Ant attendance and arthropod diversity on elderberry extrafloral nectaries are influenced by plant genotype and pruning
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Ant attendance and arthropod diversity on elderberry extrafloral nectaries are influenced by plant genotype and pruning method Jaime C. Piñero1 · Roshan Manandhar2 Received: 2 March 2019 / Accepted: 22 June 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Plants bearing extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) serve diverse ecological functions by providing nectar to a broad spectrum of arthropods (e.g., ants, parasitoids). This study examined the extent to which plant architecture of American elderberry (Sambucus canadensis L.; Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis [L.] Bolli), resulting from two pruning methods that produced herbaceous (base-pruning) and woody (high-pruning) stems, and elderberry genotype (nine genotypes were evaluated) influenced ant attendance and arthropod abundance and diversity on elderberry EFNs. Results showed that the proportion of elderberry plants that produced EFNs was significantly greater for the base-pruning compared to the high-pruning method. The positive relationship found between the number of EFN-bearing plants that secreted nectar and ant attendance on EFNs was greater for the base-pruned plants compared to high-pruned plants. Plant genotype also significantly influenced the outcome. When base-pruned, the proportion of plants attended by ants was greatest for the genotypes Ocoee and Marge. The proportion of plants visited by other arthropods (e.g., parasitoids and predators) was greatest for the genotypes Ocoee, Bob Gordon, and Wyldewood. Overall, our findings indicate that the combination of plant genotype selection and selective pruning can modulate insect–plant interactions including mutualistic ant–elderberry associations and visitations by an array of arthropods. Keywords Elderberry · Pruning · Hymenoptera · Coleoptera · Insect–plant interactions
Introduction Extrafloral nectaries (EFNs), nectar-producing glands located outside of flowers, have been reported in plant species belonging to 108 families and 745 genera (Marazzi et al. 2013). While EFNs are not involved in pollination, they serve diverse ecological functions by providing nectar, a food source to a broad spectrum of arthropods (Heil 2011; Rudgers and Gardener 2004). The mutualistic association between plants bearing EFNs and ants, which often protect plants from herbivory (Bentley 1977; Koptur 1984, 1992; Koptur et al. 2013; Ness 2003), is one common plant–insect Handling Editor: Jouni Sorvari. * Jaime C. Piñero [email protected] 1
Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, University of Hawaii, Kauai Extension Office, Lihue, HI 96766, USA
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association (Bentley 1977; Koptur 1984). Beyond the simple mutualism between EFN-bearing plants and ants, EFNs also enhance the diversity and abundance of arthropods including the natural enemies of herbivores at the community scale (Gentry 2003; Pemberton and Lee 1996; Rezende et al. 2014; Rudgers and Gardener 2004; Wackers and Bonifay 2004). Nectar production by EFN
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