Das Susmita, Das Amlan
Entomology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Front Insect Sci. 2023 Jun 15;3:1145761. doi: 10.3389/finsc.2023.1145761. eCollection 2023.
Ant-plant associations are ubiquitous and highly diverse in almost all terrestrial environments, resulting in complex ecological networks. Although ant-plant mutualism is prevalent, ant-mediated pollination is uncommon, and only a few investigations have demonstrated their role in pollination. Thus, the topic of ant-mediated pollination requires revision to assess its significance in pollination biology. Ants are frequent floral visitors, but their impact on plant reproductive fitness is rarely acknowledged; nonetheless, numerous flower-visiting ants have been investigated for their involvement in promoting floral development and hybrid vigor in crops. In this study, we present a summary of the scientific literature published over the last four decades on ants' involvement in pollination, the diversity of pollinating ants to various host plants, the ant-plant pollinating networks, and seasonal patterns of ant-mediated pollination. Ants generally forage for flowers in quest of nectar and other sustenance, and in doing so they pollinate the flowers that they encounter. This review identified the pollination networks between ants and plants at the species and family levels. Pollination is often affected by a number of aspects, including the flower's sex, its ovary position, the inflorescence it bears, and the time of year. The available literature demonstrates that ants visit the inflorescences of the same species only to promote cross-pollination, a process known as "geitonogamy"; however, we conclude that ants may visit different inflorescences of different plants in the field. If ant pollination is the norm, there is less selection pressure to acquire self-compatibility; nonetheless, ants' cross-pollination may have caused ants to co-evolve with the pollinating flowers. This indicates that ants are more than just curious bystanders to some flowers; they act as significant pollinators.
蚁 - 植物关联在几乎所有陆地环境中都普遍存在且高度多样，形成了复杂的生态网络。尽管蚁 - 植物互利共生现象很普遍，但蚂蚁介导的授粉并不常见，仅有少数研究证明了它们在授粉过程中的作用。因此，蚂蚁介导的授粉这一主题需要重新审视，以评估其在授粉生物学中的重要性。蚂蚁是常见的访花者，但其对植物繁殖适合度的影响却很少得到认可；尽管如此，众多访花蚂蚁已因其在促进作物花朵发育和杂种优势方面的作用而受到研究。在本研究中，我们总结了过去四十年来发表的关于蚂蚁参与授粉、授粉蚂蚁对各种寄主植物的多样性、蚁 - 植物授粉网络以及蚂蚁介导授粉的季节模式的科学文献。蚂蚁通常为获取花蜜和其他食物而访花，在此过程中它们会为所遇到的花朵授粉。本综述确定了蚂蚁与植物在物种和科水平上的授粉网络。授粉往往受到多个方面的影响，包括花的性别、子房位置、所着生的花序以及一年中的时间。现有文献表明，蚂蚁仅访问同一物种的花序以促进异花授粉，这一过程被称为“同株异花授粉”；然而，我们推断在野外蚂蚁可能会访问不同植物的不同花序。如果蚂蚁授粉是常态，那么获得自交亲和性的选择压力就较小；尽管如此，蚂蚁的异花授粉可能促使蚂蚁与授粉花朵共同进化。这表明蚂蚁对于某些花朵而言不仅仅是好奇的旁观者；它们起着重要的传粉者作用。
