENS)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Soil biodiversity, scale-dependency, soil biodiversity, Rainforest, Forests, Biology, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Trees, Soil, 03 medical and health sciences, Propagule, nutrients, Sampling design, Ecosystem, Soil Microbiology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 030304 developmental biology, Ecological niche, 0303 health sciences, Community, Ecology, Biodiversity, environmental filtering, 15. Life on land, French Guiana, Chemistry, metabarcoding, Spatial ecology, Biological dispersal, community assembly, dispersion, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Abstract

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB Understanding the mechanisms that drive the change of biotic assemblages over space and time is the main quest of community ecology. Assessing the relative importance of dispersal and environmental species selection in a range of organismic sizes and motilities has been a fruitful strategy. A consensus for whether spatial and environmental distances operate similarly across spatial scales and taxa, however, has yet to emerge. We used censuses of four major groups of organisms (soil bacteria, fungi, ground insects, and trees) at two observation scales (1-m sampling point vs. 2,500-m plots) in a topographically standardized sampling design replicated in two tropical rainforests with contrasting relationships between spatial distance and nutrient availability. We modeled the decay of assemblage similarity for each taxon set and site to assess the relative contributions of spatial distance and nutrient availability distance. Then, we evaluated the potentially structuring effect of tree composition over all other taxa. The similarity of nutrient content in the litter and topsoil had a stronger and more consistent selective effect than did dispersal limitation, particularly for bacteria, fungi, and trees at the plot level. Ground insects, the only group assessed with the capacity of active dispersal, had the highest species turnover and the flattest nonsignificant distance−decay relationship, suggesting that neither dispersal limitation nor nutrient availability were fundamental drivers of their community assembly at this scale of analysis. Only the fungal communities at one of our study sites were clearly coordinated with tree composition. The spatial distance at the smallest scale was more important than nutrient selection for the bacteria, fungi, and insects. The lower initial similarity and the moderate variation in composition identified by these distance-decay models, however, suggested that the effects of stochastic sampling were important at this smaller spatial scale. Our results highlight the importance of nutrients as one of the main environmental drivers of rainforest communities irrespective of organismic or propagule size and how the overriding effect of the analytical scale influences the interpretation, leading to the perception of greater importance of dispersal limitation and ecological drift over selection associated with environmental niches at decreasing observation scales.

Published
2021
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19. Climate variability and drought modulate the role of structural refuges for arthropods: a global experiment

Author

Mirela Sertić Perić, Heloise Gibb, Gustavo Q. Romero, Anna Mrazova, Jana S. Petermann, Victoria Kemp, Michal Knapp, Jacob Cristóbal-Pérez, María Laura Bernaschini, Thiago Gonçalves-Souza, Robert J. Marquis, Tatiana Cornelissen, Tiit Teder, Pierre Rogy, M. Kurtis Trzcinski, Nicholas A. C. Marino, Jérôme Orivel, Reuber Antoniazzi, Annika Busse, Vojtech Novotny, Fabiola Ospina, Mari-Liis Viljur, Pavel Kratina, Gustavo Aires, Camila Vieira, Wesley Dáttilo, Ezequiel González, Robin Maritz, Shen Sui, Scarlett Szpryngiel, Diane S. Srivastava, Martin Videla, Cássio Pereira, Natalie Westwood, Crasso Paulo Bosco Breviglieri, Mônica F. Kersch-Becker, Julia Koricheva, Sérvio Pontes Ribeiro, Paulo Martins, Rebecca Luke, Mariana Jausoro, Stanis Kaensin, Stefan Majnarić, Katerina Sam, Tomáš Kadlec, Valentina Carvajal, Samuel Novais, Ayco J. M. Tack, Esayas Mendesil, Mauricio Quesada, Tomas Roslin, Thiago J. Izzo, and Jaroslav Michalko

Subjects
Biomass (ecology), Herbivore, Ecology, Abundance (ecology), Biodiversity, Climate change, Biology, climate warming, arthropods, ecosystem engineers, Predator, Predation, Latitude
Abstract

Current climate change is disrupting biotic interactions and eroding biodiversity worldwide. However, species sensitive to drought, high temperatures and climate variability might persist in microclimatic refuges, such as leaf shelters built by arthropods. We conducted a distributed experiment across an 11,790 km latitudinal gradient to explore how the importance of leaf shelters for terrestrial arthropods changes with latitude, elevation and underlying climate. Our analyses revealed leaf shelters to be key facilitative elements for the diversity of arthropods. Predator diversity and overall biomass within shelters increased with local drought and temperature variability, regardless of latitude and elevation. In contrast, shelter usage by herbivores increased with abundance of predators on those same plants and in wetter climates. Projected increase in climatic variability and drought in certain geographic regions is therefore likely to enhance the importance of biotic refuges, especially for predators, in mitigating the impact of climate change on species persistence.

Published
2021

20. Predation success by a plant-ant indirectly favours the growth and fitness of its host myrmecophyte.

Author

Alain Dejean, Jérôme Orivel, Vivien Rossi, Olivier Roux, Jérémie Lauth, Pierre-Jean G Malé, Régis Céréghino, and Céline Leroy

Subjects
Medicine, Science
Abstract

Mutualisms, or interactions between species that lead to net fitness benefits for each species involved, are stable and ubiquitous in nature mostly due to "byproduct benefits" stemming from the intrinsic traits of one partner that generate an indirect and positive outcome for the other. Here we verify if myrmecotrophy (where plants obtain nutrients from the refuse of their associated ants) can explain the stability of the tripartite association between the myrmecophyte Hirtella physophora, the ant Allomerus decemarticulatus and an Ascomycota fungus. The plant shelters and provides the ants with extrafloral nectar. The ants protect the plant from herbivores and integrate the fungus into the construction of a trap that they use to capture prey; they also provide the fungus and their host plant with nutrients. During a 9-month field study, we over-provisioned experimental ant colonies with insects, enhancing colony fitness (i.e., more winged females were produced). The rate of partial castration of the host plant, previously demonstrated, was not influenced by the experiment. Experimental plants showed higher δ(15)N values (confirming myrmecotrophy), plus enhanced vegetative growth (e.g., more leaves produced increased the possibility of lodging ants in leaf pouches) and fitness (i.e., more fruits produced and more flowers that matured into fruit). This study highlights the importance of myrmecotrophy on host plant fitness and the stability of ant-myrmecophyte mutualisms.

Published
2013
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21. The Biochemical Toxin Arsenal from Ant Venoms

Author

Axel Touchard, Samira R. Aili, Eduardo Gonçalves Paterson Fox, Pierre Escoubas, Jérôme Orivel, Graham M. Nicholson, and Alain Dejean

Subjects
ant venom, toxins, venom biochemistry, alkaloids, formic acid, peptides, enzymes, Medicine
Abstract

Ants (Formicidae) represent a taxonomically diverse group of hymenopterans with over 13,000 extant species, the majority of which inject or spray secretions from a venom gland. The evolutionary success of ants is mostly due to their unique eusociality that has permitted them to develop complex collaborative strategies, partly involving their venom secretions, to defend their nest against predators, microbial pathogens, ant competitors, and to hunt prey. Activities of ant venom include paralytic, cytolytic, haemolytic, allergenic, pro-inflammatory, insecticidal, antimicrobial, and pain-producing pharmacologic activities, while non-toxic functions include roles in chemical communication involving trail and sex pheromones, deterrents, and aggregators. While these diverse activities in ant venoms have until now been largely understudied due to the small venom yield from ants, modern analytical and venomic techniques are beginning to reveal the diversity of toxin structure and function. As such, ant venoms are distinct from other venomous animals, not only rich in linear, dimeric and disulfide-bonded peptides and bioactive proteins, but also other volatile and non-volatile compounds such as alkaloids and hydrocarbons. The present review details the unique structures and pharmacologies of known ant venom proteinaceous and alkaloidal toxins and their potential as a source of novel bioinsecticides and therapeutic agents.

