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Parmentier T, Claus R, De Laender F, Bonte D. Moving apart together: co-movement of a symbiont community and their ant host, and its importance for community assembly. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2021; 9:25. [PMID: 34020716 PMCID: PMC8140472 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-021-00259-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Species interactions may affect spatial dynamics when the movement of one species is determined by the presence of another one. The most direct species-dependence of dispersal is vectored, usually cross-kingdom, movement of immobile parasites, diseases or seeds by mobile animals. Joint movements of species should, however, not be vectored by definition, as even mobile species are predicted to move together when they are tightly connected in symbiont communities. METHODS We studied concerted movements in a diverse and heterogeneous community of arthropods (myrmecophiles) associated with red wood ants. We questioned whether joint-movement strategies eventually determine and speed-up community succession. RESULTS We recorded an astonishingly high number of obligate myrmecophiles outside red wood ant nests. They preferentially co-moved with the host ants as the highest densities were found in locations with the highest density of foraging red wood ants, such as along the network of ant trails. These observations suggest that myrmecophiles resort to the host to move away from the nest, and this to a much higher extent than hitherto anticipated. Interestingly, functional groups of symbionts displayed different dispersal kernels, with predatory myrmecophiles moving more frequently and further from the nest than detritivorous myrmecophiles. We discovered that myrmecophile diversity was lower in newly founded nests than in mature red wood ant nests. Most myrmecophiles, however, were able to colonize new nests fast suggesting that the heterogeneity in mobility does not affect community assembly. CONCLUSIONS We show that co-movement is not restricted to tight parasitic, or cross-kingdom interactions. Movement in social insect symbiont communities may be heterogeneous and functional group-dependent, but clearly affected by host movement. Ultimately, this co-movement leads to directional movement and allows a fast colonisation of new patches, but not in a predictable way. This study highlights the importance of spatial dynamics of local and regional networks in symbiont metacommunities, of which those of symbionts of social insects are prime examples.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Parmentier
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium.
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000, Namur, Belgium.
| | - R Claus
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - F De Laender
- Research Unit of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Namur Institute of Complex Systems, and Institute of Life, Earth, and the Environment, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000, Namur, Belgium
| | - D Bonte
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium
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Eusébio RP, Enghoff H, Solodovnikov A, Michelsen A, Barranco P, Salgado JM, Sendra A, Reboleira ASPS. Temporal and spatial dynamics of arthropod groups in terrestrial subsurface habitats in central Portugal. ZOOLOGY 2021; 147:125931. [PMID: 34144338 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2021.125931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The mesovoid shallow substratum (MSS) can act as a climatic refuge for invertebrates, as a biogeographic corridor to deeper substrates or as a permanent habitat for some species. This study characterizes the seasonal invertebrate diversity and abundance of MSS ecosystems in central Portugal focusing on Diplopoda, Diplura, Orthoptera and Coleoptera during one year. Sampling was performed with standard MSS pitfalls in scree slopes (colluvial MSS) of karst areas and environmental parameters (temperature, pH, conductivity, water content, organic carbon, nitrate, phosphate and ammonium) were quantified. Our results show that winter was the season with the highest arthropod abundance and that the MSS acts as a permanent habitat for chordeumatidan millipedes and as a climatic refuge for orthopterans and most beetles. All Diplura collected belong to a single species known previously from surface habitats in the Iberian Peninsula, which does not seem to use the Portuguese MSS as a refuge. MSS habitats in central Portugal, classified as western Mediterranean and thermophile deposits protected by the Natura 2000 network based on plant communities and geology, revealed an abundant and diverse invertebrate community that urges characterization and protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- R P Eusébio
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark; Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - H Enghoff
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - A Solodovnikov
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark; Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Science, Universitetskaja emb. 1, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia
| | - A Michelsen
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - P Barranco
- CECOUAL, Departamento de Biología y Geología, CITE-IIB, Universidad de Almería, Spain
| | - J M Salgado
- Departamento de Ecologia y Biologia Animal, Universidad de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310, Vigo, Spain
| | - A Sendra
