Plant size and reproductive state affect the quantity and quality of rewards to animal mutualists

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dc.citation.firstpage496en_US
dc.citation.journalTitleJournal of Ecologyen_US
dc.citation.lastpage507en_US
dc.citation.volumeNumber102en_US
dc.contributor.authorMiller, Tom E.X.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-12T19:20:01Zen_US
dc.date.available2014-03-12T19:20:01Zen_US
dc.date.issued2014en_US
dc.description.abstractMany plants engage ants in defensive mutualisms by offering extrafloral nectar (EFN). Identifying sources of variation in EFN quantity (amount) and quality (composition) is important because they can affect ant visitation and identity and hence effectiveness of plant defence. I investigated plant size and reproductive state (vegetative or flowering) as sources of variation in EFN quantity and quality. I focused on Opuntia imbricata and two ant partners, Crematogaster opuntiae and Liometopum apiculatum. I tested the influence of plant size and nectary type (vegetative vs. reproductive structure) on the probability and rate of EFN secretion, concentrations of total carbohydrates (CH) and amino acids (AAs), and relative abundances of constituent CH and AAs. I also examined how traits of individual nectaries scaled up to influence total plant-level rewards. Parallel observations documented associations between plant demographic state and ant visitation and species identity. EFN quantity and quality were generally greater for larger, reproductive plants. At the scale of individual nectaries, probability of EFN secretion was positively size-dependent and greater for nectaries on reproductive vs. vegetative structures. Rate of EFN secretion, carbohydrate and amino acid concentrations, and the relative abundance of disaccharide vs. monosaccharide sugars were greater for reproductive nectaries but were unaffected by plant size. Nectary-level traits scaled up to influence rewards at the whole-plant level in ways that corresponded to ant visitation: the probability of ant occupancy increased with plant size and reproduction, as did the likelihood of being tended by the superior guard, L. apiculatum. Variability in EFN traits may contribute to changes in ant occupancy and identity across plant sizes and reproductive states. Synthesis. This study provides a thorough examination of how plant investment in biotic defence varies over the life cycle. Explicit consideration of plant demography may enhance understanding of ant?plant mutualisms. Populations of long-lived plants are demographically heterogeneous, spanning sizes and reproductive states. The rewards offered to animal mutualists can track demographic heterogeneity with consequences for plant defence and the dynamics of multispecies mutualisms.en_US
dc.identifier.citationMiller, Tom E.X.. "Plant size and reproductive state affect the quantity and quality of rewards to animal mutualists." <i>Journal of Ecology,</i> 102, (2014) British Ecological Society: 496-507. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12210.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12210en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/75571en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherBritish Ecological Societyen_US
dc.rightsArticle is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.en_US
dc.subject.keywordant-plant mutualismen_US
dc.subject.keywordbiotic defenceen_US
dc.subject.keyworddemographyen_US
dc.subject.keywordextrafloral nectaren_US
dc.subject.keywordinvertaseen_US
dc.subject.keywordontogenyen_US
dc.subject.keywordplant development and life-history traitsen_US
dc.subject.keywordstage structureen_US
dc.titlePlant size and reproductive state affect the quantity and quality of rewards to animal mutualistsen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.type.dcmiTexten_US
dc.type.publicationpublisher versionen_US
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