Ant-seed mutualisms: Can red imported fire ants sour the relationship?
Biological Conservation
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Abstract
Invasion by the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, has had negative impacts on individual animal and plant species, but little is known about how S. invicta affects complex mutualistic relationships. In some eastern forests of North America, 30% of herbaceous species have ant-dispersed seeds. We conducted experiments to determine if fire ants are attracted to seeds of these plant species and assessed the amount of scarification or damage that results from handling by fire ants. Fire ants removed nearly 100% of seeds of the ant-dispersed plants Trillium undulatum, T. discolor, T. catesbaei, Viola rotundifolia, and Sanguinaria canadensis. In recovered seeds fed to ant colonies, fire ants scarified 80% of S. canadensis seeds and destroyed 86% of V. rotundifolia seeds. Our study is the first to document that red imported fire ants are attracted to and remove seeds of species adapted for ant dispersal. Moreover, fire ants might damage these seeds and discard them in sites unfavorable for germination and seedling establishment. ?? 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Suggested Citation
Zettler, J., Spira, T., and Allen, C.R., 2001, Ant-seed mutualisms: Can red imported fire ants sour the relationship?: Biological Conservation, v. 101, no. 2, p. 249-253, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(01)00074-X.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Ant-seed mutualisms: Can red imported fire ants sour the relationship? |
| Series title | Biological Conservation |
| DOI | 10.1016/S0006-3207(01)00074-X |
| Volume | 101 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Year Published | 2001 |
| Language | English |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Biological Conservation |
| First page | 249 |
| Last page | 253 |