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Spatially Heterogeneous Nest-Clearing Behavior Coincides with Rain Event in the Leaf-Cutting Ant Atta cephalotes (L.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

  • Ecology, Behavior and Bionomics
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Abstract

Leaf-cutting ants of the genus Atta construct the probably largest nests among ants and are ecosystem engineers because they alter light and nutrient availability at nest sites. Besides creating canopy gaps in the forest, workers remove all vegetation from atop their nest mounds. Here, we examined the extent and spatial distribution of this nest-clearing behavior by transplanting Licania tomentosa seedlings on Atta cephalotes (Linnaeus) nest mounds in the Atlantic forest in northeast Brazil and documented defoliation patterns by the workers. Within 9 days, workers removed around 53% of the total leaf area planted per colony. All colonies showed a synchronized start of defoliation after a rain event in the fifth night after the seedlings had been transplanted. Defoliation increased with time elapsed since transplanting and with the number of entrances surrounding each seedling. In addition, workers started defoliation on the top of the mound. In contrast, the distance to the next entrance and the size of the seedling did not affect the defoliation pattern. Defoliation was not part of the colony foraging activities but was identified as an element of nest maintenance. Possible cues triggering nest-clearing behavior and the potential link between nest-clearing activities and the control of microclimate of ant nests are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Simone Jürgens for her help in raising the seedlings used in this experiment as well as the ‘Usina Serra Grande’, ‘Centro de Pesquisas Ambientais do Nordeste’ (CEPAN), and ‘Conservação Internacional do Brasil’ (CI-Brasil) for the logistical support. We also thank Sharon Zytynska, Flavio Roces, and two anonymous reviewers for the valuable comments on the manuscript and Mikael Andersson for the inspiring statistical support. The study was supported by a Brazil–Germany collaboration project (PROBRAL CAPES/DAAD, projects D/06/33907 and 257/07), the ‘Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft’ (DFG, process WI 1959/1-1, 1-2), and ‘Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico’ (CNPq, process 540322/01-6) of Brazil. JGS gratefully acknowledges a travel grant from the DAAD.

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Author notes

  1. J G Stephan

    Present address: Dept of Ecology, Swedish Univ of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden

  2. S T Meyer

    Present address: Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Dept of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Center for Food and Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technische Univ München, Freising, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept for Plant Ecology & Systematics, Univ of Kaiserslautern, 67653, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    J G Stephan, R Wirth & S T Meyer

  2. Depto de Botânica, Univ Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brasil

    I R Leal

Authors
  1. J G Stephan
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  2. R Wirth
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  3. I R Leal
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  4. S T Meyer
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Correspondence to J G Stephan.

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Edited by José R Trigo – Unicamp

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Stephan, J.G., Wirth, R., Leal, I.R. et al. Spatially Heterogeneous Nest-Clearing Behavior Coincides with Rain Event in the Leaf-Cutting Ant Atta cephalotes (L.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Neotrop Entomol 44, 123–128 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-014-0267-0

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