Published
2016
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22. At each site its diversity: DNA barcoding reveals remarkable earthworm diversity in neotropical rainforests of French Guiana

Author

Christopher Baraloto, Heidy Schimann, Thibaud Decaëns, Karl Cottenie, Virginie Roy, Marie-Eugénie Maggia, Emmanuel Lapied, Lise Dupont, Jérôme Murienne, Dirk Steinke, Jérôme Orivel, Department of Integrative Biology (University of Guelph), University of Guelph, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris (iEES Paris ), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 (UPEC UP12)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), and Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Range (biology), Rare species, Soil Science, [SDV.BID]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity, Rainforest, Biology, 01 natural sciences, DNA barcoding, Sampling methods, Tropical rainforest, Diversity level, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Ecology, Earthworm, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, biology.organism_classification, Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous), DNA Barcoding, Community Ecology, Habitat, 040103 agronomy & agriculture, 0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, Biological dispersal, Epiphyte, Species richness, 010606 plant biology & botany
Abstract

Despite their recognized essential role in soil, earthworms in tropical environments are still understudied. The aim of this study was to re-evaluate the diversity at the regional scale, as well as to investigate the environmental and spatial drivers of earthworm communities. We sampled earthworm communities across a range of habitats at six locations in French Guiana using three different sampling methods. We generated 1675 DNA barcodes and combined them with data from a previous study. Together, all sequences clustered into 119 MOTUs which were used as proxy to assess species richness. Only two MOTUs were common between the six locations and 20.2 % were singletons, showing very high regional species richness and a high number of rare species. A canonical redundancy analysis was used to identify key drivers of the earthworm community composition. The RDA results and beta-diversity calculations both show strong species turnover and a strong spatial effect, resulting from dispersal limitations that are responsible for the current community composition. Sampling in different microhabitats allowed the discovery of 23 MOTUs that are exclusively found in decaying trunks and epiphytes, highlighting hidden diversity of earthworms outside of soil.

Published
2020
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23. Development but not diet alters microbial communities in the Neotropical arboreal trap jaw ant Daceton armigerum: an exploratory study

Author

Jérôme Orivel, Joshua C. Gibson, Christophe Duplais, Manuela de Oliveira Ramalho, Alain Dejean, Corrie S. Moreau, Andrew V. Suarez, Cornell University, Department of Entomology, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), University of Illinoiis at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Evolution and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, ANR-11-INBS-0001,ANAEE-FR,ANAEE-Services(2011), and ANR-10-LABX-0025,CEBA,CEnter of the study of Biodiversity in Amazonia(2010)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, 0301 basic medicine, Arboreal locomotion, Molecular biology, lcsh:Medicine, Zoology, [SDV.BID]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity, Biology, Microbiology, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Article, 18S ribosomal RNA, 03 medical and health sciences, Nest, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, RNA, Ribosomal, 18S, Animals, Microbiome, lcsh:Science, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 2. Zero hunger, Multidisciplinary, Ecology, Ants, Host (biology), Microbiota, lcsh:R, 15. Life on land, Ribosomal RNA, Brood, 030104 developmental biology, Taxon, lcsh:Q, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Abstract

International audience; To better understand the evolutionary significance of symbiotic interactions in nature, microbiome studies can help to identify the ecological factors that may shape host-associated microbial communities. In this study we explored both 16S and 18S rRNA microbial communities of D. armigerum from both wild caught individuals collected in the Amazon and individuals kept in the laboratory and fed on controlled diets. We also investigated the role of colony, sample type, development and caste on structuring microbial communities. Our bacterial results (16S rRNA) reveal that (1) there are colony level differences between bacterial communities; (2) castes do not structure communities; (3) immature stages (brood) have different bacterial communities than adults; and 4) individuals kept in the laboratory with a restricted diet showed no differences in their bacterial communities from their wild caught nest mates, which could indicate the presence of a stable and persistent resident bacterial community in this host species. The same categories were also tested for microbial eukaryote communities (18S rRNA), and (5) developmental stage has an influence on the diversity recovered; (6) the diversity of taxa recovered has shown this can be an important tool to understand additional aspects of host biology and species interactions. A prevailing question in studies of host-symbiont interactions is what are the host factors that affect their prokar-yotic and eukaryotic microbial communities. Microbial communities are influenced by features including geography, host phylogeny, diet and stages of development 1-7. However, no single factor consistently structures host-associated microbial communities across the tree of life. For example, in some ants diet explains substantial variation in gut microbial diversity 8-13. In contrast, for Pseudomyrmex ants a specialized plant-based diet was not as important as their relative trophic position for explaining microbial abundance and diversity 14. Understanding the patterns and exceptions affecting host-associated microbial diversity are critical to advancing our knowledge of these intimate relationships. One of the most common benefits provided by symbiosis is nutrition 15. Part of the evolutionary success of ants is attributed to food flexibility, which in some cases is directly linked to microbial symbionts 12,16,17. Several ant species have well-established bacterial communities and some provide essential nutrients to the ants. For example, members of the Camponotini tribe (Camponotus, Colobopsis and Polyrhachis) rely on endosymbiotic Blochmannia to obtain nitrogen 3,4,18-20 , and species in the genus Cephalotes rely on intestinal symbionts to recycle nitrogen for the host 10,12,21. However, the majority of ant taxa have not had their microbial communities studied, especially for eukaryotic microbes. In addition, understanding the factors that influence and modify the diversity of these associated microbes is important to understand their impact on the host.

Published
2020
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24. Cytogenetic data for sixteen ant species from North-eastern Amazonia with phylogenetic insights into three subfamilies

Author

Linda Inês Silveira, Frédéric Petitclerc, Luísa Antônia Campos Barros, Hilton Jeferson Alves Cardoso de Aguiar, Sandrine Etienne, Jérôme Orivel, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), and Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Insecta, Crematogaster, lcsh:QH426-470, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Population, Biodiversity, Dolichoderus imitator, Plant Science, Rainforest, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Genus, Genetics, education, Formicidae, Phylogeny, Neotropical ants, Taxonomy, Amazon Basin, biodiversity, Evolutionary Biology, education.field_of_study, biology, Phylogenetic tree, French Guyana/Guyane, Karyosystematics, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, karyotype, 010602 entomology, lcsh:Genetics, Atta sexdens, Formicidae karyotype Neotropical ants biodiversity, Evolutionary biology, Animal Science and Zoology, Brazil, Research Article, Biotechnology
Abstract

Ants play essential roles in most terrestrial ecosystems and may be considered pests for agriculture and agroforestry. Recent morphological and molecular data have challenged conventional ant phylogeny and the interpretation of karyotypic variations. Existing Neotropical ant cytogenetic data focus on Atlantic rainforest species, and provide evolutionary and taxonomic insight. However, there are data for only 18 Amazonian species. In this study, we describe the karyotypes of 16 ant species belonging to 12 genera and three subfamilies, collected in the Brazilian state of Amapá, and in French Guiana. The karyotypes of six species are described for the first time, including that of the South American genus Allomerus Mayr, 1878. The karyotype of Crematogaster Lund, 1831 is also described for the first time for the New World. For other species, extant data for geographically distinct populations was compared with our own data, e.g. for the leafcutter ants Acromyrmex balzani (Emery, 1890) and Atta sexdens (Linnaeus, 1758). The information obtained for the karyotype of Dolichoderus imitator Emery, 1894 differs from extant data from the Atlantic forest, thereby highlighting the importance of population cytogenetic approaches. This study also emphasizes the need for good chromosome preparations for studying karyotype structure.

