Cargando…

Cascading trait-mediated interactions induced by ant pheromones

Trait-mediated indirect interactions (TMII) can be as important as density-mediated indirect interactions. Here, we provide evidence for a novel trait-mediated cascade (where one TMII affects another TMII) and demonstrate that the mechanism consists of a predator eavesdropping on chemical signaling....

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Hsieh, Hsun-Yi, Liere, Heidi, Soto, Estelí J, Perfecto, Ivette
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3488669/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23139877
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.322
_version_ 1782248656755228672
author Hsieh, Hsun-Yi
Liere, Heidi
Soto, Estelí J
Perfecto, Ivette
author_facet Hsieh, Hsun-Yi
Liere, Heidi
Soto, Estelí J
Perfecto, Ivette
author_sort Hsieh, Hsun-Yi
collection PubMed
description Trait-mediated indirect interactions (TMII) can be as important as density-mediated indirect interactions. Here, we provide evidence for a novel trait-mediated cascade (where one TMII affects another TMII) and demonstrate that the mechanism consists of a predator eavesdropping on chemical signaling. Ants protect scale insects from predation by adult coccinellid beetles – the first TMII. However, parasitic phorid flies reduce ant foraging activity by 50% – the second TMII, providing a window of opportunity for female beetles to oviposit in high-quality microsites. Beetle larvae are protected from ant predation and benefit from living in patches with high scale densities. We demonstrate that female beetles can detect pheromones released by the ant when attacked by phorids, and that only females, and especially gravid females, are attracted to the ant pheromone. As ants reduce their movement when under attack by phorids, we conclude that phorids facilitate beetle oviposition, thus producing the TMII cascade.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-3488669
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2012
publisher Blackwell Publishing Ltd
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-34886692012-11-08 Cascading trait-mediated interactions induced by ant pheromones Hsieh, Hsun-Yi Liere, Heidi Soto, Estelí J Perfecto, Ivette Ecol Evol Original Research Trait-mediated indirect interactions (TMII) can be as important as density-mediated indirect interactions. Here, we provide evidence for a novel trait-mediated cascade (where one TMII affects another TMII) and demonstrate that the mechanism consists of a predator eavesdropping on chemical signaling. Ants protect scale insects from predation by adult coccinellid beetles – the first TMII. However, parasitic phorid flies reduce ant foraging activity by 50% – the second TMII, providing a window of opportunity for female beetles to oviposit in high-quality microsites. Beetle larvae are protected from ant predation and benefit from living in patches with high scale densities. We demonstrate that female beetles can detect pheromones released by the ant when attacked by phorids, and that only females, and especially gravid females, are attracted to the ant pheromone. As ants reduce their movement when under attack by phorids, we conclude that phorids facilitate beetle oviposition, thus producing the TMII cascade. Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012-09 2012-07-27 /pmc/articles/PMC3488669/ /pubmed/23139877 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.322 Text en © 2012 Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ Re-use of this article is permitted in accordance with the Creative Commons Deed, Attribution 2.5, which does not permit commercial exploitation.
spellingShingle Original Research
Hsieh, Hsun-Yi
Liere, Heidi
Soto, Estelí J
Perfecto, Ivette
Cascading trait-mediated interactions induced by ant pheromones
title Cascading trait-mediated interactions induced by ant pheromones
title_full Cascading trait-mediated interactions induced by ant pheromones
title_fullStr Cascading trait-mediated interactions induced by ant pheromones
title_full_unstemmed Cascading trait-mediated interactions induced by ant pheromones
title_short Cascading trait-mediated interactions induced by ant pheromones
title_sort cascading trait-mediated interactions induced by ant pheromones
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3488669/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23139877
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.322
work_keys_str_mv AT hsiehhsunyi cascadingtraitmediatedinteractionsinducedbyantpheromones
AT liereheidi cascadingtraitmediatedinteractionsinducedbyantpheromones
AT sotoestelij cascadingtraitmediatedinteractionsinducedbyantpheromones
AT perfectoivette cascadingtraitmediatedinteractionsinducedbyantpheromones