Abstract
SUMMARY (1) Observations and experiments were carried out in central Panama to examine the hypothesis that ants increase the reproductive success of Costus woodsonii. (2) The plant secretes extrafloral nectar from bracts on the inflorescence and the nectar is harvested by ants. (3) The fly Euxesta sp., a specialist on Costus woodsonii, oviposits beneath the bracts on immature fruit, and its larvae destroy the seeds and arils. (4) In both the dry and wet seasons, plants with ants experimentally removed had a higher rate of fly-oviposition and produced only one-third as many seeds as control plants with ants. (5) The ant Camponotus planatus was dominant in the dry season, and had less influence on seed production than had Wasmannia auropunctata, the wet-season dominant. (6) Among dry-season control plants, the probability of fruit maturation was significantly correlated with an index of ant activity based on the consistency of ant occupation. (7) As a consequence of larval damage to the arils, seeds from plants with ants excluded had a lower probability of dispersal in both dry and wet seasons than those from plants with ants.
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