Influence of arboreal foraging ant species on plant fitness mediated via bi trophic tri trophic and multi trophic interactions

Abstract

Plants and arthropods have been associated with each other since long and are inter-dependant for their growth and survival. Ants are the most common arthropods in terrestrial ecosystems and many species are closely associated with plants. They visit plants to collect nectar from floral and/or extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) or to collect honeydew from the hemipterans present on the plants. The presence of ants on the plants can exert negative as and/or positive influence on the plant-visiting arthropods and this in turn can affect the fitness of the plants. newline