Published
2020
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25. Advances and prospects of environmental DNA in neotropical rainforests

Author

Amaia Iribar, Mailyn Gonzalez, Céline Leroy, Sébastien Brosse, Julian Donald, Jérôme Murienne, Lucie Zinger, Carla Martins Lopes, Pierre Taberlet, Jérôme Orivel, Heidy Schimann, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA ), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ANR-16-CE02-0009,GlobNets,Biogéographie globale des réseaux écologiques des forêts du monde(2016), ANR-17-CE02-0007,DEBIT,Decouplage des dimensions de la biodiversité dans les écosystèmes tropicaux(2017), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Neotropics, conservation biology, amazon, Biodiversity, Climate change, microbial communities, Rainforest, [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, diversity, DNA metabarcoding, 03 medical and health sciences, Goods and services, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, Deforestation, land-use, Environmental DNA, Ecosystem, Environmental planning, real-time pcr, 030304 developmental biology, biodiversity, Rainforests, 0303 health sciences, endophytic fungi, environmental genomics, Aquatic ecosystem, 15. Life on land, [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics, soil bacterial, Geography, 13. Climate action, biomonitoring, phylogenetic community ecology, eDNA, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, extracellular DNA
Abstract

International audience; The rainforests of the Neotropics shelter a vast diversity of plant, animal and microscopic species that provide critical ecosystem goods and services for both local and worldwide populations. These environments face a major crisis due to increased deforestation, pollution, and climate change, emphasizing the need for more effective conservation efforts. The adequate monitoring of these ecosystems has proven a complex and time consuming endeavour, which depends on ever dwindling taxonomic expertise. To date, many species remain undiscovered, let alone described, with otherwise limited information regarding known species population distributions and densities. Overcoming these knowledge shortfalls and practical limitations is becoming increasingly possible through techniques based on environmental DNA (eDNA), i.e., DNA that can be obtained from environmental samples (e.g. tissues, soil, sediment, water, etc.). When coupled with high-throughput sequencing, these techniques now enable realistic, cost-effective, and standardisable biodiversity assessments. This opens up enormous opportunities for advancing our understanding of complex and species-rich tropical communities, but also in facilitating large-scale biomonitoring programs in the neotropics. In this review, we provide a brief introduction to eDNA methods, and an overview of their current and potential uses in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of neotropical rainforests. We also discuss the limits and challenges of these methods for our understanding and monitoring of biodiversity, as well as future research and applied perspectives of these techniques in neotropical rainforests, and beyond.

Published
2020
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26. Relative Efficiency of Pitfall Trapping vs. Nocturnal Hand Collecting in Assessing Soil-Dwelling Spider Diversity along A Structural Gradient of Neotropical Habitats

Author

Quentin Martinez, Vincent Vedel, Claire Fortunel, Christopher Baraloto, Axel Cerdan, Julien Pétillon, Jérôme Orivel, Kaïna Privet, Ecosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution [Rennes] (ECOBIO), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Rennes (OSUR)-Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES), Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (UMR ISEM), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR226-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Florida International University [Miami] (FIU), Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, International Center for Tropical Botany, ANR-10-LABX-25-01, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, ANR-10-LABX-0025,CEBA,CEnter of the study of Biodiversity in Amazonia(2010), Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Rennes (OSUR), Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Nocturnal, [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Diversity index, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, species richness, Spider, lcsh:QH301-705.5, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Ecology, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, Ecological Modeling, diversity indices, turnover, Sampling (statistics), 15. Life on land, [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics, functional diversity, Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous), sampling methods, Geography, lcsh:Biology (General), Habitat, Guiana shield, Araneae, raneae, Species richness, Orchard, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, Diversity (business)
Abstract

International audience; Assessing spider diversity remains a great challenge, especially in tropical habitats where dozens of species can locally co-occur. Pitfall trapping is one of the most widely used techniques to collect spiders, but it suffers from several biases, and its accuracy likely varies with habitat complexity. In this study, we compared the efficiency of passive pitfall trapping versus active nocturnal hand collecting (NHC) to capture low understory-dwelling spider taxonomical (morpho-species) and functional (hunting guilds) diversity along a structural gradient of habitats in French Guiana. We focused on four habitats describing a structural gradient: garden to the orchard to the forest edge to the undisturbed forest. Overall, estimated morpho-species richness and composition did not vary consistently between habitats, but abundances of ground-hunting spiders decreased significantly with increasing habitat complexity. We found habitat-dependence differences in taxonomic diversity between sampling strategies: NHC revealed higher diversity in the orchard, whereas pitfalls resulted in higher diversity in the forest. Species turnover resulted in high dissimilarity in species composition between habitats using either method. This study shows how pitfall trapping is influenced by habitat structure, rendering this sampling method incomplete for complex, tropical environments. However, pitfall traps remain a valuable component of inventories because they sample distinct assemblage of spiders

Published
2020
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27. The ecology and feeding habits of the arboreal trap-jawed ant Daceton armigerum.

Author

Alain Dejean, Jacques H C Delabie, Bruno Corbara, Fréderic Azémar, Sarah Groc, Jérôme Orivel, and Maurice Leponce

Subjects
Medicine, Science
Abstract

Here we show that Daceton armigerum, an arboreal myrmicine ant whose workers are equipped with hypertrophied trap-jaw mandibles, is characterized by a set of unexpected biological traits including colony size, aggressiveness, trophobiosis and hunting behavior. The size of one colony has been evaluated at ca. 952,000 individuals. Intra- and interspecific aggressiveness were tested and an equiprobable null model used to show how D. armigerum colonies react vis-à-vis other arboreal ant species with large colonies; it happens that D. armigerum can share trees with certain of these species. As they hunt by sight, workers occupy their hunting areas only during the daytime, but stay on chemical trails between nests at night so that the center of their home range is occupied 24 hours a day. Workers tend different Hemiptera taxa (i.e., Coccidae, Pseudococcidae, Membracidae and Aethalionidae). Through group-hunting, short-range recruitment and spread-eagling prey, workers can capture a wide range of prey (up to 94.12 times the mean weight of foraging workers).

Published
2012
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28. Evolutionary Perspectives on Myrmecophily in Ladybirds

Author

Amélie Vantaux, Olivier Roux, Alexandra Magro, and Jérôme Orivel

Subjects
Zoology, QL1-991
Abstract

Myrmecophiles are species that usually have developed specialized traits to cope with the aggressiveness of ants enabling them to live in their vicinity. Many coccinellid species are predators of Hemiptera; the latter is also often protected by ants. Therefore these ladybirds frequently interact with ants, and some species have become myrmecophilous. In this paper, we aim to provide an overview of the evolution of myrmecophilous traits in ladybirds. We then discuss the costs and benefits of myrmecophily and the dietary shift to myrmecophagy observed in a few species.

Published
2012
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29. A mimetic nesting association between a timid social wasp and an aggressive arboreal ant

Author

James M. Carpenter, Jérôme Orivel, Alain Dejean, Bruno Corbara, Pablo Servigne, Laboratoire Microorganismes : Génome et Environnement (LMGE), Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand 2 (UBP)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I (UdA), Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Physics and Astronomy [Leicester], University of Leicester, Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Investissement d'Avenir grant : ANR-10-LABX-25-01, Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand 2 (UBP)-Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I (UdA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Arboreal locomotion, Wasps, Ant-wasp interactions, Biology, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Nesting Behavior, Trees, Nest, Animals, Mimicry, Nest site selection, Symbiosis, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Army ant, General Immunology and Microbiology, Ants, Ecology, Host (biology), Protopolybia emortualis, Dolichoderus bidens, General Medicine, Commensalism, biology.organism_classification, French Guiana, Aggression, 010602 entomology, Polistinae, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Abstract

International audience; In French Guiana, the arboreal nests of the swarm-founding social wasp Protopolybia emortualis (Polistinae) are generally found near those of the arboreal dolichoderine ant Dolichoderus bidens. These wasp nests are typically protected by an envelope, which in turn is covered by an additional carton 'shelter' with structure resembling the D. bidens nests. A few wasps constantly guard their nest to keep D. bidens workers from approaching. When alarmed by a strong disturbance, the ants invade the host tree foliage whereas the wasps retreat into their nest. Notably, there is no chemical convergence in the cuticular profiles of the wasps and ants sharing a tree. The aggressiveness of D. bidens likely protects the wasps from army ant raids, but the ants do not benefit from the presence of the wasps; therefore, this relationship corresponds to a kind of commensalism. (C) 2018 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Published
2018
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30. Arboreal ants use the 'Velcro(R) principle' to capture very large prey.

