Ecological implications of myrmecochory

Abstract

Two fundamental criteria of myrmecophily (mutual interactions between ants and plants) are generally implicated (Blatter, 1928). First, plants have to obtain evident advantages from the ant activity, and ants have to be able to provide these advantages. Second, plants must have specialised structures for ant attraction. These criteria are also fully applicable to myrmecochory. Since the appearance of the first monograph on myrmecochory (Sernander, 1906), a lot of information has accumulated on the second criterion (anatomy and biochemistry of elaiosomes). As to the first criterion, five hypotheses of selective advantages of plant dispersal by ants have been proposed (see chapter 1, section 9). This chapter briefly presents the main claims of the hypotheses and provides an analysis based on the data from the literature and a few case studies targeted to prove some of the hypotheses.