The dacetine ant Strumigenys arizonica, an apparent obligate commensal of the fungus-growing ant Trachymyrmex arizonensis in southwestern North America
The dacetine ant Strumigenys arizonica, an apparent obligate commensal of the fungus-growing ant Trachymyrmex arizonensis in southwestern North America
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DOI：
10.1007/s00040-018-0625-8
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发表时间：
2018-08-01
期刊：
影响因子：
1.3
通讯作者：
Rabeling, C.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Gray, K. W.;Cover, S. P.;Rabeling, C.
40多年前，在美国西南部圣丽塔山脉的马德拉峡谷的一个真菌蚂蚁巢穴中发现了dacetine蚂蚁strumigenys arizonica。这一发现表明，这两个物种形成复合巢，但这一假设尚未被调查。在这里，我们通过分析收集记录补充最近的现场和实验室观察这种共生的特点。我们的观察表明，S. arizonica和T.亚利桑那州形成复合巢，这是一种共生共生。S. arizonica在T.亚利桑那州巢，但不偷真菌或育雏。相反，S. arizonica在T. arizonensis nests.有趣的是，S.亚利桑那州从未被发现独立于其宿主T。arizonensis在T.亚利桑那。这些结果表明，一个紧密的，但不对称的协会，复合嵌套是专为S。arizonica和兼性的T.亚利桑那。
Over 40 years ago, the dacetine ant Strumigenys arizonica was discovered in a nest of the fungus-growing ant Trachymyrmex arizonensis at Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains of the southwestern United States. This discovery suggested that the two species form compound nests, but this hypothesis has not been investigated. Here, we characterize this symbiosis through an analysis of collection records supplemented by recent field and laboratory observations. Our observations show that S. arizonica and T. arizonensis form compound nests that are a type of commensalistic symbiosis. Individuals of S. arizonica forage in galleries and tunnels of T. arizonensis nests but do not steal fungus or brood. Instead, individuals of S. arizonica hunt collembolans in the internal refuse piles of T. arizonensis nests. Interestingly, S. arizonica was never found independent of its host T. arizonensis over a significant portion of the geographic range of T. arizonensis. These results suggest a tight but asymmetric association where compound nesting is obligate for S. arizonica and facultative for T. arizonensis.