Author

Alain Dejean, Céline Leroy, Bruno Corbara, Olivier Roux, Régis Céréghino, Jérôme Orivel, and Raphaël Boulay

Subjects
Medicine, Science
Abstract

Plant-ants live in a mutualistic association with host plants known as "myrmecophytes" that provide them with a nesting place and sometimes with extra-floral nectar (EFN) and/or food bodies (FBs); the ants can also attend sap-sucking Hemiptera for their honeydew. In return, plant-ants, like most other arboreal ants, protect their host plants from defoliators. To satisfy their nitrogen requirements, however, some have optimized their ability to capture prey in the restricted environment represented by the crowns of trees by using elaborate hunting techniques. In this study, we investigated the predatory behavior of the ant Azteca andreae which is associated with the myrmecophyte Cecropia obtusa. We noted that up to 8350 ant workers per tree hide side-by-side beneath the leaf margins of their host plant with their mandibles open, waiting for insects to alight. The latter are immediately seized by their extremities, and then spread-eagled; nestmates are recruited to help stretch, carve up and transport prey. This group ambush hunting technique is particularly effective when the underside of the leaves is downy, as is the case for C. obtusa. In this case, the hook-shaped claws of the A. andreae workers and the velvet-like structure of the underside of the leaves combine to act like natural Velcro that is reinforced by the group ambush strategy of the workers, allowing them to capture prey of up to 13,350 times the mean weight of a single worker.

Published
2010
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31. An overlooked mandibular-rubbing behavior used during recruitment by the African weaver ant, Oecophylla longinoda.

Author

Olivier Roux, Johan Billen, Jérôme Orivel, and Alain Dejean

Subjects
Medicine, Science
Abstract

In Oecophylla, an ant genus comprising two territorially dominant arboreal species, workers are known to (1) use anal spots to mark their territories, (2) drag their gaster along the substrate to deposit short-range recruitment trails, and (3) drag the extruded rectal gland along the substrate to deposit the trails used in long-range recruitment. Here we study an overlooked but important marking behavior in which O. longinoda workers first rub the underside of their mandibles onto the substrate, and then--in a surprising posture--tilt their head and also rub the upper side of their mandibles. We demonstrate that this behavior is used to recruit nestmates. Its frequency varies with the rate at which a new territory, a sugary food source, a prey item, or an alien ant are discovered. Microscopy analyses showed that both the upper side and the underside of the mandibles possess pores linked to secretory glands. So, by rubbing their mandibles onto the substrate, the workers probably spread a secretion from these glands that is involved in nestmate recruitment.

Published
2010
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32. Exploring fungus–plant N transfer in a tripartite ant–plant–fungus mutualism

Author

Nathalie Séjalon-Delmas, Céline Leroy, Yves Martinez, Jérôme Orivel, Armelle Cabin-Flaman, David Gibouin, and Alain Jauneau

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, 0301 basic medicine, Hypha, Nitrogen, Plant Science, Fungus, 01 natural sciences, Chrysobalanaceae, Plant use of endophytic fungi in defense, 03 medical and health sciences, Myrmecophyte, Ascomycota, Botany, Animals, Hirtella physophora, Symbiosis, Allomerus decemarticulatus, Mutualism (biology), Nitrogen Isotopes, biology, Ants, fungi, food and beverages, Original Articles, biology.organism_classification, Trichome, 030104 developmental biology, 010606 plant biology & botany
Abstract

Background and aims The plant Hirtella physophora, the ant Allomerus decemarticulatus and a fungus, Trimmatostroma sp., form a tripartite association. The ants manipulate both the plant trichomes and the fungus to build galleries under the stems of their host plant used to capture prey. In addition to its structural role, the fungus also improves nutrient uptake by the host plant. But it still remains unclear whether the fungus plays an indirect or a direct role in transferring nutrients to the plant. This study aimed to trace the transfer of N from the fungus to the plant's stem tissue. Methods Optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to investigate the presence of fungal hyphae in the stem tissues. Then, a 15N-labelling experiment was combined with a nanoscale secondary-ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS 50) isotopic imaging approach to trace the movement of added 15N from the fungus to plant tissues. Key results The TEM images clearly showed hyphae inside the stem tissue in the cellular compartment. Also, fungal hyphae were seen perforating the wall of the parenchyma cell. The 15N provisioning of the fungus in the galleries resulted in significant enrichment of the 15N signature of the plant's leaves 1 d after the 15N-labelling solution was deposited on the fungus-bearing trap. Finally, NanoSIMS imaging proved that nitrogen was transferred biotrophically from the fungus to the stem tissue. Conclusions This study provides evidence that the fungi are connected endophytically to an ant-plant system and actively transfer nitrogen from 15N-labelling solution to the plant's stem tissues. Overall, this study underlines how complex the trophic structure of ant-plant interactions is due to the presence of the fungus and provides insight into the possibly important nutritional aspects and tradeoffs involved in myrmecophyte-ant mutualisms.

Published
2017
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33. Coordinated community structure among trees, fungi and invertebrate groups in Amazonian rainforests

Author

Christopher Baraloto, Jason Vleminckx, Gaëlle Jaouen, Julien Engel, Thibaud Decaëns, Pascal Petronelli, Aurélie Dourdain, Jérôme Orivel, Mélanie Fichaux, Heidy Schimann, Mélanie Roy, Emmanuel Lapied, Vincent Vedel, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Florida International University [Miami] (FIU), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Taxonomia International Foundation, Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Département Environnements et Sociétés (Cirad-ES), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), Florida International University (FIU), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UM3)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), and Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Amazonian, lcsh:Medicine, forêt tropicale, [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, Trees, Interactions biologiques, Soil, 0302 clinical medicine, Taxonomic rank, lcsh:Science, Phylogeny, Trophic level, Multidisciplinary, Ecology, Community structure, Edaphic, Biodiversity, [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics, Tropical ecology, Écologie des populations, French Guiana, L20 - Écologie animale, P01 - Conservation de la nature et ressources foncières, Communauté végétale, Assembly rules, Rainforest, F40 - Écologie végétale, Distribution géographique, Invertébré, Champignon, Biology, Arbre, Article, 03 medical and health sciences, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, Animals, Community ecology, Ecosystem, Invertebrate, Tropical Climate, Ants, lcsh:R, Fungi, 15. Life on land, Invertebrates, biodiversité forestière, 030104 developmental biology, lcsh:Q, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract

Little is known regarding how trophic interactions shape community assembly in tropical forests. Here we assess multi-taxonomic community assembly rules using a rare standardized coordinated inventory comprising exhaustive surveys of five highly-diverse taxonomic groups exerting key ecological functions: trees, fungi, earthworms, ants and spiders. We sampled 36 1.9-ha plots from four remote locations in French Guiana including precise soil measurements, and we tested whether species turnover was coordinated among groups across geographic and edaphic gradients. All species group pairs exhibited significant compositional associations that were independent from soil conditions. For some of the pairs, associations were also partly explained by soil properties, especially soil phosphorus availability. Our study provides evidence for coordinated turnover among taxonomic groups beyond simple relationships with environmental factors, thereby refining our understanding regarding the nature of interactions occurring among these ecologically important groups.

Published
2019
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34. First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana

Author

Natalia Ladino, Jérôme Orivel, Maurice Leponce, Sarah Groc, Alain Dejean, Mélanie Fichaux, Jacques H. C. Delabie, Rodrigo M. Feitosa, Weslly Franco, Laboratorio de Mirmecologia, CEPLAC, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, 1000 Brussels, Belgium., Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, and Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique (IRSNB)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Overseas department, Biology, Subspecies, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, distribution, Animals, Humans, Amazon, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Taxonomy, 030304 developmental biology, 0303 health sciences, Ants, Ecology, Amazon rainforest, Neotropical realm, Species diversity, Biodiversity, 15. Life on land, Checklist, Biodiversity hotspot, French Guiana, formicidae, Guiana Shield, Animal Science and Zoology, Species richness, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, rainforest
Abstract

International audience; We provide here a checklist of the ants of French Guiana, an overseas department of France situated in northern South America, with a very low human population density and predominantly covered by old-growth tropical rainforests. Based on 165 scientific papers, specimens deposited in collections, and unpublished surveys, a total of 659 valid species and subspecies from 84 genera and 12 subfamilies is presented. Although far from complete, these numbers represent approximately 10% of the ant diversity known to occur in the Neotropical realm. Additionally, three ant genera and 119 species are reported for the first time for French Guiana. Finally, five species are recognized as erroneous records for the the department in the literature. This checklist significantly expands the basic knowledge of the ants in the Guiana Shield, one of the world's most important biodiversity hotspots.

