Breakdown of an ant-plant mutualism follows the loss of large herbivores from an African Savanna
Breakdown of an ant-plant mutualism follows the loss of large herbivores from an African Savanna
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DOI：
10.1126/science.1151579
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发表时间：
2008-01-11
期刊：
影响因子：
56.9
通讯作者：
Karban, Richard
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Palmer, Todd M.;Stanton, Maureen L.;Karban, Richard
互利共生是生物多样性和生态系统功能的关键组成部分，但维持它们的力量却知之甚少。我们研究了消除大型哺乳动物对非洲大草原上蚂蚁-金合欢共生的影响。十年来大型食草动物的排斥减少了植物为蚂蚁提供的花蜜和住房，增加了互利蚂蚁同伴的对抗行为，并将植物-蚂蚁群落内的竞争优势从这种依赖花蜜的互利共生转变为不依赖植物奖励的对抗物种。与共生蚂蚁占据的树木相比，被这种拮抗剂占据的树木遭受更多的蛀茎甲虫攻击，生长更慢，死亡率增加了一倍。这些结果表明，大型哺乳动物在广泛的共生关系中保持合作，并表明巨型动物灭绝的复杂连锁效应。
Mutualisms are key components of biodiversity and ecosystem function, yet the forces maintaining them are poorly understood. We investigated the effects of removing large mammals on an ant-Acacia mutualism in an African savanna. Ten years of large-herbivore exclusion reduced the nectar and housing provided by plants to ants, increasing antagonistic behavior by a mutualistic ant associate and shifting competitive dominance within the plant-ant community from this nectar-dependent mutualist to an antagonistic species that does not depend on plant rewards. Trees occupied by this antagonist suffered increased attack by stem-boring beetles, grew more slowly, and experienced doubled mortality relative to trees occupied by the mutualistic ant. These results show that large mammals maintain cooperation within a widespread symbiosis and suggest complex cascading effects of megafaunal extinction.