The Effect of Ant Nests on Plant Nutrition and Selection for Extrafloral Nectaries

蚁巢对植物营养的影响及花外蜜腺的选择

• 批准号: 0316994
• 负责人: Diane Wagner
• 金额: $ 10万
• 依托单位: University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-08-15 至 2005-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0316994&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Effect; Ant; Nests; Plant; Nutrition

Extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) are organs located on leaves and stems of plants; they secrete sugars and amino acids. Currently, the only well-accepted hypothesis for the evolution and maintenance of EFNs is that they lure predatory arthropods, especially ants, onto plant tissues and thereby reduce the damage caused by herbivores. Evidence supporting this explanation for EFNs is mixed, however. The goal of this study is to test an alternative hypothesis, the nutrition hypothesis, for the evolution and maintenance of the trait. In the North American shrub, Acacia constricta, EFNs appear to encourage ants to nest within the rooting zone of the plant, where ants can enhance soil mineral nutrient concentrations and may increase plant fitness. Some acacia individuals have ant nests at the base and others do not. Nests under acacia are dynamic, forming anew each summer. Previous work at the study site has demonstrated that ant nest soils are enriched in nutrients that frequently limit plant reproduction. The proposed research uses field and laboratory experiments to test the relative importance of nutrition and protection to correlates of fitness for A. constricta. The research also tests whether enhanced plant nutrition, provided by ant nests, feeds back to the ants through the production of high-quality food rewards. Results from this research will contribute important insights to a model system used in the evolutionary ecology of plant-herbivore interactions. The project also will contribute more generally to the role that ants play in nutrient distribution and accumulation in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. The project will provide training for a Ph.D. student and several undergraduates in the laboratory and greenhouse (University of Alaska Fairbanks) and in the field (Southwestern Research Station, Arizona). Special effort will be made to recruit native and rural undergraduates who have never had the opportunity to travel outside the state of Alaska. The project will broaden the view of ecology students by introducing them to a new biome with high biodiversity, structured by climatic challenges unlike those of their home state.

花外蜜腺（EFN）是位于植物叶和茎上的器官，它们分泌糖和氨基酸。目前，关于EFN的进化和维持的唯一公认的假设是，它们将捕食性节肢动物，特别是蚂蚁引诱到植物组织上，从而减少草食动物造成的损害。然而，支持这种解释的证据是混合的。本研究的目的是测试一个替代假设，营养假说，为性状的进化和维持。在北美灌木，相思constricta，EFN似乎鼓励蚂蚁在植物的生根区，在那里蚂蚁可以提高土壤矿物质营养浓度，并可能增加植物健身内筑巢。一些金合欢个体在基部有蚁巢，而另一些则没有。金合欢树下的巢是动态的，每年夏天都要重新筑巢。研究地点以前的工作表明，蚁穴土壤富含经常限制植物繁殖的营养物质。本研究采用田间和实验室试验来检验营养和保护对A.缢缩。该研究还测试了蚁巢提供的增强植物营养是否会通过生产高质量的食物奖励来反馈给蚂蚁。本研究的结果将有助于重要的见解，用于植物-草食动物相互作用的进化生态学的模型系统。该项目还将更广泛地促进蚂蚁在干旱和半干旱生态系统中营养分配和积累方面的作用。该项目将为一名博士提供培训。在实验室和温室（阿拉斯加大学费尔班克斯）和现场（西南研究站，亚利桑那州）的学生和几个本科生。将特别努力招募从未有机会到阿拉斯加州以外旅行的本地和农村大学生。该项目将拓宽生态学学生的视野，向他们介绍一个具有高度生物多样性的新生物群落，该生物群落由与其家乡不同的气候挑战构成。