Published
2019
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35. Influence of Mutualistic Lifestyle, Mutualistic Partner, and Climate on Cuticular Hydrocarbon Profiles in Parabiotic Ants

Author

Jérôme Orivel, Philipp P. Sprenger, Juliane Hartke, Thomas Schmitt, Florian Menzel, Barbara Feldmeyer, Johannes Gutenberg - Universität Mainz (JGU), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Laboratoire de Recherche en Informatique (LRI), and Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-CentraleSupélec-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Entomology, Species complex, criptic species, media_common.quotation_subject, mutualism, Animal Scales, Zoology, Insect, adaptation, Biology, 01 natural sciences, Biochemistry, Species Specificity, Animals, Clade, Symbiosis, Life Style, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, media_common, Mutualism (biology), Abiotic component, Ants, chemical communication, General Medicine, 15. Life on land, Hydrocarbons, formicidae, Alkadienes, 010602 entomology, parabiosis, Chemical mimicry, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, Desiccation, mimicry, 010606 plant biology & botany
Abstract

International audience; A vital trait in insects is their cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profile, which protects the insect against desiccation and serves in chemical communication. Due to these functions, CHC profiles are shaped by both climatic conditions and biotic interactions. Here, we investigated CHC differentiation in the neotropical parabiotic ant species Crematogaster levior and Camponotus femoratus, which mutualistically share a nest. Both consist of two cryptic species each (Cr. levior A and B and Ca. femoratus PAT and PS) that differ genetically and possess strongly different CHC profiles. We characterized and compared CHC profiles of the four cryptic species in detail. Our results suggest that Cr. levior A, Ca. femoratus PAT and Ca. femoratus PS adapted their CHC profiles to the parabiotic lifestyle by producing longer-chain CHCs. At the same time, they changed their major CHC classes, and produce more alkadienes and methyl-branched alkenes compared to Cr. levior B or non-parabiotic species. The CHC profiles of Cr. levior B were more similar to related, non-parabiotic species of the Orthocrema clade than Cr. levior A, and the chain lengths of B were similar to the reconstructed ancestral state. Signals of both the parabiotic partner (biotic conditions) and climate (abiotic conditions) were found in the CHC profiles of all four cryptic species. Our data suggest that mutualisms shaped the CHC profiles of the studied species, in particular chain length and CHC class composition. Beside this, signals of the parabiotic partners indicate potential impacts of biotic interactions, via chemical mimicry or chemical camouflage.

Published
2019
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36. Do host plant and associated ant species affect microbial communities in myrmecophytes ?

Author

Céline Leroy, Jérôme Orivel, Hervé Gryta, Patricia Jargeat, Alain Dejean, Angelo D. Armijos Carrión, Mario X. Ruiz-González, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL), Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Guangxi University [Nanning], PO-FEDER 2014–2020, Région Guyane (BING,GY0007194), ANR-10-LABX-0025,CEBA,CEnter of the study of Biodiversity in Amazonia(2010), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ANR: 10-LABX-0025,CEBA,CEnter of the study of Biodiversity in Amazonia(2010), Université des Antilles (UA)-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AgroParisTech-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), and Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Hirtella physophora, Allomerus decemarticulatus, [SDV.BID]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity, [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Article, Actinobacteria, 03 medical and health sciences, Myrmecophyte, lcsh:Science, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 030304 developmental biology, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 0303 health sciences, Cordia nodosa, biology, Ecology, fungi, food and beverages, Allomerus octoarticulatus, Azteca sp. cf. depilis, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, Azteca, French Guiana, [SDV.BA.ZI]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Invertebrate Zoology, [SDV.MP]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology, Microbial population biology, Insect Science, microbial diversity, lcsh:Q, Species richness, Azteca sp cf depilis, Proteobacteria, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, domatia, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Abstract

Ant-associated microorganisms can play crucial and often overlooked roles, and given the diversity of interactions that ants have developed, the study of the associated microbiomes is of interest. We focused here on specialist plant-ant species of the genus Allomerus that grow a fungus to build galleries on their host-plant stems. Allomerus-inhabited domatia, thus, might be a rich arena for microbes associated with the ants, the plant, and the fungus. We investigated the microbial communities present in domatia colonised by four arboreal ants: Allomerus decemarticulatus, A. octoarticulatus, A. octoarticulatus var. demerarae, and the non-fungus growing plant-ant Azteca sp. cf. depilis, inhabiting Hirtella physophora or Cordia nodosa in French Guiana. We hypothesized that the microbial community will differ among these species. We isolated microorganisms from five colonies of each species, sequenced the 16S rRNA or Internal TranscribedSpacer (ITS) regions, and described both the alpha and beta diversities. We identified 69 microbial taxa, which belong to five bacterial and two fungal phyla. The most diverse phyla were Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. The microbial community of Azteca cf. depilis and Allomerus spp. differed in composition and richness. Geographical distance affected microbial communities and richness but plant species did not. Actinobacteria were only associated with Allomerus spp.

Published
2019
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37. Limited gene dispersal and spatial genetic structure as stabilizing factors in an ant-plant mutualism

Author

Céline Leroy, Angélique Quilichini, Pierre-Jean G. Malé, Jérôme Orivel, Alain Dejean, Pierre Humblot, Harvard University [Cambridge], Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (ECOLAB), Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Université des Antilles (UA)-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AgroParisTech-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Univ Toronto, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Toronto, ON, Canada, Partenaires INRAE, Harvard Univ, Dept Organism & Evolutionary Biol, Museum Comparat Zool, 26 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA, CNRS, UMR Ecol Forets Guyane, Kourou, France, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Météo France-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Météo France-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, 0301 basic medicine, HOST, Genetic Structures, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], population, Population genetics, [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, 01 natural sciences, genetics, Allomerus decemarticulatus, Mutualism (biology), education.field_of_study, biology, Ecology, metapopulation, food and beverages, Plants, [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics, Metapopulation, myrmecophyte, local adaptation, PACKAGE, Population, ECOLOGY, 010603 evolutionary biology, 03 medical and health sciences, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, Species Specificity, Mutualism, Animals, POPULATION-STRUCTURE, Hirtella physophora, Symbiosis, education, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Local adaptation, Ants, fungi, population genetics, 15. Life on land, Ant colony, biology.organism_classification, EVOLUTION, 030104 developmental biology, COMPUTER-PROGRAM, VIRULENCE, Biological dispersal, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, gene flow, HIRTELLA-PHYSOPHORA
Abstract

International audience; Comparative studies of the population genetics of closely associated species are necessary to properly understand the evolution of these relationships because gene flow between populations affects the partners' evolutionary potential at the local scale. As a consequence (at least for antagonistic interactions), asymmetries in the strength of the genetic structures of the partner populations can result in one partner having a co-evolutionary advantage. Here, we assess the population genetic structure of partners engaged in a species-specific and obligatory mutualism: the Neotropical ant-plant, Hirtella physophora, and its ant associate, Allomerus decemarticulatus. Although the ant cannot complete its life cycle elsewhere than on H. physophora and the plant cannot live for long without the protection provided by A. decemarticulatus, these species also have antagonistic interactions: the ants have been shown to benefit from castrating their host plant and the plant is able to retaliate against too virulent ant colonies. We found similar short dispersal distances for both partners, resulting in the local transmission of the association and, thus, inbred populations in which too virulent castrating ants face the risk of local extinction due to the absence of H. physophora offspring. On the other hand, we show that the plant populations probably experienced greater gene flow than did the ant populations, thus enhancing the evolutionary potential of the plants. We conclude that such levels of spatial structure in the partners' populations can increase the stability of the mutualistic relationship. Indeed, the local transmission of the association enables partial alignments of the partners' interests, and population connectivity allows the plant retaliation mechanisms to be locally adapted to the castration behaviour of their symbionts.

