Abstract
Investigations of the interactions between aphids and ants in multispecies ant communities and an experimental investiga- tion of some ethological aspects of ant-aphid interactions were carried out in mixed forests at Novosibirsk Academic Centre, from 1998-2002. The eight species of ants investigated were characterized by different levels of territorial organization and interaction with aphids, which were associated with different degrees of specialization of the worker ants. The most myrmecophilous species of aphids (24 out of 33 species identified) were associated with the red wood ants. By placing Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in aphid colonies it was shown that only ants with large protected territories attacked the adults and larvae of the predator. Other species of ants either protected aphids only from adult ladybirds or did not guard them at all. Moreover, only individuals of Formica s. str., which has specialized workers, did not switch to collecting protein food. However, aphids make up a considerable part of the prey of ants, in which non-myrmecophilous aphids predominate (about 60-100% of the aphid prey). Moreover, ants only killed unattended or damaged myrmecophilous aphids. Formica s. str., which has the highest level of social and territorial organization, provides aphids with the most services and is the dominant species forming symbiotic relationships with aphids in the communities studied.
Highlights
The trophobiotic ant-aphid relationship is a classic example of a mutualistic interaction with a number of different levels of mutual dependence (Nixon, 1951; Cherix, 1987; Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990; Stadler & Dixon, 1999; Offenberg, 2001; Stadler et al, 2003; Novgorodova, 2004)
The eight species of ants investigated were characterized by different levels of territorial organization and interaction with aphids, which were associated with different degrees of specialization of the worker ants
They differ in their territorial organization, which ranges from unprotected feeding areas to large protected territories with networks of foraging trails (DobrzaĔska, 1966; Dlusskiy, 1967; Dmitrienko & Petrenko, 1976; Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990) and in their interactions with aphids from unspecialized foragers to groups of specialized foragers (Novgorodova & Reznikova, 1996; Reznikova & Novgorodova, 1998a, b; Novgorodova, 2002)
Summary
The trophobiotic ant-aphid relationship is a classic example of a mutualistic interaction with a number of different levels of mutual dependence (Nixon, 1951; Cherix, 1987; Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990; Stadler & Dixon, 1999; Offenberg, 2001; Stadler et al, 2003; Novgorodova, 2004). Comparative analysis of the size and extinction rates of aphid colonies has shown that aphid survival depends on the species of ant interacting with them (Addicott, 1978; Bristow, 1984). This may be due to the behavioural strategies of the different species of ants that tend the aphids and collect their honeydew. The following levels of specialization in ant-aphid interactions were revealed: unspecialized foragers, partial division of labour among the foragers and the specialization of the foragers into working groups. The latter is typical of the dominant species with the highest level of social organization. This indicates that the effect of the various ant species on the fauna and aphid populations is likely to differ
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