Abstract
Seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) is found worldwide, but the benefits that plants obtain from this mutualism remain uncertain. In the present study, we conducted laboratory experiments to demonstrate seed predator avoidance as a benefit of myrmecochory using the annual ant-dispersed herb Lamium amplexicaule, the disperser ant Tetramorium tsushimae, and the seed predatory burrower bug Adomerus rotundus. We compared the predation intensity of Lamium amplexicaule seeds by Adomerus rotundus under the presence or absence of Tetramorium tsushimae. Both the number of seeds sucked by Adomerus rotundus adults and the feeding duration of sucked seeds by nymphs were significantly reduced in the presence of ants. This effect was most likely due to the behavioral alteration of Adomerus rotundus in response to the ant presence, because ants seldom predated Adomerus rotundus during the experiment. Our results demonstrated that the presence of ants decreases post-dispersal seed predation, even when the ants do not bury the seeds. The present study thus suggests that the non-consumptive effects of ants on seed predators benefit myrmecochorous plants.
Highlights
Seed dispersal by ants, known as myrmecochory, is a common and ecologically important dispersal mode reported over wide geographic areas and in diverse plant taxa [1,2,3]
We focused on the annual herb Lamium amplexicaule L. (Lamiaceae) and an associated burrower bug Adomerus rotundus (Hsiao) (Heteroptera: Cydnidae)
Successive removal of one ant colony never altered the significance of the results, indicating that the significant treatment effect was not caused by a particular ant colony having exceptional deterrent effects on burrower bugs
Summary
Known as myrmecochory, is a common and ecologically important dispersal mode reported over wide geographic areas and in diverse plant taxa [1,2,3]. Several hypotheses have been postulated regarding the nature of these benefits, including predator avoidance [9,10], competition avoidance [11,12], and directed dispersal to favorable habitats [1, 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14]. These hypotheses have been tested by many researchers (reviewed by [4, 15,16]) but remain under active debate [8, 17,18,19]
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