Studies of a South East Asian ant-plant association: protection of Macaranga trees by Crematogaster borneensis

@article{Fiala1989StudiesOA,
  title={Studies of a South East Asian ant-plant association: protection of Macaranga trees by Crematogaster borneensis},
  author={Brigitte Fiala and Ulrich Maschwitz and Tho Yow Pong and Andreas J. Helbig},
  journal={Oecologia},
  year={1989},
  volume={79},
  pages={463-470}
}
SummaryIn the humid tropics of SE Asia there are some 14 myrmecophytic species of the pioneer tree genus Macaranga (Euphorbiaceae). In Peninsular Malaysia a close association exists between the trees and the small, non-stinging myrmicine Crematogaster borneensis. These ants feed mainly on food bodies provided by the plants and have their colonies inside the hollow internodes. In a ten months field study we were able to demonstrate for four Macaranga species (M. triloba, M. hypoleuca, M. hosei… 
View on Springer
opus.bibliothek.uni-wuerzburg.de
164 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
13
Background Citations
88
Methods Citations
5
Results Citations
2

164 Citations

Studies on the south east Asian ant-plant associationCrematogaster borneensis/Macaranga: Adaptations of the ant partner

The ants are adapted to the plants so closely that they do not survive away from it, and their effective alarm system results in a mass attack, which provides adequate defence for the colony and the host plant.

Diversity of ant-plant interactions: protective efficacy in Macaranga species with different degrees of ant association

The hypothesis that non-specific, facultative associations with ants can be advantageous for Macaranga plants is supported and food bodies appear to have lower attractive value for opportunistic ants than EFN and may require a specific dietary adaptation.

Potential host range of myrmecophilous Arhopala butterflies (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) feeding on Macaranga myrmecophytes

It is suggested that the aggressive behaviours of plant-ants towards leaf-feeding insects restrict the potential host-plant ranges of some Macaranga-feeding Arhopala butterflies.

The diversity of ant-plant interactions in the rainforest understorey tree, Ryparosa (Achariaceae): food bodies, domatia, prostomata, and hemipteran trophobionts

This study provides strong baseline data to suggest that Ryparosa could become a new model system for examining the evolutionary radiation of ant-related traits and a diverse range ofAnt-plant relationships, with variability in both intimacy and the trophic structure of associations, are described for the Austro-Malesian rainforest tree genusRyparosa.

Thorn-dwelling ants provide antiherbivore defence for camelthorn trees, Vachellia erioloba, in Namibia

It is shown that experimental exclusion of ants leads to greater levels of herbivory on trees, highlighting the potential of the V. erioloba–ant mutualism for studying ant–plant interactions that involve multiple, simultaneously resident thorn-dwelling ant species.

A bioassay for measuring the intensities of ant defenses on Macaranga myrmecophytes

The results of previous studies investigating the interspecific differences in ant defense intensities using ant-exclusion experiments suggest that the bioassay using A. major larvae is valid for the assessment of relative intensities of ant defenses on Macaranga species.

Nuptial flight of the Southeast Asian plant-ant Crematogaster captiosa (Forel, 1911) and the phenology of colony founding Brigitte

Data on C. captiosa from theMalay Peninsula as well as Borneo indicate that sexual production and colonyfounding occurs throughout the year, and Macaranga saplings for colony founding can also become available outside peak seasons from seed banks after disturbance.

Trade-Off Between Chemical and Biotic Antiherbivore Defense in the South East Asian Plant Genus Macaranga

The hypothesis of a trade-off between chemical and biotic defense in the genus Macaranga is supported, as high tannin contents and, thus more effective chemical defense, were observed in nonmyrmecophytic MacARanga species associated only facultatively with ants as compared to obligate myrmecphytes.

Ant Protection against Herbivory in Three Species of Tococa (Melastomataceae) Occupying Different Environments1

The genus Tococa is comprised of 47 species of small trees and shrubs distributed from southern Mexico to Bolivia. About 30 of the species have ant domatia that develop at the base of the leaf blade…

Domatia as most important adaptations in the evolution of myrmecophytes in the paleotropical tree genusMacaranga (Euphorbiaceae)

In the genusMacaranga, the provision of nesting space seems to be the most important factor for the evolution of obligate myrmecophytism.
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 75 REFERENCES

Lycaenids parasitizing symbiotic plant-ant partnerships

The state of phylogenetic relationship within the three lycaenids is parallel to the relationship among the three host plants, which point to a distinct monophagy of these butterflies.

Epiphytic myrmecophytes in Sarawak : mutualism through the feeding of plants by ants

It appears that the ant species regularly living in these epiphytic myrmecophytes are of greatest importance in feeding the plant rather than in protecting it, which indicates that some Southeast Asian myRMecophytic mutualisms are based on protection of the plant by ants.

Allelopathy by Myrmecophytes: The Ant Azteca as an Allelopathic Agent of Cecropia

The functional significance of the first two of the three genetically determined morphological traits of Cecropia listed above has been inadequately "explained" in terms of structural strengthening and as an accidental by-product of usual developmental processes, respectively; the third trait cannot be explained in this manner.

THE ANT‐PLANTS MYRMECODIA AND HYDNOPHYTUM (RUBIACEAE), AND THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THEIR MORPHOLOGY, ANT OCCUPANTS, PHYSIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY

It is argued that the plant/ant relationship has had a considerable influence on both the ecology and evolution of the plants, but that this varies in different species.

Protection of Barteria (Passifloraceae) By Pachysima Ants (Pseudomyrmecinae) in a Nigerian Rain Forest

In a Nigerian rain forest, occupation of Barteria fistulosa saplings by Pachysima aethiops ants results in the plants having more leaves, more branches, more leaves per branch, and less damage to the…

Further observations on the dissolution of mutualism between Cecropia and its ants: the Malaysian case.

Substantial variation among individuals in the production of ant-related structures (trichilia and Mullerian bodies) was observed in Malaysia, variation that is presumably masked in the mainland neotropics.

DEVELOPMENTAL ANATOMY AND ULTRASTRUCTURE OF THE ANT‐FOOD BODIES (BECCARIIAN BODIES) OF MACARANGA TRILOBA AND M. HYPOLEUCA (EUPHORBIACEAE)

It is proposed to name the Macaranga ant-food bodies Beccariian bodies in honor of the Italian botanist Odoardo beccari who explored S.E. Asia in the late 1800s.

Nutrient acquisition facilitated by litter collection and ant colonies on two Malaysian palms

Methods for nutrient acquisition should have been under intense selection pressure throughout a species' evolutionary history, and to this end it is found that a variety of characteristics, both physiological and morphological, aid in nutrient trapping, uptake, and incorporation.

Passive aggression: An alternative hypothesis for the Piper-Pheidole association

The data suggest that Pheidole inhabiting Piper plants are important in plant defense from herbivores and that adherance to a classical notion of aggression in similar studies might bias the initial question-asking stages of an investigation.

Pruning of host plant neighbors by ants: an experimental approach.

Experiments in tropical moist forest of Peru tested the hypothesis that pruning may reduce the threat of invasions by potentially dangerous alien ants and found that basal clearings maintained by Pseudomyrmex around their hosts appear to reduce the likelihood that Crematogaster workers will occur in the vicinity of the tree trunk.
...