Published
2016
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38. Comparisons of Protein and Peptide Complexity in Poneroid and Formicoid Ant Venoms

Author

Graham M. Nicholson, Pierre Escoubas, Matthew P. Padula, Jérôme Orivel, Jennifer M. S. Koh, Samira R. Aili, Axel Touchard, and Alain Dejean

Subjects
0301 basic medicine, Ectatomma tuberculatum, ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species, Venom, Peptide, Hymenoptera, Biology, Tandem mass spectrometry, medicine.disease_cause, complex mixtures, Biochemistry, Ant venom, Genetic Heterogeneity, 03 medical and health sciences, Species Specificity, Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Myrmecia gulosa, medicine, Animals, Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional, Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid, chemistry.chemical_classification, Chromatography, Ant Venoms, Ants, ved/biology, Toxin, Proteins, General Chemistry, medicine.disease, biology.organism_classification, Molecular Weight, 030104 developmental biology, chemistry, Peptides
Abstract

Animal venom peptides are currently being developed as novel drugs and bioinsecticides. Because ants use venoms for defense and predation, venomous ants represent an untapped source of potential bioactive toxins. This study compared the protein and peptide components of the poneroid ants Neoponera commutata, Neoponera apicalis, and Odontomachus hastatus and the formicoid ants Ectatomma tuberculatum, Ectatomma brunneum, and Myrmecia gulosa. 1D and 2D PAGE revealed venom proteins in the mass range10 to250 kDa. NanoLC-ESI-QTOF MS/MS analysis of tryptic peptides revealed the presence of common venom proteins and also many undescribed proteins. RP-HPLC separation followed by MALDI-TOF MS of the venom peptides also revealed considerable heterogeneity. It was found that the venoms contained between 144 and 1032 peptides with 5-95% of peptides in the ranges 1-4 and 1-8 kDa for poneroid and formicoid ants, respectively. By employing the reducing MALDI matrix 1,5-diaminonapthalene, up to 28 disulfide-bonded peptides were also identified in each of the venoms. In particular, the mass range of peptides from poneroid ants is lower than peptides from other venoms, indicating possible novel structures and pharmacologies. These results indicate that ant venoms represent an enormous, untapped source of novel therapeutic and bioinsecticide leads.

Published
2016
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39. The relation between circadian asynchrony, functional redundancy, and trophic performance in tropical ant communities

Author

Mickal Houadria, Mona-Isabel Schmitt, Eric Schneider, Alex Salas-Lopez, Johanna Arndt, Jérôme Orivel, Nico Blüthgen, and Florian Menzel

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Ecological stability, Tropical Climate, Food Chain, Rainforest, Ants, Ecology, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, Biodiversity, Biology, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Circadian Rhythm, French Guiana, Habitat, Borneo, Redundancy (engineering), Animals, Ecosystem, Circadian rhythm, Species richness, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Trophic level
Abstract

The diversity-stability relationship has been under intense scrutiny for the past decades, and temporal asynchrony is recognized as an important aspect of ecosystem stability. In contrast to relatively well-studied interannual and seasonal asynchrony, few studies investigate the role of circadian cycles for ecosystem stability. Here, we studied multifunctional redundancy of diurnal and nocturnal ant communities in four tropical rain forest sites. We analyzed how it was influenced by species richness, functional performance, and circadian asynchrony. In two neotropical sites, species richness and functional redundancy were lower at night. In contrast, these parameters did not differ in the two paleotropical sites we studied. Circadian asynchrony between species was pronounced in the neotropical sites, and increased circadian functional redundancy. In general, species richness positively affected functional redundancy, but the effect size depended on the temporal and spatial breadth of the species with highest functional performance. Our analysis shows that high levels of trophic performance were only reached through the presence of such high-performing species, but not by even contributions of multiple, less-efficient species. Thus, these species can increase current functional performance, but reduce overall functional redundancy. Our study highlights that diurnal and nocturnal ecosystem properties of the very same habitat can markedly differ in terms of species richness and functional redundancy. Consequently, like the need to study multiple ecosystem functions, multiple periods of the circadian cycle need to be assessed in order to fully understand the diversity-stability relationship in an ecosystem.

Published
2016
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40. Correction to: Ant-mediated ecosystem processes are driven by trophic community structure but mainly by the environment

Author

Mickal Houadria, Jérôme Orivel, Alex Salas‑Lopez, and Florian Menzel

Subjects
Ecology, Ecology (disciplines), Community structure, Ecosystem, Biology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ANT, Trophic level
Abstract

Unfortunately, the given and family names of author “Mickal Houadria” was incorrectly published in the original.

Published
2020
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41. Mandible strike kinematics of the trap-jaw ant genus Anochetus Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Author

Andrew V. Suarez, Fredrick J. Larabee, Joshua C. Gibson, Axel Touchard, Jérôme Orivel, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Université des Antilles (UA)-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AgroParisTech-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), National Science Foundation [DDIG DEB-1407279], Smithsonian Institution (Peter Buck Fellowship), National Geographic Society [9481-14], Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and 'Investissement d'Avenir' grant [ANR-10-LABX-0025]

Subjects
030110 physiology, 0106 biological sciences, 0301 basic medicine, Zoology, Hymenoptera, Body size, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Anochetus, Mandible (arthropod mouthpart), 03 medical and health sciences, Genus, power amplification, mandible strike, comparative biomechanics, Anochetus emarginatus, Formicidae, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, functional morphology, biology, biology.organism_classification, Ponerinae, catapult mechanism, kinematics, Odontomachus, Animal Science and Zoology, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Abstract

International audience; High-speed power-amplification mechanisms are common throughout the animal kingdom. In ants, power-amplified trap-jaw mandibles have evolved independently at least four times, including once in the subfamily Ponerinae which contains the sister genera Odontomachus and Anochetus. In Odontomachus, mandible strikes have been relatively well described and can occur in

Published
2018
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42. Land-use change effects on the taxonomic and morphological trait composition of ant communities in French Guiana

Author

Jérôme Orivel, Loïc Mallia, Alex Salas‐Lopez, Cyrille Violle, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Investissement d'avenir Grant : ANR-10-LABX-25-01, GDR Statistical Ecology : 3645, European Project: 639706,H2020,ERC-2014-STG,CONSTRAINTS(2015), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Université des Antilles (UA)-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AgroParisTech-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UM3)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Abiotic component, n-dimensional hypervolume approach, Gradient analysis, Biotic component, gradient analysis, Ecology, Range (biology), 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, habitat filtering, 15. Life on land, Biology, functional diversity, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, land-use intensification, Variation (linguistics), Habitat, Insect Science, Trait, community assembly, Land use, land-use change and forestry, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS
Abstract

International audience; Land-use changes frequently lead to major changes in the composition and diversity of organisms. A reduction in the range of strategies enabling organisms to survive in a given environment and changes in the average trait values of species may potentially be associated with variations in species' number and identity. We investigated the variation in ant taxonomic composition and morphological trait diversity along a land-use gradient in French Guiana. We measured 13 core ant morphological traits on all species sampled. We then selected the set of five traits that best captured changes along the land-use gradient. Potential effects of the variation in morphological trait diversity and average values were evaluated by examining morphological traits individually as well as in combination. We found that variation in taxonomic diversity was unrelated to the plot-level morphospace. Conversely, a significant shift in taxonomic composition was accompanied by changes in the average values of community traits along the studied gradient, examined both individually and in combination. We argue that morphological trait values may be related to the success of different species in surviving in a given environment and, therefore, are indicative of the taxonomic turnover in ants along the land-use gradient. Nevertheless, in contradiction with theoretical expectations, the morphospace is only slightly affected by habitat filtering and loosely impacted by taxonomic changes. Examining the sensitivity of the morphospace to abiotic and biotic factors and how it reflects varying ecological pressures for species is thus of the utmost importance.

