title: Trait-mediated indirect interactions of ant shape on the attack of caterpillars and fruits.
abstract: Mainly owing to their high diversity and abundance, ants are formidable as predators and defenders of foliage. Consequently, ants can exclude both invertebrate and vertebrate activity on plants via direct and indirect interactions as already shown in many previous studies. Here we present empirical evidence that objects resembling ant shape on dummy caterpillars were able to repel visually oriented predators. Moreover, we also show that rubber ants on dummy fruits can repel potential fruit dispersers. Our results have direct implications on the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of interactions in ant-based systems, as ant presence could affect the fitness of its partners. In short, our study highlights the importance of visual cues in interspecific interactions and opens a new way to study the effects of ant presence to test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses.
authors.affiliation: Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico wdattilo@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Wesley
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4758-4379
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dáttilo
authors.affiliation: Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aguirre
authors.affiliation: Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico Escuela de Biología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Pue, Mexico.
authors.forename: Pedro Luna
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: De la Torre
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lucas A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Kaminski
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Biología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Pue, Mexico.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García-Chávez
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Neuroetología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rico-Gray
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005638:Fruit; D007313:Insecta; D010944:Plants; D013559:Symbiosis
keywords: attack rates; enemy-free space; field methods; myrmecomorphy; myrmecophily; visual cues