Rissing Steven W
Department of Zoology, Arizona State University, 85287, Tempe, AZ, USA.
Oecologia. 1986 Jan;68(2):231-234. doi: 10.1007/BF00384792.
Of 36 plant species surveyed, 6 were significantly associated with nests of the desert seed-harvester ant Veromessor pergandei or Pogonomyrmex rugosus; two other plant species were significantly absent from ant nests. Seeds of two common desert annuals, Schismus arabicus and Plantago insularis, realize a 15.6 and 6.5 fold increase (respectively) in number of fruits or seeds produced per plant growing in ant nest refuse piles compared to nearby controls. Mass of individual S. arabicus seed produced by plants growing in refuse piles also increased significantly. Schismus arabicus, P. insularis and other plants associated with ant nests do not have seeds with obvious appendages attractive to ants. Dispersal and reproductive increase of such seeds may represent a relatively primitive form of ant-plant dispersal devoid of seed morphological specializations. Alternatively, evolution of specialized seed structures for dispersal may be precluded by the assemblage of North American seed-harvester ants whose workers are significantly larger than those ants normally associated with elaiosome-attached seed dispersal. Large worker size may permit consumption of elaiosome and seed.
在调查的36种植物物种中，有6种与沙漠种子采集蚁Veromessor pergandei或Pogonomyrmex rugosus的巢穴显著相关；另外两种植物物种在蚁巢中显著缺失。两种常见的沙漠一年生植物Schismus arabicus和Plantago insularis，与附近对照相比，生长在蚁巢垃圾堆中的每株植物所产生的果实或种子数量分别增加了15.6倍和6.5倍。生长在垃圾堆中的阿拉伯裂稃草（Schismus arabicus）单粒种子的质量也显著增加。阿拉伯裂稃草、海岛车前（Plantago insularis）以及其他与蚁巢相关的植物没有对蚂蚁有明显吸引力的种子附属物。这些种子的传播和繁殖增加可能代表了一种相对原始的蚂蚁 - 植物传播形式，缺乏种子形态特化。或者，北美种子采集蚁的群体可能排除了用于传播的特化种子结构的进化，其工蚁比通常与具油质体附着种子传播相关的蚂蚁大得多。较大的工蚁体型可能允许消耗油质体和种子。
