Are seed-dispersing ants elaiosome-limited? An experimental test in a Connecticut forest dominated by myrmecochorous plants

Food-for-dispersal mutualisms are critical sources of energy flow in ecological networks. By providing a nutrient-rich reward in the form of a fruit or seed to an animal mutualist, plants gain directed dispersal. Myrmecochory is one form of animal-mediated seed dispersal in which ants are recruited to plant seeds by providing a nutrient rich appendage called an elaiosome. It is unclear to what impact nutrients provided by elaiosomes have on ants, and whether the mutualism can tolerate disruptions to this food source. In the Northeastern U.S. mixed deciduous forest ecoregion, a diverse assemblage of herbaceous plants are dispersed by Aphaenogaster ants. Since Aphaenogaster ants gain a significant nutrient subsidy from this mutualism, it is predicted that loss of these seeds could cause reductions in their population size. To test this hypothesis, I performed a long-term removal of elaiosome food sources for ants. All seeds were removed by hand from three 50m² plots, each paired with control plots with no removal, and a supplementation plot from April to May, from 2010 to 2012. Five years following removal treatments, I collected data on coverage of ant-dispersed plants and the abundance of seed-dispersing Aphaenogaster ants. Removal of all sources of elaiosomes resulted in modest reductions in the proportional coverage of ant-dispersed plants relative to control plots. Ant forager abundance was not impacted by the treatments five years after the removal of elaiosomes. In sum, Aphaenogaster populations may not always be limited by the availability of elaiosomes or myrmecochorous plants produce can recover quickly (<5 years) to provide enough food for these ants. As long as surrounding populations of understory forest plants are maintained, it appears that both mutualistic ants may rebound from a short-term reduction in the production of elaiosomes.