Published
2018
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43. Ant-plant relationships in the canopy of an Amazonian rainforest: the presence of an ant mosaic

Author

Jacques H. C. Delabie, Maurice Leponce, Alain Dejean, Frédéric Azémar, Bruno Corbara, Jérôme Orivel, Arthur Compin, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (LEFE), Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université de Toulouse (UT), Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), UESC/CEPLAC, Laboratoire Microorganismes : Génome et Environnement (LMGE), Université Clermont Auvergne [2017-2020] (UCA [2017-2020])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), French CNRS, CNPq, Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (ECOLAB), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), and Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Canopy, ant mosaics, Arboreal locomotion, biology, pristine Amazonian rainforest, Ecology, Amazonian, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Rainforest, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, host tree attractiveness, Azteca, 010602 entomology, Myrmecophyte, Animal ecology, territoriality, indicators of disturbance, Species richness, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Abstract

Using different techniques to access the canopy of an Amazonian rainforest, we inspected 157 tree crowns for arbo-real ants. Diversity statistics showed that our study sample was not representative of the tree and ant populations due to their high diversity in Amazonian rainforests, but permitted us to note that a representative part of territorially dominant arboreal ant species (TDAAs) was inventoried. Mapping of TDAA territories and use of a null model showed the presence of an ant mosaic in the upper canopy, but this was not the case in the sub-canopy. Among the TDAAs, carton-nesting Azteca dominated (52.98% of the trees) whereas ant-garden ants (Camponotus femoratus and Crematogaster levior), common in pioneer formations, were secondarily abundant (21.64% of the trees), and the remaining 25.37% of trees sheltered one of 11 other TDAAs. The distribution of the trees forming the upper canopy influences the structure of the ant mosaic, which is related to the attractiveness of some tree taxa for certain arboreal ant species and represents a case of diffuse coevolution. ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: ant mosaics-host tree attractiveness-indicators of disturbance-pristine Amazonian rainforest-territoriality.

Published
2018
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44. Day-time vs. night-time sampling does not affect estimates of spider diversity across a land use gradient in the Neotropics

Author

Claire Fortunel, Quentin Martinez, Christopher Baraloto, Axel Cerdan, Jérôme Orivel, Vincent Vedel, and Frédéric Petitclerc

Subjects
Spider, genetic structures, Land use, Ecology, Sampling (statistics), Vegetation, Biology, complex mixtures, nervous system, Habitat, Insect Science, Period (geology), Alpha diversity, human activities, Diversity (business)
Abstract

To obtain a reliable description of spider communities, robust sampling protocols are crucial. However, it remains unclear if descriptions of spider communities in tropical habitats require both day and night sampling. Here we tested whether sampling both day and night in high and low vegetation strata would lead to better diversity estimates of spider communities than sampling at only one period of the day. We determined spider taxonomic diversity in a network of 12 plots in French Guiana along a vegetation gradient. We found high alpha diversity of spiders as expected for a tropical area at every site. We showed strong differences in spider alpha and beta diversity between high and low vegetation strata, while they were similar between day and night sampling. Our results suggest that collecting spiders at only one period is sufficient to describe the diversity of spider communities across land use types in the neotropics.

Published
2015
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45. The dynamics of ant mosaics in tropical rainforests characterized using the Self-Organizing Map algorithm

Author

Maurice Leponce, Jérôme Orivel, Arthur Compin, Frédéric Azémar, Régis Céréghino, Alain Dejean, and Bruno Corbara

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, 0301 basic medicine, Ecological niche, Arboreal locomotion, Crematogaster, biology, Ecology, Rare species, Rainforest, Ecological succession, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, 03 medical and health sciences, 030104 developmental biology, Taxon, Myrmecophyte, Insect Science, Agronomy and Crop Science, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Abstract

Ants, the most abundant taxa among canopy-dwelling animals in tropical rainforests, are mostly represented by territorially dominant arboreal ants (TDAs) whose territories are distributed in a mosaic pattern (arboreal ant mosaics). Large TDA colonies regulate insect herbivores, with implications for forestry and agronomy. What generates these mosaics in vegetal formations, which are dynamic, still needs to be better understood. So, from empirical research based on 3 Cameroonian tree species (Lophira alata, Ochnaceae; Anthocleista vogelii, Gentianaceae; and Barteria fistulosa, Passifloraceae), we used the Self-Organizing Map (SOM, neural network) to illustrate the succession of TDAs as their host trees grow and age. The SOM separated the trees by species and by size for L. alata, which can reach 60 m in height and live several centuries. An ontogenic succession of TDAs from sapling to mature trees is shown, and some ecological traits are highlighted for certain TDAs. Also, because the SOM permits the analysis of data with many zeroes with no effect of outliers on the overall scatterplot distributions, we obtained ecological information on rare species. Finally, the SOM permitted us to show that functional groups cannot be selected at the genus level as congeneric species can have very different ecological niches, something particularly true for Crematogaster spp., which include a species specifically associated with B. fistulosa, nondominant species and TDAs. Therefore, the SOM permitted the complex relationships between TDAs and their growing host trees to be analyzed, while also providing new information on the ecological traits of the ant species involved.

Published
2015
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46. The complexity and structural diversity of ant venom peptidomes is revealed by mass spectrometry profiling

Author

Alain Dejean, Graham M. Nicholson, Axel Touchard, Samira R. Aili, Pierre Escoubas, Jérôme Orivel, and Jennifer M. S. Koh

Subjects
chemistry.chemical_classification, biology, fungi, Organic Chemistry, food and beverages, Structural diversity, Venom, Peptide, biochemical phenomena, metabolism, and nutrition, medicine.disease, biology.organism_classification, Mass spectrometry, complex mixtures, Ant venom, ANT, Analytical Chemistry, chemistry, Biochemistry, Proteome, behavior and behavior mechanisms, medicine, Arthropod, Spectroscopy
Abstract

Rationale Compared with other animal venoms, ant venoms remain little explored. Ants have evolved complex venoms to rapidly immobilize arthropod prey and to protect their colonies from predators and pathogens. Many ants have retained peptide-rich venoms that are similar to those of other arthropod groups. Methods With the goal of conducting a broad and comprehensive survey of ant venom peptide diversity, we investigated the peptide composition of venoms from 82 stinging ant species from nine subfamilies using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). We also conducted an in-depth investigation of eight venoms using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) separation coupled with offline MALDI-TOFMS. Results Our results reveal that the peptide compositions of ant venom peptidomes from both poneroid and formicoid ant clades comprise hundreds of small peptides ( 4 kDa) are also present in the venom of formicoids. Chemical reduction revealed the presence of disulfide-linked peptides in most ant subfamilies, including peptides structured by one, two or three disulfide bonds as well as dimeric peptides reticulated by three disulfide bonds. Conclusions The biochemical complexity of ant venoms, associated with an enormous ecological and taxonomic diversity, suggests that stinging ant venoms constitute a promising source of bioactive molecules that could be exploited in the search for novel drug and biopesticide leads. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Published
2015
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47. Bioacoustics of the Neotropical Eneopterinae (Orthoptera, Grylloidea, Gryllidae)

Author

Hannah M. ter Hofstede, Natállia Vicente, Tony Robillard, and Jérôme Orivel

Subjects
Ecology, biology, Orthoptera, Bioacoustics, Stridulation, biology.organism_classification, Tribe (biology), Cricket, Genus, Evolutionary biology, Eneopterinae, Grylloidea, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Abstract

In members of the cricket subfamily Eneopterinae (Orthoptera, Grylloidea), songs with powerful high-frequency (HF) harmonics have evolved, which likely represents a distinctive acoustic adaptation. In this study, we analysed or reanalysed the songs of the three eneopterine genera present in the Neotropics to evaluate whether they also possess high-amplitude HF components. We present new data and combine several lines of evidence to interpret or reinterpret the calling signals of a representative species for each genus. We used new recordings in order to detect and analyse potential HF components of the songs. Stridulatory files were measured, and stridulation was studied using high-speed video recordings. The results suggest that all eneopterine genera from the Neotropics use HFs to communicate, based on the rich harmonic content of their songs. Strikingly, the Neotropical eneopterines possess high dominant frequencies, recalling the patterns observed in the tribe Lebinthini, the most speciose tribe of th...

