McClure Melanie, Chouteau Mathieu, Dejean Alain
Biology Department, Concordia University, Montreal H4B 1R6, Quebec, Canada.
C R Biol. 2008 Sep;331(9):663-7. doi: 10.1016/j.crvi.2008.06.008.
This study reports new information on interactions between two sympatric ant species, the plant-ant Azteca alfari (Dolichoderinae) living in association with the myrmecophyte Cecropia obtusa (Cecropiaceae) and Camponotus blandus (Formicinae), a ground-nesting, arboreal-foraging species. Workers of A. alfari forage only on the foliage and the upper parts of the trunk of their host Cecropia, while C. blandus nests in the ground but frequently forages and patrols pioneer tree foliage, including Cecropia. The activity pattern of A. alfari and the number of C. blandus on Cecropia obtusa was monitored hourly during a two-day period in a disturbed area in French Guiana. The maximum activity of C. blandus occurred between 8:30 and 12:30, at which time A. alfari had retreated within the domatia and were least present on the trunks. Even though aggressive confrontations were observed, C. blandus workers often initiate confrontations but do not prey on A. alfari nor exploit food bodies produced by Cecropia, the principal food source of A. alfari. Hence hostility appears to be the result of territoriality. Differences in their foraging rhythms are proposed as promoting resource and territory partitioning in this ant assemblage.
本研究报告了两种同域分布蚂蚁物种之间相互作用的新信息，一种是与蚁栖植物钝叶塞克罗皮亚（荨麻科）共生的栖树蚁阿氏阿兹特卡蚁（臭蚁亚科），另一种是地栖、在树上觅食的布氏弓背蚁（蚁亚科）。阿氏阿兹特卡蚁的工蚁仅在其宿主塞克罗皮亚的树叶和树干上部觅食，而布氏弓背蚁在地面筑巢，但经常在包括塞克罗皮亚在内的先锋树树叶上觅食和巡逻。在法属圭亚那的一个受干扰地区，在为期两天的时间里，每小时监测一次钝叶塞克罗皮亚上阿氏阿兹特卡蚁的活动模式和布氏弓背蚁的数量。布氏弓背蚁的最大活动量出现在8:30至12:30之间，此时阿氏阿兹特卡蚁已退回到叶窝内，树干上的数量最少。尽管观察到有攻击性对抗，但布氏弓背蚁的工蚁通常发起对抗，却不捕食阿氏阿兹特卡蚁，也不利用塞克罗皮亚产生的食物体，而塞克罗皮亚是阿氏阿兹特卡蚁的主要食物来源。因此，敌意似乎是领地性的结果。它们觅食节奏的差异被认为促进了这个蚂蚁群落中的资源和领地划分。
