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Interaction between trophobiont insects and ants: the effect of mutualism on the associated arthropod community

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Abstract

The mutualism between ants and trophobiont insects is widely known as an interaction where the trophobionts are usually defended from their natural enemies by the ants. Ants can also remove herbivores, causing changes in the arthropod community structure and altering the stability of ecological communities. However, few studies have been conducted in field conditions to test the effects of mutualism on the associated arthropod community. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the mutualism between trophobiont insects and ants decreases the abundance and species richness of the associated arthropod community, supporting a more stable community. We also investigated whether the abundance of specific arthropod feeding groups is affected by the mutualism and whether plants with and without mutualism form a mosaic with different species composition, increasing overall species richness. Our assumptions were experimentally examined in a system comprising the host plant Psittacanthus robustus, three trophobionts and two tending ants. We showed that, locally, the abundance and species richness of the whole arthropod community did not decrease when mutualism was present, but the feeding group composed by predators was negatively affected by mutualism. Plants with trophobionts but without ants presented the highest stability. At the landscape level, plants with and without mutualism differed in arthropod species composition, suggesting that there was a mosaic formed by plants with and without mutualism, enhancing the overall species richness (or beta diversity). Overall, our results revealed that the mutualism can alter the structure and stability of the surrounding arthropod community.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Tadeu J. Guerra for helping with the field sites. We also thank Professor Cristiano F. Schwertner for his comments on a previous version of the manuscript and for all of the exchanged ideas while we planned the experiment. Guilherme Ribu de Freitas and Edgard Romero provided valuable help during the fieldwork. J. D. de Freitas is grateful to the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for financial support. We also thank the researchers Sonia Maria Lopes, Edivar Heeren de Oliveira, Rodrigo Dios, Adriano Cavalleri, Everton Nei Lopes Rodrigues, Antônio Brescovit, Valmir Antonio Costa, Angelica M. Penteado M. Dias, Cibele S. Ribeiro-Costa and Manoel Martins for the identification of all arthropods. Permission was given by IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis) to collect the studied insects (n° 31357-1).

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), Diadema, São Paulo, 09941-510, Brazil

    Julia Dias de Freitas & Marcelo Nogueira Rossi

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  1. Julia Dias de Freitas
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Correspondence to Marcelo Nogueira Rossi.

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de Freitas, J.D., Rossi, M.N. Interaction between trophobiont insects and ants: the effect of mutualism on the associated arthropod community. J Insect Conserv 19, 627–638 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-015-9785-2

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