O efeito da qualidade do recurso no comportamento agressivo das formigas

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the direct and indirect effects of variation in plant nutrition on the aggressive behavior of ants with strange organisms using termites Nasutitermes sp. glued on the host plant Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) De Wit (Fabaceae), as a model system. To manipulate the nutritional conditions of the plants, the plants were fertilized and cultivated over three months. It is important to note that the plants used in the experiment have extrafloral nectars (EFN) which allows colonization and later defense of this resource by the colonizing ants. We added four treatments with 25g, 50g, 75g, 100g NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium) and a fifth treatment without the addition of fertilizer, this used as a control. We measured both the type and the time of the response of the ants to the presence of termites and the possible effect of the treatments, the plant strata and the position of the EFN in their aggressive behavior.