Dead ant walking: a myrmecophilous beetle predator uses parasitoid host location cues to selectively prey on parasitized ants
Autor: | Neil D. Tsutsui, Kaitlyn A. Mathis |
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Rok vydání: | 2016 |
Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Context (language use) Staphylinidae 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Medical and Health Sciences General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Parasitoid Predation Ant follower Rove beetle Animals Research Articles General Environmental Science General Immunology and Microbiology biology Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences Ecology Ants Diptera predation strategy phorid fly parasitism General Medicine Ant mimicry Biological Sciences biology.organism_classification Myrmecophily Azteca Coleoptera 010602 entomology Predatory Behavior myrmecophily Azteca sericeasur Cues complex interactions General Agricultural and Biological Sciences |
Zdroj: | Proceedings. Biological sciences, vol 283, iss 1836 Mathis, KA; & Tsutsui, ND. (2016). Dead ant walking: A myrmecophilous beetle predator uses parasitoid host location cues to selectively prey on parasitized ants. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1836). doi: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1281. UC Berkeley: Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/52w1z544 |
Popis: | Myrmecophiles (i.e. organisms that associate with ants) use a variety of ecological niches and employ different strategies to survive encounters with ants. Because ants are typically excellent defenders, myrmecophiles may choose moments of weakness to take advantage of their ant associates. This hypothesis was studied in the rove beetle, Myrmedonota xipe , which associates with Azteca sericeasur ants in the presence of parasitoid flies. A combination of laboratory and field experiments show that M. xipe beetles selectively locate and prey upon parasitized ants. These parasitized ants are less aggressive towards beetles than healthy ants, allowing beetles to eat the parasitized ants alive without interruption. Moreover, behavioural assays and chemical analysis reveal that M. xipe are attracted to the ant's alarm pheromone, the same secretion used by the phorid fly parasitoids in host location. This strategy allows beetles access to an abundant but otherwise inaccessible resource, as A. sericeasur ants are typically highly aggressive. These results are the first, to our knowledge, to demonstrate a predator sharing cues with a parasitoid to gain access to an otherwise unavailable prey item. Furthermore, this work highlights the importance of studying ant–myrmecophile interactions beyond just their pairwise context. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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