Between parasitism, mutualism and predation: interactions between myrmecophiles and army ants

• Applicant: Privatdozent Dr. Volker Witte
• Subject Area: Evolution, Anthropology
• Term: from 2006 to 2012
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 17813800

Myrmecophiles, which are at least during parts of their life stages closely associated with ants, belong to a great diversity of different taxa, including insects (beetles, flies, butterflies, springtails, bristletails), other arthropods (woodlice, mites, spiders, myriapods) and vertebrates (birds, reptiles, amphibians). Recently, the first myrmecophile mollusk Allopeas myrmekophilos has been described, which lives in a highly specific association with its host Leptogenys distinguenda, an army ant (Witte et al., 2002). Albeit many of these specialized interactions have been described, the fitness consequences for the guests and their ant hosts remain often unclear. Depending on the reciprocal selection pressures these associations can be classified into a broad range of ecological relationships from parasitism or predation to commensalism and mutualism. Furthermore, often several myrmecophiles co-occur in a single ant colony and these additional interactions among the guest species can lead to a complex network of co-dependant species. In this project, we plan to analyze the coexistence of myrmecophiles in ant colonies under a coevolutionary perspective, focusing on their chemical integration and reciprocal fitness impacts. The ant communication system is predominantly based upon chemical cues and consequently it is not surprising that myrmecophiles commonly use chemical strategies to integrate into their host colonies. Thus, an integrated chemical-biological approach seems most promising to study ant-myrmecophile associations. Preliminary results indicate, for example, that the spider Gamasomorpha maschwitzi possesses a very untypical chemical cuticular composition, which closely resembles that of its host ant L. distinguenda. We want to study chemical camouflage or mimicry in isopods, lepismatids and coleopterans living with the same host.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Professorin Dr. Susanne Foitzik