Divergent chemical cues elicit seed collecting by ants in an obligate multi-species mutualism in lowland Amazonia.
In lowland Amazonian rainforests, specific ants collect seeds of several plant species and cultivate them in arboreal carton nests, forming species-specific symbioses called ant-gardens (AGs). In this obligate mutualism, ants depend on the plants for nest stability and the plants depend on ant nests...
Main Authors: | , , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2010-12-01
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Series: | PLoS ONE |
Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3012710?pdf=render |