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Mean ant abundance (mean number of ants per 4 sampling polygons per tree ± SE) on orange trees at sites CP and ER before and after bromeliad removal A. Total ant abundance B. Bromeliad ant abundance C. Other ant abundance. Markers represent 3 treatments: trees with bromeliads (with-with), trees without bromeliads (without-without), and trees with bromeliads removed (with-removal) (n = 79).
Source publication
Ants often interact with other invertebrates as predators or mutualists. Epiphytic bromeliads provide nesting sites for ants, and could increase ant abundances in the tree canopy. We surveyed ants in the foliage of orange trees that either hosted bromeliads or did not. To determine if observed associations between bromeliads and tree ants were caus...
Citations
... Additionally, interspecific competition among mosquito species plays a role in population size moderation (Haq et al., 2019). Bromeliads in agroecosystems can contribute to herbivore control through ecological interactions with ants (Rost-Komiya et al. 2022). Bromeliads in agroecosystems may serve as habitats for mosquito genera such as Toxorhynchites, Wyeomyia, Limatus, Onirion, Runchomyia, and Anopheles (Kerteszia), as well as disease vector mosquitoes of the Aedes genus (e.g., O'Meara et al., 2003;Mocellin et al., 2009;Ceretti-Junior et al., 2016). ...
Objective:
We aimed to determine the species of the Culicidae family inhabiting the tank bromeliad Tillandsia elongata in an agroecosystem of the Colombian Andes, utilizing taxonomic and molecular methods.
Scope:
While Agriculture is recognized as one of the causes of biodiversity loss, agroecosystems have the potential to maintain the invertebrate biodiversity, including mosquito species.
Methodology:
We collected immature mosquitoes from 48 bromeliads in the agroecosystem “Montelindo” of Universidad de Caldas in Santágueda (Palestina, Caldas, Colombia). To collect the immature mosquitoes within each bromeliad, we filtered the water in the tank using a 150 µm-mesh sieve, and subsequently cleaned each bromeliad leaf with a brush. Taxonomic and molecular approaches were employed for mosquito species identification.
Main results:
This study presents the first report of immature mosquitoes from the genera Toxorhynchites and Wyeomyia inhabiting the bromeliad Tillandsia elongata in agroecosystems. Morphological identification led to establishing two species of Toxorhynchites, namely Toxorhynchites bambusicola (Lutz and Neiva) and Toxorhynchites haemorrhoidalis (Fabricius). DNA sequencing confirmed the presence of two species Wy. mitchelli (Theobald) and Wy. pertinans (Williston). Our results expand the known distribution range of Toxorhynchites species, as well as the bromeliad species that serve as breeding sites for Tx. bambusicola and Tx. haemorrhoidalis. Agroecosystems have the potential to contribute to Culicidae biodiversity through the conservation of breeding water bodies as tank bromeliads.
Individual species can have profound effects on ecological communities, but, in hyperdiverse systems, it can be challenging to determine the underlying ecological mechanisms. Simplifying species’ responses by trophic level or functional group may be useful, but characterizing the trait structure of communities may be better related to niche processes. A largely overlooked trait in such community-level analyses is behaviour. In the Neotropics, epiphytic tank bromeliads (Bromeliaceae) harbour a distinct fauna of terrestrial invertebrates that is mainly composed of predators, such as ants and spiders. As these bromeliad-associated predators tend to forage on the bromeliads’ support tree, they may influence the arboreal invertebrate fauna. We examined how, by increasing associated predator habitat, bromeliads may affect arboreal invertebrates. Specifically, we observed the trophic and functional group composition, and the behaviour and interspecific interactions of arboreal invertebrates in trees with and without bromeliads. Bromeliads modified the functional composition of arboreal invertebrates, but not the overall abundance of predators and herbivores. Bromeliads did not alter the overall behavioural profile of arboreal invertebrates, but did lead to more positive interactions in the day than at night, with a reverse pattern on trees without bromeliads. In particular, tending behaviours were influenced by bromeliad-associated predators. These results indicate that detailed examination of the functional affiliations and behaviour of organisms can reveal complex effects of habitat-forming species like bromeliads, even when total densities of trophic groups are insensitive.
