Abstract
Extrafloral nectar is the main food source offered by plants to predatory ants in most land environments. Although many studies have demonstrated the importance of extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) to plant defense against herbivores, the influence of EFNs secretory activity pattern on predatory ants remains yet not fully understood. Here, we verified the relation between the extrafloral nectar production of a plant community in Cerrado in different times of the day, and its attractiveness to ants. The extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) of seven plant species showed higher productivity overnight. Ant abundance was higher in times of large extrafloral nectar production, however, there was no positive relation between ant richness on plants and EFNs productivity. There was temporal resource partitioning among ant species, and it indicates strong resource competition. The nectar productivity varied among plant species and time of the day, and it influenced the visitation patterns of ants. Therefore, EFNs are a key ant-plant interaction driver in the studied system.
Highlights
Extrafloral nectar may be a key driver of insect-plant protective mutualisms [1,2,3]
We recorded 232.35 Kcal in 573.45 μL of nectar collected in 210 extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) from 70 individuals (10 individuals per species), according to the sum of all studied plant species (n = 7)
We found no difference in the number of days each EFN remained active among species (Kruskal-Wallis test, H = 9.07; df = 6; p = 0.169): S. adstringens (2.03 ± 1.71 assessment days–for 16 activity days), Q. multiflora (1.84 ± 1.29, 16 days), S. polyphyllum (1.8 ± 1.62, 16 days), O. hexasperma (2.05 ± 1.22, 13 days), Q. grandiflora (1.96 ± 1.11, 13 days), O. spectabilis (1.92 ± 1.14, 13 days), and L. pacari (1.35 ± 0.67, 13 days)
Summary
Extrafloral nectar may be a key driver of insect-plant protective mutualisms [1,2,3]. This substance is produced at glandular structures called extrafloral nectaries (EFNs), which highly differ from each other in structure and morphology [4,5,6]. These glands may be found in all plant organs above the ground and their function is not related to pollination [7]. The visitation of EFNsattracted ants may favor the host plants, because these insects prey on herbivores or reduce
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