title: Obligate plant farming by a specialized ant.
abstract: Many epiphytic plants have associated with ants to gain nutrients. Here, we report a novel type of ant-plant symbiosis in Fiji where one ant species actively and exclusively plants the seeds and fertilizes the seedlings of six species of Squamellaria (Rubiaceae). Comparison with related facultative ant plants suggests that such farming plays a key role in mutualism stability by mitigating the critical re-establishment step.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Munich (LMU), Menzinger Str. 67, Munich 80638, Germany.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chomicki
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Munich (LMU), Menzinger Str. 67, Munich 80638, Germany.
authors.forename: Susanne S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Renner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000502:physiology*; D005367:Fiji; D012098:Reproduction; D019666:Rubiaceae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D036226:Seedlings / Q000254:growth & development; D012639:Seeds / Q000254:growth & development; D013045:Species Specificity; D013559:Symbiosis