Fungus growing ants Flashcards
1
Q
Fungus-growing ants
A
- Ants carefully tend fungus
- Fungus serves as main food source for ants (produces gongylidia)
- originated 45-65 mya
- mutualism
2
Q
How do ants tend the fungi garden
A
- manuring and promoting growth of garden by:
- breakdown of vegetative material
- fecal droplet
- waste management
- growth promotion through proteolytic enzymes
3
Q
How do ants protect gardens from alien microbes?
A
-through the use of antibiotics in metapleural glands
4
Q
-Ant behavioral defenses
How do ants maintain the health of fungus gardens?
A
- licking and masticating of leaves
- removal of infected parts of garden
- grooming
5
Q
What is the Red Queen Theory
A
- based on belief that parasites are able to rapidly adapt to sexual or genetically homogenous hosts
- predicts that fungus growing ants should experience serious parasite pressure
6
Q
What is the most common pathogen of ant fungus gardens
A
-Escovopsis
7
Q
Impacts of escovopsis
A
- 16 colonies treated with heavy doses of this and 9 lost garden within 3 weeks
- reduced fungal growth rates
- colonies can experience net loss in biomass and may never reach a sufficient size
8
Q
How does the fungal-ant colony work
A
- males function only in reproduction
- workers supplement with fungus with plant sap, and help in colony function
- queen tends garden in early stages and reproduces workers
- colony grows with the fungus
- queen transfers fungus during nuptial flights
9
Q
How can the host stay ahead in the red queen hypothesis?
A
-by attaining new or novel resistant genotypes (sex)
