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Ant–plant–herbivore interactions in the neotropical cerrado savanna

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Abstract

The Brazilian cerrado savanna covers nearly 2 million km2 and has a high incidence on foliage of various liquid food sources such as extrafloral nectar and insect exudates. These liquid rewards generate intense ant activity on cerrado foliage, making ant–plant–herbivore interactions especially prevalent in this biome. We present data on the distribution and abundance of extrafloral nectaries in the woody flora of cerrado communities and in the flora of other habitats worldwide, and stress the relevance of liquid food sources (including hemipteran honeydew) for the ant fauna. Consumption by ants of plant and insect exudates significantly affects the activity of the associated herbivores of cerrado plant species, with varying impacts on the reproductive output of the plants. Experiments with an ant–plant–butterfly system unequivocally demonstrate that the behavior of both immature and adult lepidopterans is closely related to the use of a risky host plant, where intensive visitation by ants can have a severe impact on caterpillar survival. We discuss recent evidence suggesting that the occurrence of liquid rewards on leaves plays a key role in mediating the foraging ecology of foliage-dwelling ants, and that facultative ant–plant mutualisms are important in structuring the community of canopy arthropods. Ant-mediated effects on cerrado herbivore communities can be revealed by experiments performed on wide spatial scales, including many environmental factors such as soil fertility and vegetation structure. We also present some research questions that could be rewarding to investigate in this major neotropical savanna.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Bert Hölldobler for the invitation to write this review. R. Cogni, H.P. Dutra, A. Moraes, and K.S. Brown provided valuable comments on the manuscript. The final version was considerably improved by comments from two anonymous referees. R. Raimundo and A. Midori helped with the illustrations. We thank the Instituto Florestal de São Paulo for allowing us to work in its cerrado reserves. Our studies in cerrado were supported by grants from the Brazilian Research Council (CNPq), the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (FAEP), and the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Biota #FAPESP).

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  1. Departamento de Zoologia, CP 6109, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083–970, Campinas SP, Brazil

    Paulo S. Oliveira & André V. L. Freitas

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  1. Paulo S. Oliveira
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  2. André V. L. Freitas
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Correspondence to Paulo S. Oliveira.

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Oliveira, P.S., Freitas, A.V.L. Ant–plant–herbivore interactions in the neotropical cerrado savanna. Naturwissenschaften 91, 557–570 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-004-0585-x

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