Jenna Braun, York University, Toronto, discusses her article: Experimental resource supplementation shifts ant-mediated defense on silver cholla Extra-floral nectaries (EFN) play an important role within mutualisms between plants and ants. In this relationship, ants receive a nutrient-rich food source from plants in exchange for defending the plant from herbivores. Ant species are not equally effective…
Peter Thomas, Keele University, UK and Marion Giertych, University of Zielona Góra and Institute of Dendrology PAS, Poland, discuss their article: Biological Flora of Britain and Ireland: Cytisus scoparius, in English and Polish Broom (Cytisus scoparius), a non-spiny relative of gorse (Ulex species), is a delightful shrub native across Europe in open areas. What makes…
Pat Milligan discusses his recent article ‘A soil-nesting invasive ant disrupts carbon dynamics in saplings of a foundational ant–plant‘. Find out more about how big-headed ants disrupt photosynthesis and plant growth. Human trade and travel across the planet often introduce species to new regions where they may have few or no natural competitors or threats.…
The cover image for our new issue shows an ant standing on the tip of a Lafoensia pacari leaf in the Cerrado, Brazil. Author Kleber Del-Claro shares the story behind this stunning image, which was taken by co-author Denise Lange and relates to their recent research article “Climate seasonality drives ant–plant–herbivore interactions via plant phenology in an extrafloral…
How do seasonal changes in climate influence ecological interactions in an extrafloral nectary‐bearing plant community? Find out in recently published Journal of Ecology paper by Calixto et al. Author Kleber Del-Claro explains how climate can directly and indirectly impact ant–plant–herbivore interactions, and how we can better understand these changes by considering plant phenology over time.…
Diego Anjos is an early career ecologist from Brazil, who’s research focuses on plant-insect interactions and multilayer networks in the Brazilian savanna. This post by Diego is part of the BES journal’s Black History Month blog series, which will be taking place throughout October 2020. We want to acknowledge and celebrate the work of Black…
Here we take a closer look at a fascinating plant defense article by Calixto et al., which has recently been published in Journal of Ecology. Author Kleber Del-Claro explains different methods for anti-herbivore plant defenses and shares the results of this research, which is the first to show that ant recruitment via extrafloral nectar follows…
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