Ant–plant mutualism: a dietary by-product of a tropical ant's macronutrient requirements

Many arboreal ants depend on myrmecophytic plants for both food and shelter; in return, these ants defend their host plants against herbivores, which are often insects. Ant–plant and other mutualisms do not necessarily involve the exchange of costly rewards or services; they may instead result from...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Ecology (Durham) Vol. 98; no. 12; pp. 3141 - 3151
Main Authors:	Hernández, Lina M. Arcila, Sanders, Jon G., Miller, Gabriel A., Ravenscraft, Alison, Frederickson, Megan E.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-12-2017 Ecological Society of America
Subjects:	Ants ant–plant interactions Baits Byproducts by‐product benefits Colonies Cost benefit analysis Defensive behavior Diet diet balance Fitness Food plants Forage Herbivores Host plants Insects macronutrients microbiome Microorganisms Mutualism Myrmecophily Nesting Nitrogen Prey Protein sources Shelters stable isotope analysis Symbionts trophic level Workers (insect caste) stable isotope analysis trophic level ant-plant interactions macronutrients diet balance microbiome by-product benefits mutualism
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