« Previous AbstractCytokine contributions to alterations of the volatile metabolome induced by inflammation    Next Abstract"Further observations on the influence of the social environment on ovulation in the vole, Microtus agrestis" »

Ecol Lett

Title:		Mutualism disruption by an invasive ant reduces carbon fixation for a foundational East African ant-plant
Author(s):		Milligan PD; Martin TA; John GP; Riginos C; Goheen JR; Carpenter SM; Palmer TM;
Address:		"Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. Mpala Research Centre, Nanyuki, Kenya. School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. The Nature Conservancy, Lander, Wyoming, USA. Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA. School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA"
Journal Title:		Ecol Lett
Year:		2021
Volume:		20210321
Issue:		5
Page Number:		1052 - 1062
DOI:		10.1111/ele.13725
ISSN/ISBN:		1461-0248 (Electronic) 1461-023X (Linking)
Abstract:		"Invasive ants shape assemblages and interactions of native species, but their effect on fundamental ecological processes is poorly understood. In East Africa, Pheidole megacephala ants have invaded monodominant stands of the ant-tree Acacia drepanolobium, extirpating native ant defenders and rendering trees vulnerable to canopy damage by vertebrate herbivores. We used experiments and observations to quantify direct and interactive effects of invasive ants and large herbivores on A. drepanolobium photosynthesis over a 2-year period. Trees that had been invaded for >/= 5 years exhibited 69% lower whole-tree photosynthesis during key growing seasons, resulting from interaction between invasive ants and vertebrate herbivores that caused leaf- and canopy-level photosynthesis declines. We also surveyed trees shortly before and after invasion, finding that recent invasion induced only minor changes in leaf physiology. Our results from individual trees likely scale up, highlighting the potential of invasive species to alter ecosystem-level carbon fixation and other biogeochemical cycles"
Keywords:		*Acacia Animals *Ants Carbon Cycle Ecosystem Symbiosis ant-plant biological invasion invasive ant mutualism photosynthesis;
Notes:		"MedlineMilligan, Patrick D Martin, Timothy A John, Grace P Riginos, Corinna Goheen, Jacob R Carpenter, Scott M Palmer, Todd M eng 1556905/Division of Environmental Biology/ University of Florida/ Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute/ National Geographic Society/ Letter England 2021/03/22 Ecol Lett. 2021 May; 24(5):1052-1062. doi: 10.1111/ele.13725. Epub 2021 Mar 21"