10.5061/DRYAD.VB81F
Pinkalski, Christian
Aarhus University
Jensen, Karl-Martin V.
Aarhus University
Damgaard, Christian
Aarhus University
Offenberg, Joachim
Aarhus University
Data from: Foliar uptake of nitrogen from ant faecal droplets: an
overlooked service to ant-plants
Dryad
dataset
2018
Oecophylla
Coffea arabica
ant-plant interaction
Foliar fertilization
Multi-trophic interactions
Nutrient acquisition
2018-07-17T00:00:00Z
2018-07-17T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12841
32535 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Nutrient supplies to plants from ants are well known from specialised
myrmecophytic symbioses and from plants growing in soil close to ant
nests. However, above-ground nutrient pathways may play a largely
unrecognised role also in less specialised ant–plant interactions—the
numerous facultative relationships, where ants forage on plants. In a
laboratory experiment, weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) were confined
to the canopies of coffee (Coffea arabica) seedlings, excluding any
ant-to-plant transfer of nutrients via the soil strata. When ants were fed
15N-labelled glycine and subsequently deposited faecal droplets on the
seedlings, coffee leaves showed increased levels of 15N and total nitrogen
compared to control plants without ants. This was evident for both exposed
leaves and leaves covered in plastic bags (i.e. not directly exposed to
ants). Thus, nitrogen from ant excretions was absorbed through the coffee
leaves, and subsequently, translocated within the plants and possibly
leading to the observed higher shoot/root (wet weight) ratios observed on
ant-plants compared to controls. Synthesis. These results reveal an
undescribed foliar uptake of ant-provided nutrients. If this is a general
mechanism, a vast amount of ant–plant interactions involves fertilisation.
Foliar fertilisation by ants may be an important steady benefit to plants,
which has driven the evolution of ant–plant mutualisms in parallel with
the well-recognised but probably more fluctuating benefit from herbivore
protection. Given the world-wide abundance of plant canopies foraged by
ants, this nutrient pathway may be of high ecological significance.
Plant biomass and nitrogen contentThis file contains the data for the
publication Foliar uptake of nitrogen from ant fecal droplets: an
overlooked service to ant plants. The file contains data on nitrogen
content as well as fresh and dry weights of "ant plants" and
control plants in the experiment.Data file.xlsx