Symbiosis Of Ants With Cecropia As A Function Of Light Regime

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>The relationships between ants and myrmecophytes are still viewed by many as unique and curious phenomena, unrelated to mainstream evolutionary ecology. However, as argued by McKey (1988), renewed interest in these relationships is leading to the discovery of both pattern and complexity resembling that found in other ecological systems. First, certain unifying principles of plant defence theory may be generalized to ant-protection mutualisms (McKey 1984, 1988). ln addition, symbiotic ant-plant relationships are likely to be products of selection based on complex networks of direct and indirect interactions, the outcome of which can be modified by variation in the physical environment (e.g. Schemske and Horvitz 1988; Davidson and Epstein 1989; Davidson et al. 1990). Given these parallels with other ecological systems, symbiotic ant-plant associations may have a unique role to play in elucidating the determinants of evolutionary specialization. Both myrmecophytes and plant-ants vary in their degree of specialization, and this variation can be quantified explicitly by experiment, and related to present-day selection environments.</jats:p>