Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-qsmjn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-17T21:02:26.369Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effect of leaf-cutting ant nests on plant growth in an oligotrophic Amazon rain forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2012

Amartya K. Saha ,
Karine S. Carvalho ,
Leonel da S. L. Sternberg  and
Paulo Moutinho
Amartya K. Saha*
Affiliation:
Southeastern Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
Karine S. Carvalho
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia, Av. José Moreira Sobrinho, 45206-190, Jequié, BA, Brazil
Leonel da S. L. Sternberg
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL33124, USA
Paulo Moutinho
Affiliation:
Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia, Av. Nazaré 669, 66035-170, Belém, PA, Brazil
*
1Corresponding author. Email: asaha@bio.miami.edu; riparianbuffer@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

This study examined whether high nutrient concentrations associated with leaf-cutting ant nests influence plant growth and plant water relations in Amazon rain forests. Three nests of Atta cephalotes were selected along with 31 Amaioua guianensis and Protium sp. trees that were grouped into trees near and distant (>10 m) from nests. A 15N leaf-labelling experiment confirmed that trees located near nests accessed nutrients from nests. Trees near nests exhibited higher relative growth rates (based on stem diameter increases) on average compared with trees further away; however this was significant for A. guianensis (near nest 0.224 y−1 and far from nest 0.036 y−1) but not so for Protium sp. (0.146 y−1 and 0.114 y−1 respectively). Water relations were similarly species-specific; for A. guianensis, near-nest individuals showed significantly higher sap flow rates (16 vs. 5 cm h−1), higher predawn/midday water potentials (−0.66 vs. −0.98 MPa) and lower foliar δ13C than trees further away indicating greater water uptake in proximity to the nests while the Protium sp. showed no significant difference except for carbon isotopes. This study thus shows that plant response to high nutrient concentrations in an oligotrophic ecosystem varies with species. Lower seedling abundance and species richness on nests as compared with further away suggests that while adult plants access subterranean nutrient pools, the nest surfaces themselves do not encourage plant establishment and growth.

Keywords

Amaioua guianensisAmazonAtta cephalotesleaf-cutting ant nestnutrient concentrationsnutrient uptakeplant–water relationsProtiumsap flowstable isotopes
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , May 2012 , pp. 263 - 270
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

