Authors: S T Trimble C L Sagers
Publish Date: 2003/10/16
Volume: 138, Issue: 1, Pages: 74-82
Abstract
Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes were used to examine variation in ant use of plant resources in the Cecropia obtusifolia / Azteca spp association in Costa Rica Tissue of ants host plants and symbiotic pseudococcids were collected along three elevation transects on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica’s Cordillera Central and were analyzed for carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition Worker carbon and nitrogen signatures were found to vary with elevation and ant colony size and between Azteca species groups Ants in the A constructor species group appear to be opportunistic foragers at low elevations but rely more heavily on their host plants at high elevations whereas ants in the A alfari species group consume a more consistent diet across their distribution Further isotope values indicate that both ant species groups acquire more nitrogen from higher trophic levels at low elevation and when ant colonies are small Provisioning by the host is a substantial ecological cost to the interaction and it may vary even in a highly specialized association Nonetheless not all specialized interactions are equivalent where interaction with one ant species group appears conditional upon the environment the other is not Differential host use within the CecropiaAzteca association suggests that the ecological and evolutionary benefits and costs of association may vary among species pairsWe thank J Longino and LD Gomez for assistance provided in Costa Rica Logistical support was arranged by the Organization for Tropical Studies J Cox and the University of Arkansas Stable Isotope Laboratory assisted sample preparation and L Duncan helped with experimental design and statistical analyses T Kondo Auburn University kindly identified specimens Thanks to N Garwood and the Natural History Museum London for making their collection of Cecropia specimens available Funding for this project was provided by National Science Foundation EPSCoR fellowship Sigma Xi Grant in Aid of Research and a grant from the Arkansas Audubon Society Trust to STT We benefited from spirited discussion with V Carmona RD Evans NC Garwood K Hobson and D O’Brien and the considered comments of three anonymous reviewers This study was completed in partial fulfillment of requirements for an MSc degree from the Department of Biological Sciences University of Arkansas for STT
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