Published
2015
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48. An uneasy alliance: a nesting association between aggressive ants and equally fierce social wasps

Author

Alain Dejean, Pablo Servigne, Bruno Corbara, Frédéric Azémar, James M. Carpenter, Jérôme Orivel, Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (ECOLAB), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Department of Physics and Astronomy [Leicester], University of Leicester, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Microorganismes : Génome et Environnement (LMGE), Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand 2 (UBP)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I (UdA), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (LEFE), Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université de Toulouse (UT), Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand 2 (UBP)-Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I (UdA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), and Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, 0301 basic medicine, Arboreal locomotion, mutualism, ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species, Wasps, Zoology, 01 natural sciences, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Predation, Nesting Behavior, Trees, 03 medical and health sciences, Nest, Animals, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Mutualism (biology), biology, Polybia rejecta wasps, ved/biology, Ants, Azteca chartifex ants, Polybia rejecta, biology.organism_classification, ANT, Azteca, French Guiana, [SDV.BA.ZI]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Invertebrate Zoology, Aggression, 010602 entomology, interspecific association, 030104 developmental biology, Insect Science, Chemical mimicry, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology, Territoriality, scent trail erasure, Agronomy and Crop Science, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Abstract

International audience; Although the Neotropical territorially dominant arboreal ant Azteca chartifex Forel is very aggressive towards any intruder, its populous colonies tolerate the close presence of the fierce polistine wasp Polybia rejecta (F.). In French Guiana, 83.33% of the 48 P. rejecta nests recorded were found side by side with those of A. chartifex. This nesting association results in mutual protection from predators (i.e., the wasps protected from army ants; the ants protected from birds). We conducted field studies, laboratory-based behavioral experiments and chemical analyses to elucidate the mechanisms allowing the persistence of this association. Due to differences in the cuticular profiles of the two species, we eliminated the possibility of chemical mimicry. Also, analyses of the carton nests did not reveal traces of marking on the envelopes. Because ant forager flows were not perturbed by extracts from the wasps’ Dufour's and venom glands, we rejected any hypothetical action of repulsive chemicals. Nevertheless, we noted that the wasps “scraped” the surface of the upper part of their nest envelope using their mandibles, likely removing the ants’ scent trails, and an experiment showed that ant foragers were perturbed by the removal of their scent trails. This leads us to use the term “erasure hypothesis.” Thus, this nesting association persists thanks to a relative tolerance by the ants towards wasp presence and the behavior of the wasps that allows them to “contain” their associated ants through the elimination of their scent trails, direct attacks, “wing-buzzing” behavior and ejecting the ants.

Published
2017
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49. Structural adaptations and mechanism of reflex bleeding in the larvae of the myrmecophilous ladybird Diomus thoracicus

Author

Alain Dejean, Frédéric Petitclerc, Jérôme Orivel, Johan Billen, Olivier Roux, Amélie Vantaux, Maladies infectieuses et vecteurs : écologie, génétique, évolution et contrôle (MIVEGEC), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM), Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé Bobo Dioulasso (INSSA), Université Polytechnique Nazi Boni Bobo-Dioulasso (UNB), Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Université des Antilles (UA)-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AgroParisTech-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Malaria Molecular Epidemiology, Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur (RIIP)-Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur (RIIP), Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (ECOLAB), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Catholic University of Leuven - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), Zoological Institute - Instituut voor Dierkunde [KU Leuven, Belgium] (ZI), Financial support was provided by a PEPS INEE 2009 grant (Cocci-polymere) from CNRS to OR and also benefited from a ‘Investissement d’Avenir’ grant managed by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (CEBA, ref. ANR-10-LABX-25-01)., We are grateful to An Vandoren for her assistance in making the sections, to Alex Vrijdaghs for his help with scanning microscopy and to Andrea Yockey-Dejean for proofreading the manuscript., Diversity, ecology, evolution & Adaptation of arthropod vectors (MIVEGEC-DEEVA), Evolution des Systèmes Vectoriels (ESV), Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Maladies infectieuses et vecteurs : écologie, génétique, évolution et contrôle (MIVEGEC), Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), and Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
0106 biological sciences, Hydrostatic pressure, MESH: Adaptation, Physiological, MESH: Coleoptera/anatomy & histology, Hemorrhage, Biology, Wasmannia, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Reflex bleeding, Hemolymph, Animals, MESH: Animals, 3D reconstruction, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Larva, Ants, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, fungi, General Medicine, Anatomy, biology.organism_classification, Adaptation, Physiological, Myrmecophily, Coleoptera, 010602 entomology, Coccinellidae, Ultrastructure, Insect Science, Reflex, MESH: Hemolymph/metabolism, MESH: Coleoptera/growth & development, MESH: Ants/parasitology, Myrmecophagous insect, MESH: Larva, MESH: Hemorrhage, Developmental Biology
Abstract

International audience; Reflex bleeding is an effective defensive mechanism against predators. When attacked, some insects emit hemolymph, which coagulates, quickly entangling their aggressor. Bleeding occurs at weak intersegmental membranes or through dedicated organs, which can be associated or not with glandular cells. Here, we describe the behavior and morphological structures involved in reflex bleeding in the larvae of the ladybird, Diomus thoracicus, which are intranidal parasites of the ant Wasmannia auropunctata. The larvae are tolerated by the ants thanks to odor mimicry, but some rare aggressive ant behaviors were observed that trigger reflex bleeding both at a pair of thoracic tubercles and a pair of posterodorsal abdominal humps. No glandular structure was found in association with these emission points, which suggests that the material emitted was hemolymph only. A 3D reconstruction suggested that reflex bleeding seems to be controlled by muscles whose contraction increases the internal hydrostatic pressure and pushes the hemolymph into a funnel-like structure with an opening to the outside. In D. thoracicus, the morphological structures involved in reflex bleeding are among the most complex and prominent described to date.

Published
2017
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50. Ant-lepidopteran associations along African forest edges

Author

Thierry Bouyer, Frédéric Azémar, Jérôme Orivel, Arthur Compin, Alain Dejean, Michel Libert, Bruno Corbara, Bruno Hérault, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG), Université des Antilles (UA)-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AgroParisTech-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (ECOLAB), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de psychologie sociale et de psychologie cognitive (LAPSCO), Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand 2 (UBP)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA), Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand 2 (UBP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Météo France-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (LEFE), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), and Université de Toulouse (UT)

Subjects
L51 - Physiologie animale - Nutrition, 0106 biological sciences, cuckoo strategy, forêt tropicale, 01 natural sciences, Nymphalidae, K01 - Foresterie - Considérations générales, Dynamique des populations, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Behavior, Animal, biology, Ecology, euphorbiaceae, General Medicine, Ant mimicry, territorially dominant arboreal ants, Biological Evolution, Myrmecophily, Lepidoptera, Larva, Forêt, myrmecophily, Route forestière, L20 - Écologie animale, Butterflies, alchornea, Trophallaxis, Weaver ant, Silk, Miletinae, 010603 evolutionary biology, Ant follower, Animals, Pyralidae, Symbiosis, Formicidae, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Ants, L60 - Taxonomie et géographie animales, 15. Life on land, Ant colony, biology.organism_classification, 010602 entomology, Africa, Écologie animale, [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology
Abstract

International audience; Working along forest edges, we aimed to determine how some caterpillars can co-exist with territorially dominant arboreal ants (TDAAs) in tropical Africa. We recorded caterpillars from 22 lepidopteran species living in the presence of five TDAA species. Among the defoliator and/or nectarivorous caterpillars that live on tree foliage, the Pyralidae and Nymphalidae use their silk to protect themselves from ant attacks. The Notodontidae and lycaenid Polyommatinae and Theclinae live in direct contact with ants; the Theclinae even reward ants with abundant secretions from their Newcomer gland. Lichen feeders (lycaenid; Poritiinae), protected by long bristles, also live among ants. Some lycaenid Miletinae caterpillars feed on ant-attended membracids, including in the shelters where the ants attend them; Lachnocnema caterpillars use their forelegs to obtain trophallaxis from their host ants. Caterpillars from other species live inside weaver ant nests. Those of the genus Euliphyra (Miletinae) feed on ant prey and brood and can obtain trophallaxis, while those from an Eberidae species only prey on host ant eggs. Eublemma albifascia (Erebidae) caterpillars use their thoracic legs to obtain trophallaxis and trophic eggs from ants. Through transfer bioassays of last instars, we noted that herbivorous caterpillars living in contact with ants were always accepted by alien conspecific ants; this is likely due to an intrinsic appeasing odor. Yet, caterpillars living in ant shelters or ant nests probably acquire cues from their host colonies because they were considered aliens and killed. We conclude that co-evolution with ants occurred similarly in the Heterocera and Rhopalocera.

Published
2017
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