ALVARADO, A., BERISH, C. & PERALTA, F. 1981. Leaf-cutter ant (Atta cephalotes) influence on the morphology of Andepts in Costa Rica. Journal of the American Soil Science Society 45:790–794.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BALCH, J. K., NEPSTAD, D., BRANDO, P. M., CURRAN, L. M., PORTELA, O., DE CARVALHO, O. & LEFEBVRE, P. 2008. Negative fire feedback in a ecotonal forest of southeastern Amazonia. Global Change Biology 14:2276–2287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BUCHER, E. 1982. Chaco and Caatinga-South American arid savannas, woodlands and tickets. Pp. 48–79 in Huntley, B. & Walker, B. (eds.). Ecology of tropical savannas. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CHAPIN, F. S., VITOUSEK, P. M. & VAN CLEVE, K. 1986. The nature of nutrient limitation in plant communities. American Naturalist 127:48–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CHERRETT, J. M. 1986. History of the leaf-cutter ant problem. Pp. 10–17 in Lofgren, C. S. & Van der Meer, R. K. (eds.). Fire ants and leaf-cutter ants: biology and management. Westview Press, Boulder.Google Scholar
COUTINHO, L. M. 1982. Aspectos ecológicos do fogo no Cerrado. Os murundus de terra, as características psamofíticas das espécie de sua vegetação e sua invasão pelo capim gordura. Revista Brasileira de Biologia 42:147–153.Google Scholar
FARJI-BRENER, A. G. & GHERMANDI, L. 2000. Influence of nests of leaf-cutter ants on plant species diversity in road verges of northern Patagonia. Journal of Vegetation Science 11:453–460.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FARJI-BRENER, A. G. & GHERMANDI, L. 2008. Leaf-cutter ant nests near roads increase fitness of exotic plant species in natural protected areas. Proceedings of the Royal Society London 275:1431–1440.Google Scholar
FARJI-BRENER, A. G. & MEDINA, C. 2000. The importance of where to dump the refuse: seed banks and fine roots in nests of the leaf-cutter ants Atta cephalotes and A. colombica. Biotropica 32:120–126.Google Scholar
FARJI-BRENER, A. G. & SILVA, J. 1995. Leaf cutting ants and soil fertility in a well-drained savanna in western Venezuela. Biotropica 27:250–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FARQUHAR, G. D., O'LEARY, M. H. & BERRY, J. A. 1982. On the relationship between carbon isotope discrimination and the intercellular carbon dioxide concentration in leaves. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 9:121–137.Google Scholar
GARRETTSON, M., STETZEL, J., HALPERN, B., HEARN, J., LUCEY, B. & MCKONE, M. 1998. Diversity and abundance of understory plants on active and abandoned nest of leaf-cutter ants (Atta cephalotes) in a Costa Rica rain forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology 14:17–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GRANIER, A., HUC, F. & COLIN, F. 1992. Transpiration and stomatal conductance of two rain forest species growing in plantations (Simarouba amara and Goupia glabra) in French Guyana. Annales des Sciences Forestières 49:17–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HAINES, B. L. 1978. Element and energy flows through colonies of the leaf-cutter ant, Atta colombica, in Panama. Biotropica 10:270–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HÖLLDOBLER, B. & WILSON, E. O. 1990. The ants. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. 746 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HUDSON, T. M., TURNER, B. L., HERZ, H. & ROBINSON, J. S. 2009. Temporal patterns of nutrient availability around nests of leaf-cutter ants (Atta colombica) in secondary moist tropical forest. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 41:1088–1093.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JONKMAN, J. C. M. 1978. Nest of the leaf-cutter ant Atta vollenweideri as accelerators of succession in pastures. Zeitschrift für Angewandte Entomologie 86:25–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JUKUBCZYK, H., CZERWINSKI, Z. & PETAL, J. 1972. Ants as agents of the soil habitat changes. Ekologia Polska 16:153–161.Google Scholar
LARCHER, W. 2006. Ecofisiologia vegetal. Rima Editora, São Carlos-SP. 531 pp.Google Scholar
LUGO, A. E., FARNWORTH, E. G., POOLE, D., JEREZ, P. & KAUFMAN, G. 1973. The impact of the leaf cutter ant Atta colombica in the energy flow of tropical wet forests. Ecology 54:1292–1301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MEYER, S.T., LEAL, I. R., TABARELLI, M. & WIRTH, R. 2011. Ecosystem engineering by leaf-cutting ants: nests of Atta cephalotes drastically alter forest structure and microclimate. Ecological Entomology 36:14–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MOUTINHO, P., NEPSTAD, D. C. & DAVIDSON, E. A. 2003. Influence of leaf-cutter ant nests on secondary forest growth and soil properties in Amazonia. Ecology 84:1265–1276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PETAL, J. 1978. The role of ants in ecosystems. Pp. 293–325 in Brian, M. V. (ed.). Production ecology of ants and termites. Cambridge University Press, New York.Google Scholar
SCHOEREDER, J. H. & HOWSE, P. E. 1998. Do trees benefit from nutrient-rich patches created by leaf-cutting ants? Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment 33:111–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SCHOLANDER, P. F., HAMMEL, H. T., HEMMINGSEN, E. A. & BRADSTREET, E. D. 1964. Hydrostatic pressure and osmotic potential in leaves of mangroves and some other plants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 52:119–125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
SOUZA-SOUTO, L., SCHOEREDER, J. H. & SCHAEFER, C. E. 2007. Leaf-cutter ants, seasonal burning and nutrient distribution in Cerrado vegetation. Austral Ecology 32:758–765.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
STERNBERG, L., PINZON, M. C., MOREIRA, M., MOUTINHO, P., ROJAS, E. I. & HERRE, E. A. 2007. Plants use macronutrients accumulated in leaf-cutter ant nests. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 274:315–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VALLADARES, F., MARTINEZ-FERRI, E., BALAGUER, L., PEREZ-CORONA, E. & MANRIQUE, E. 2000. Low leaf-level response to light and nutrients in Mediterranean evergreen oaks: a conservative resource-use strategy? New Phytologist 148:79–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VASCONCELOS, H. L. & CHERRETT, J. M. 1997. Leaf-cutter ants and early forest regeneration in central Amazonia: effects of herbivory on tree seedling establishment. Journal of Tropical Ecology 13:357–370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WAGNER, D. & JONES, J. B. 2004. The contribution of harvest ant nest, Pogonomyrmex rugosus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), to soil nutrient stocks and microbial biomass in the Mojave Desert. Environmental Entomology 33:599–607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WEBER, N. A. 1972. Gardening ants: the attines. American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia. 146 pp.Google Scholar
WIRTH, R., HERZ, H., RYEL, R. J., BEYSCHLAG, W. & HÖLLDOBLER, B. 2003. Herbivory of leaf-cutter ants: a case study on Atta colombica in the tropical rainforest of Panama. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 230 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar