Bottom-up effects may not reach the top: the influence of ant-aphid interactions on the spread of soil disturbances through trophic chains.

Soil disturbances that increase nutrient availability may trigger bottom-up cascading effects along trophic chains. However, the strength and sign of these effects may depend on attributes of the interacting species. Here, we studied the effects of nutrient-rich refuse dumps of the leaf-cutting ant, Acromyrmex lobicornis, on the food chain composed of thistles, aphids, tending ants and aphid natural enemies. Using stable isotopes tracers, we show that the nitrogen accumulated in refuse dumps propagates upward through the studied food chain. Thistles growing on refuse dumps had greater biomass and higher aphid density than those growing in adjacent soil. These modifications did not affect the structure of the tending ant assemblage, but were associated with increased ant activity. In contrast to the expectations under the typical bottom-up cascade effect, the increase in aphid abundance did not positively impact on aphid natural enemies. This pattern may be explained by both an increased activity of tending ants, which defend aphids against their natural enemies, and the low capacity of aphid natural enemies to show numerical or functional responses to increased aphid density. Our results illustrate how biotic interactions and the response capacity of top predators could disrupt bottom-up cascades triggered by disturbances that increase resource availability.

Leaf-cutting ant nests near roads increase fitness of exotic plant species in natural protected areas.

Understanding the mechanisms that promote the invasion of natural protected areas by exotic plants is a central concern for ecology. We demonstrated that nests of the leaf-cutting ant, Acromyrmex lobicornis, near roadsides promote the abundance, growth and reproduction of two exotic plant species, Carduus nutans and Onopordum acanthium, in a national park in northern Patagonia, Argentina and determine the mechanisms that produce these effects. Refuse dumps (RDs) from ant nests have a higher nutrient content than nearby non-nest soils (NNSs); foliar nutrient content and their 15N isotopic signature strongly suggest that plants reach and use these nutrients. Both species of exotic plants in RDs were 50-600% more abundant; seedlings had 100-1000% more foliar area and root and leaf biomass; and adult plants produced 100-300% more seeds than nearby NNS plants. Plants can thus gain access to and benefit from the nutrient content of ant RD, supporting the hypotheses that enhanced resource availability promotes exotic plant performance that could increase the likelihood of biological invasions. The two exotics produce an estimated of 8385000 more seeds ha(-1) in areas with ant nests compared with areas without; this exceptional increase in seed production represents a potential threat to nearby non-invaded communities. We propose several management strategies to mitigate this threat. Removal efforts of exotics should be focused on ant RDs, where plants are denser and represent a higher source of propagules.