The Dynamics of Aphid Mutualism: A Resource for Service Mutualism

Co Soriano, John Clyde L.

Institute of Biology, College of Science, University of the Philippines, Diliman, 1101 Quezon
City, Philippines
Mutualistic relationships are sometimes
more of a mutual exploitation. Each
organism has a niche but many times,
organisms share the same niche, and these
are
termed
functional
redundancy.
Organisms sharing the same niche could
coexist or compete for resources (Barton,
2014).
Climate change is a very big concern at
present times because insects are very
sensitive to slight changes in temperature,
wind intensity and humidity. Temperature
affects the rate of reproduction and activity
of insects. Mutualistic organisms are also
strongly dependent on the other organism so
much so that the loss of one species would
have a detrimental impact on the other, and
this may lead to mutualism breakdown
(Barton, 2014).
Aphids
Aphids (family Aphididae) are a pest of
several kinds of crops like corn, soy, barley
and seeds. They are usually a minor pest and
are not a big concern because of the
presence of several natural predators like the
damsel bugs (Nabis sp.), pirate bugs (Orius
spp.), and Asian ladybeetle (Harmonia
axyridis), (BartonandIves,2014).
Aphid-ant mutualism
Different species of aphids have different
partners in mutualism. The mutualistic
relationship
of
the
corn
aphid
(Rhopalosiphum maidis) with two aphidtending ants, the winter ant (Prenolepis
impari) and the cornfield ant (Lasius
alienus) was discussed by BartonandIves,
2014. Metopeurum fuscoviride and Aphis
fabae are mutualistic with Lasius niger
(Flatt, and Weisser, 2000). The type of

mutualism that the aphid has is a resource

for service mutualism. The Aphids produce
honeydew, a sweet liquid that it excretes
when it feeds by sucking on the phloem of
plants. Honeydew is rich in carbohydrates
and is produced by the aphids, (Bartonand
Ives, 2014). Several insects collect this
liquid for food like ants or for production of
honey like honeybees. The ants protect the
aphids by fighting against the aphids
natural predators in exchange for a
continuous supply of honeydew.
Ant Tending

Ant tending is the term for the collection

of honeydew directly from a group of aphids
while at the same time protecting them. The
ants milk the aphids, which are full of fluid.
Because aphids are sessile, predators can
make easy prey of them (Barton and
Ives, 2014). When the aphids are under
attack, the ants take action by attacking the
predator.

According to Flatt and Weisser, (2000),

aphids that are tended by Lasiusniger ants
mature faster by about one day, produce
more offspring and have increased
longevity, living 9 days longer when
compared to untended M. fuscoviride
aphids. This means that even in the absence
of predators, there is still benefit. But this
positive effect is observed in all cases. It
depends on the density and size of the
population, the species of aphids and how
they react to the ants and the presence of

predators. In general, ants that are in smaller

groups get more net benefit than those in
bigger groups (Bronstein, 1994). If there are
a high number of predators, there is more
benefit for the population when compared to
if it was not tended.
A. f. cirsiiacanthoides are found to be
successful even without the presence of ants
unlike M. fuscoviride which seem to depend
more on ants (Barton and Ives, 2014). It is
possible for ants or aphids to compete for
their mutualist. It is possible that an ant
would leave the group that it used to tend in
search for more profitable groups of aphids,
depending on the demands of the colony.
Effect of
mutualism

Temperature

on

Aphid-ant

The experimental set up of Barton and Ives,

(2014) simulates the change in climate.
When the temperature was increased, the
rate of reproduction of the corn aphids
increased but the net increase in population
showed a different trend depending on the
species of mutualistic ant. The winter ant
became less active and less aggressive in
defending the aphids during higher
temperatures while the Corn field ant, which
is not as aggressive as the winter ant at
optimum temperature is unaffected by the
increase in temperature. They are therefore
not perfectly functionally redundant.
If the temperature increases, the cornfield
ant will dominate over the winter ants. The
mutualistic relationship broke down when
the winter ants were expose to high
temperatures. The ants would rather not tend
or defend the ants because of the extra cost
of energy and the non-optimum environment
(Barton and Ives, 2014).
Looking at that scenario, it seems that an
increase in global climate would decrease
the populations of aphids, and potentially

decrease the amount of expenses

agriculture used to control pests.

in

Conclusion
Different species of ants have different
mutualistic relationships with ants. Some are
very dependent like the R. maidis while
some are not like the M. fuscoviride. Ants
compete for aphids to tend which may lead
to competition.
The increase in global climate is inevitable
so it is important to try and predict how
animal interactions would be affected. In the
case of corn aphids, their mutualism will
collapse because the winter ants are less
aggressive in higher temperatures.
Literature Cited
Barton, B. T. (2014) Reduced Wind
Strengthens Top-down Control of an
Insect Herbivore. Department of
Zoology, University of Wisconsin, USA.
Ecology, 95(9), 2014, pp. 23752381,
2014. Ecological Society of America
Barton, B. T., and A. R. Ives. (2014) Direct
and Indirect Effects of Warming on
Aphids, their Predators and ant
Mutualists. Ecology 95:14791484.
Bronstein, J. L. 1994. Conditional
outcomes in mutualistic interactions.
Trends in Ecology and Evolution 9:214
217.
Flatt, T and Weisser W. W. (2000) The
Effects of Mutualistic Ants on Aphid
Life History Traits. Zoology Institute,
University of Basel, Rheinsprung 9, 4051
Basel, Switzerland. Ecology, 81(12),
2000, pp. 35223529 q 2000. Ecological
Society of America.