Parmentier Thomas
Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, B-5000 Namur, Belgium.
Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Gent, Belgium.
Curr Zool. 2022 Aug 10;69(4):409-417. doi: 10.1093/cz/zoac060. eCollection 2023 Aug.
Mutually beneficial associations are widespread in ecological networks. They are typically assembled as multispecies guilds of symbionts that compete for one or more host species. The ant engages in an intriguing and obligate mutualistic association with a community of aphids that are cultivated on plant roots in its nests. The ant displays a repertoire of amicable behaviors toward the aphids, including their transport. I examined whether preferentially carried some of the root aphids. Using a no-choice and a choice experiment, I comparatively analyzed the transport rate of 5 obligate and one loosely associated species back to the ant nest and used the transport rate of the ant larvae as a reference. All associated root aphids were carried back to the nest, but in a clear preferential hierarchy. , and were rapidly transported, but slower than the own larvae. and were collected at a moderate rate and the loosely associated was slowly retrieved. In contrast, different species of unassociated aphids were not transported and even provoked aggressive behavior in . This study revealed that co-occurring symbionts may induce different degrees of host attraction, which ultimately may affect the coexistence and assembly of ant-symbiont communities.
互利共生关系在生态网络中广泛存在。它们通常以共生体的多物种群落形式聚集在一起，这些共生体竞争一个或多个宿主物种。蚂蚁与在其巢穴植物根部养殖的蚜虫群落形成了一种有趣的专性互利共生关系。蚂蚁对蚜虫表现出一系列友好行为，包括搬运它们。我研究了蚂蚁是否会优先搬运某些根部蚜虫。通过无选择和选择实验，我比较分析了5种专性相关和1种松散相关物种被带回蚁巢的运输率，并以蚂蚁幼虫的运输率作为参考。所有相关的根部蚜虫都被带回了巢穴，但存在明显的优先等级。[物种名称1]和[物种名称2]被迅速搬运，但比蚂蚁幼虫慢。[物种名称3]和[物种名称4]被以适中的速度收集，而松散相关的[物种名称5]被缓慢找回。相比之下，不同种类的非相关蚜虫没有被搬运，甚至在蚂蚁中引发了攻击行为。这项研究表明，同时出现的共生体可能会引起不同程度的宿主吸引力，这最终可能会影响蚂蚁 - 共生体群落的共存和聚集。
