Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4.
Biol Lett. 2021 Aug;17(8):20210316. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0316. Epub 2021 Aug 11.
Animals may develop mutualistic associations with other species, whereby prey offer resources or services in exchange for protection from predators. Alternatively, prey may offer resources or services directly to their would-be predators in exchange for their lives. The latter may be the case of hemipterans that engage in mutualistic interactions with ants by offering a honeydew reward. We test the extent to which a honeydew offering versus partner recognition may play a role as proximate mechanisms deterring ants from predating upon their hemipteran partners. We showed that, when presented with a choice between a hemipteran partner and an alternative prey type, mutualist ants were less likely to attack and more likely to remain probing their hemipteran partners. This occurred even in the absence of an immediate sugary reward, suggesting either an evolved or learned partner recognition response. To a similar extent, however, ants were also less likely to attack the alternative prey type when laced with honey as a proxy for a honeydew reward. This was the case even after the honey had been depleted, suggesting an ability of ants to recognize new potential sources of sugars. Either possibility suggests a degree of innate or learned partner recognition.
动物可能与其他物种形成互利共生关系,在此过程中,被捕食者提供资源或服务以换取免受捕食者的伤害。或者,被捕食者可能会直接向潜在的捕食者提供资源或服务,以换取自己的生命。半翅目昆虫与蚂蚁形成互利共生关系,通过提供蜜露作为回报,就属于这种情况。我们检验了蜜露的提供和伙伴识别在多大程度上可以作为阻止蚂蚁捕食其半翅目伙伴的近似机制。我们发现,当蚂蚁在半翅目伙伴和另一种替代猎物类型之间做出选择时,互利共生的蚂蚁不太可能攻击,而更有可能继续探测它们的半翅目伙伴。即使没有即时的含糖奖励,这也表明存在一种进化或习得的伙伴识别反应。然而,在被涂有蜜露作为蜜露奖励的替代品时,蚂蚁攻击替代猎物类型的可能性也同样降低。即使蜜露已经耗尽,这也表明蚂蚁有能力识别新的潜在糖源。这两种可能性都表明了一定程度的先天或后天的伙伴识别能力。