- Colecciones Entomológicas Torres-Sala, Servei de Patrimoni Històric, Ajuntament de València, València, Spain
| | - A S P S Reboleira
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark; Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
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Kaczmarczyk-Ziemba A, Zagaja M, Wagner GK, Pietrykowska-Tudruj E, Staniec B. First Insight into Microbiome Profiles of Myrmecophilous Beetles and Their Host, Red Wood Ant Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)-A Case Study. INSECTS 2020; 11:E134. [PMID: 32092972 PMCID: PMC7073670 DOI: 10.3390/insects11020134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2019] [Revised: 02/10/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Formica polyctena belongs to the red wood ant species group. Its nests provide a stable, food rich, and temperature and humidity controlled environment, utilized by a wide range of species, called myrmecophiles. Here, we used the high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene on the Illumina platform for identification of the microbiome profiles of six selected myrmecophilous beetles (Dendrophilus pygmaeus, Leptacinus formicetorum, Monotoma angusticollis, Myrmechixenus subterraneus, Ptenidium formicetorum and Thiasophila angulata) and their host F. polyctena. Analyzed bacterial communities consisted of a total of 23 phyla, among which Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes were the most abundant. Two known endosymbionts-Wolbachia and Rickettsia-were found in the analyzed microbiome profiles and Wolbachia was dominant in bacterial communities associated with F. polyctena, M. subterraneus, L. formicetorum and P. formicetorum (>90% of reads). In turn, M. angusticollis was co-infected with both Wolbachia and Rickettsia, while in the microbiome of T. angulata, the dominance of Rickettsia has been observed. The relationships among the microbiome profiles were complex, and no relative abundance pattern common to all myrmecophilous beetles tested was observed. However, some subtle, species-specific patterns have been observed for bacterial communities associated with D. pygmaeus, M. angusticollis, and T. angulata.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Kaczmarczyk-Ziemba
- Department of Genetics and Biosystematics, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Mirosław Zagaja
- Isobolographic Analysis Laboratory, Institute of Rural Health, Jaczewskiego 2, 20-090 Lublin, Poland;
| | - Grzegorz K. Wagner
- Department of Zoology and Nature Protection, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland; (G.K.W.); (E.P.-T.); (B.S.)
| | - Ewa Pietrykowska-Tudruj
- Department of Zoology and Nature Protection, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland; (G.K.W.); (E.P.-T.); (B.S.)
| | - Bernard Staniec
- Department of Zoology and Nature Protection, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland; (G.K.W.); (E.P.-T.); (B.S.)
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Staniec B, Agaja M, Pietrykowska-Tudruj E, Grzegorz K Wagner. Comparative larval ultramorphology of some myrmecophilous Aleocharinae (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae), with a first description of the larvae of Amidobiatalpa (Heer O, 1841) and Oxypodahaemorrhoa (Mannerheim C.G., 1830), associated with the Formicarufa species group. Zookeys 2019:93-114. [PMID: 30598608 PMCID: PMC6305771 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.808.29818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The paper describes the external structures of the late larval stages of two Palearctic myrmecophilous staphylinids: Amidobiatalpa and Oxypodahaemorrhoa associated with the Formicarufa species group. This is the first-ever description of the larva of Amidobia, and the only complete, detailed account of the morphology of this developmental stage in the genus Oxypoda currently available. For the first time in these two genera, 13 and 10 larval diagnostic features, respectively, are proposed. Morphological differences have been established between known and the newly described larvae of five species (genera) of myrmecophilous and one non-myrmecophilous Aleocharinae, belonging to three tribes. Amidobiatalpa and O.haemorrhoa are probably typical, tiny predators, like most other Aleocharinae, including non-myrmecophilous ones. Being very small and highly mobile, they are ignored by worker ants. Not surprisingly, no particular larval morphological modifications were found to enable them to survive among ants. Such features have, however, evolved in the larvae of larger aleocharines, that is, those that are perceived by ants and are wholly integrated with their hosts in the ant nest (e.g. Lomechusa). This comparative analysis of the functional morphology of the larvae of known myrmecophilous Aleocharinae is a springboard to further such studies of these interesting insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernard Staniec
- Department of Zoology, Maria-Curie Skłodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland Maria-Curie Skłodowska University Lublin Poland
| | - Mirosław Agaja
- Isobolographic Analysis Laboratory, Institute of Rural Health, Jaczewskiego 2, 20-090 Lublin, Poland Isobolographic Analysis Laboratory, Institute of Rural Health Lublin Poland
| | - Ewa Pietrykowska-Tudruj
- Department of Zoology, Maria-Curie Skłodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland Maria-Curie Skłodowska University Lublin Poland
| | - Grzegorz K Wagner
- Department of Zoology, Maria-Curie Skłodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland Maria-Curie Skłodowska University Lublin Poland
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