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Interactions between ants and non-myrmecochorous diaspores in a tropical wet forest in southern Bahia, Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Flávia Delgado Santana ,
Eliana Cazetta  and
Jacques Hubert Charles Delabie
Flávia Delgado Santana*
Affiliation:
Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Programa de Pós-Graduação Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Ilhéus, Bahia Laboratório de Mirmecologia, CEPLAC/CEPEC, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil
Eliana Cazetta
Affiliation:
Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil
Jacques Hubert Charles Delabie
Affiliation:
Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil Laboratório de Mirmecologia, CEPLAC/CEPEC, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract:

Interactions between ants and non-myrmecochorous diaspores occur frequently on the forest floor and the results of these interactions (e.g. diaspore cleaning or removal) will often depend on the morpho-chemical characteristics of the diaspores. We conducted two different experiments with seven plant species in the north-eastern Atlantic forest, Brazil. To evaluate whether ant interactions decrease diaspore persistence time on the forest floor, we established sample stations by placing five diaspores of each species spaced every 10 m along a transect and monitored ant interactions over a 24-h period. We also compared diaspore removal by ants and vertebrates through a paired experiment. We monitored removal of the seven plant species in treatments where ants were excluded and treatments where vertebrates were excluded. We recorded 332 ant–diaspore interactions, most resulting in ants cleaning diaspores in situ. Persistence of diaspores on the forest floor varied greatly among studied species and was less than 50% for three species. Ants also removed more diaspores than did vertebrates. Number of diaspores removed by ants was greater for small diaspores and with high lipid concentration. Ant–diaspore interactions may not always exert a positive influence on plant recruitment for diaspores with poor nutrient concentration. Consequently, ants may play a disproportionately important role as secondary dispersers in tropical forests.

Keywords

ant–diaspore interactionBrazilian Atlantic forestdiaspore persistencefleshy fruitsfrugivoryfruit traitsground-dwelling antssecondary seed dispersalseed cleaningseed removal
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 29 , Issue 1 , January 2013 , pp. 71 - 80
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013

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