Fokuhl, Gerriet and Heinze, Juergen and Poschlod, Peter (2012) Myrmecochory by small ants - Beneficial effects through elaiosome nutrition and seed dispersal. ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, 38. pp. 71-76. ISSN 1146-609X,
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
Seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) is a common mutualism in temperate woodlands of the Northern hemisphere. In this paper we highlight the contribution of one of the most abundant ant species of Eastern Central Europe, Teinnothorax crassispinus, to myrmecochory. In field and mesocosm studies we found that T crassispinus workers disperse seeds over distances of up to 162 cm and carry them to their nests, thereby enabling the spread of Chelidoniurn majus seedlings. In a controlled feeding experiment with four different feeding regimes, we supplemented the respective diet of a fraction of the nests with the elaiosome-bearing seeds of C. majus and Scilla bifolia. Here, ant workers carried seeds to their nest and fed elaiosome pieces to their larvae. Subsequent production of sexual offspring and dry weights of sexual pupae were positively correlated with increasing feeding frequencies. With supplementary elaiosome feeding, the female dry weight was significantly higher, whereas the male dry weight decreased. Our results indicate a nutritional benefit from elaiosomes to the ants, which may cause shifts of investment, and at the same time underline the ecological relevance of Temnothorax ants for elaiosome-bearing plants. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | SEX-RATIOS; HELLEBORUS-FOETIDUS; BODY-SIZE; COLONIES; HYMENOPTERA; ALLOCATION; MUTUALISM; FORMICIDAE; DISTANCE; REMOVAL; Ant-plant mutualism; Elaiosomes; Seed dispersal; Myrmecochory; Sex allocation; Mesocosms; Ternnothorax; Ant nutrition |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 580 Botanical sciences 500 Science > 590 Zoological sciences |
| Divisions: | Biology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Pflanzenwissenschaften > Lehrstuhl für Ökologie und Naturschutzbiologie (Prof. Dr. Peter Poschlod) Biology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Zoologie > Zoologie/Evolutionsbiologie (Prof. Dr. Jürgen Heinze) |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 25 May 2020 08:55 |
| Last Modified: | 25 May 2020 08:55 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/19548 |
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