NDLI: Geographic Mosaic of Plant Evolution: Extrafloral Nectary Variation Mediated by Ant and Herbivore Assemblages

Content Provider	PubMed Central
Author	Nogueira, Anselmo Rey, Pedro J. Alcántara, Julio M. Feitosa, Rodrigo M. Lohmann, Lúcia G.
Editor	Borges, Renee M.
Copyright Year	2015
Abstract	Herbivory is an ecological process that is known to generate different patterns of selection on defensive plant traits across populations. Studies on this topic could greatly benefit from the general framework of the Geographic Mosaic Theory of Coevolution (GMT). Here, we hypothesize that herbivory represents a strong pressure for extrafloral nectary (EFN) bearing plants, with differences in herbivore and ant visitor assemblages leading to different evolutionary pressures among localities and ultimately to differences in EFN abundance and function. In this study, we investigate this hypothesis by analyzing 10 populations of Anemopaegma album (30 individuals per population) distributed through ca. 600 km of Neotropical savanna and covering most of the geographic range of this plant species. A common garden experiment revealed a phenotypic differentiation in EFN abundance, in which field and experimental plants showed a similar pattern of EFN variation among populations. We also did not find significant correlations between EFN traits and ant abundance, herbivory and plant performance across localities. Instead, a more complex pattern of ant–EFN variation, a geographic mosaic, emerged throughout the geographical range of A. album. We modeled the functional relationship between EFNs and ant traits across ant species and extended this phenotypic interface to characterize local situations of phenotypic matching and mismatching at the population level. Two distinct types of phenotypic matching emerged throughout populations: (1) a population with smaller ants (Crematogaster crinosa) matched with low abundance of EFNs; and (2) seven populations with bigger ants (Camponotus species) matched with higher EFN abundances. Three matched populations showed the highest plant performance and narrower variance of EFN abundance, representing potential plant evolutionary hotspots. Cases of mismatched and matched populations with the lowest performance were associated with abundant and highly detrimental herbivores. Our findings provide insights on the ecology and evolution of plant–ant guarding systems, and suggest new directions to research on facultative mutualistic interactions at wide geographic scales.
Related Links	http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0123806
Starting Page	123806
File Format	PDF
ISSN	19326203
e-ISSN	19326203
Journal	PLoS ONE
Issue Number	4
Volume Number	10
Language	English
Publisher	Public Library of Science
Publisher Date	2015-04-17
Access Restriction	Open
Rights Holder	Public Library of Science
Subject Keyword	Research in Higher Education
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Multidisciplinary

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Data from: Geographic mosaic of plant evolution: extrafloral nectary variation mediated by ant and herbivore assemblages (Dataset)

Data from: Temporal variation in the abundance and richness of foliage-dwelling ants mediated by extrafloral nectar (Dataset)

Climate seasonality drives ant-plant-herbivore interactions via plant phenology in an extrafloral nectary-bearing plant community (Dataset)

Ant visitation of extrafloral nectaries of Passiflora: the effects of nectary attributes and ant behavior on patterns in facultative ant-plant mutualisms

Data from: Plant protection services mediated by extrafloral nectaries decline with aridity but are not influenced by chronic anthropogenic disturbance in Brazilian Caatinga (Dataset)

Spatiotemporal niche-based mechanisms support a stable coexistence of ants and spiders in an extrafloral nectary-bearing plant community (Dataset)

Extrafloral Nectaries in Aspen (Populus tremuloides): Heritable Genetic Variation and Herbivore-induced Expression

Diversity and evolution of pollinator rewards and protection by Macaranga (Euphorbiaceae) bracteoles

Data from: Ant–caterpillar antagonism at the community level: interhabitat variation of tritrophic interactions in a neotropical savanna (Dataset)

Geographic Mosaic of Plant Evolution: Extrafloral Nectary Variation Mediated by Ant and Herbivore Assemblages

Similar Documents

Data from: Geographic mosaic of plant evolution: extrafloral nectary variation mediated by ant and herbivore assemblages (Dataset)

Data from: Temporal variation in the abundance and richness of foliage-dwelling ants mediated by extrafloral nectar (Dataset)

Climate seasonality drives ant-plant-herbivore interactions via plant phenology in an extrafloral nectary-bearing plant community (Dataset)

Ant visitation of extrafloral nectaries of Passiflora: the effects of nectary attributes and ant behavior on patterns in facultative ant-plant mutualisms

Data from: Plant protection services mediated by extrafloral nectaries decline with aridity but are not influenced by chronic anthropogenic disturbance in Brazilian Caatinga (Dataset)

Spatiotemporal niche-based mechanisms support a stable coexistence of ants and spiders in an extrafloral nectary-bearing plant community (Dataset)

Extrafloral Nectaries in Aspen (Populus tremuloides): Heritable Genetic Variation and Herbivore-induced Expression

Diversity and evolution of pollinator rewards and protection by Macaranga (Euphorbiaceae) bracteoles

Data from: Ant–caterpillar antagonism at the community level: interhabitat variation of tritrophic interactions in a neotropical savanna (Dataset)

Geographic Mosaic of Plant Evolution: Extrafloral Nectary Variation Mediated by Ant and Herbivore Assemblages