Efeito da qualidade de recursos líquidos energéticos sobre a atratividade e agressividade das formigas do Cerrado

Abstract

In nature, there are mutualistic interactions between ants and plants mediated by plant structures known as extrafloral nectaries. These structures produce nectars that are used as food by ants, and their presence indicate a biotic protective mechanism for the plant. In this study, we carried out controlled experiments in order to test the effects of the quality of liquid energy resources on the attractiveness and aggressiveness of ants from the Cerrado, through the installation of artificial nectaries on a plant species. We divided 45 plants into three groups, each receiving artificial nectaries containing the following compositions: control (water only), medium quality (20% sucrose, no amino acids), and high quality (20% sucrose + 3% of aminoacids). We expected that the high-quality nectaries would be able to attract aggressive ants in greater numbers enough to protect the plant from their pollinating potential. Our results showed a greater recruitment of ants in treatments with high quality EFNs, which resulted in a greater biotic defense. We conclude that extrafloral nectar is an important food resource and a determining factor for the recruitment and protection provided to plants. High quality nectaries were the most efficient in attracting ants due to the addition of amino acids, valuable resources, but difficult to access for omnivorous ants.