Abstract: The vast extent of the Amazon Basin has historically restricted the study of its tree communities to the local and regional scales. Here, we provide empirical data on the commonness, rarity, and richness of lowland tree species across the entire Amazon Basin and Guiana Shield (Amazonia), collected in 1170 tree plots in all major forest types. Extrapolations suggest that Amazonia harbors roughly 16,000 tree species, of which just 227 (1.4%) account for half of all trees. Most of these are habitat specialists and only dominant in one or two regions of the basin. We discuss some implications of the finding that a small group of species—less diverse than the North American tree flora—accounts for half of the world’s most diverse tree community.

Abstract: In an inundated Mexican forest, 89 out of 92 myrmecophytic tank bromeliads (Aechmea bracteata) housed an associated ant colony: 13 sheltered Azteca serica, 43 Dolichoderus bispinosus, and 33 Neoponera villosa. Ant presence has a positive impact on the diversity of the aquatic macroinvertebrate communities (n=30 bromeliads studied). A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed that the presence and the species of ant are not correlated to bromeliad size, quantity of water, number of wells, filtered organic matter or incident radiation. The PCA and a generalized linear model showed that the presence of Azteca serica differed from the presence of the other two ant species or no ants in its effects on the aquatic invertebrate community (more predators). Therefore, both ant presence and species of ant affect the composition of the aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in the tanks of A. bracteata, likely due to ant deposition of feces and other waste in these tanks. Résumé Dans une forêt inondable du Mexique, sur 92 individus de la broméliacée myrmécophyte Aechmea bracteata, seuls trois étaient dépourvus d’une colonie de fourmis, 13 abritaient Azteca serica, 43 Dolichoderus bispinosus et 33 Neoponera villosa. La présence des fourmis favorise la diversité au sein des communautés aquatiques de macro-invertébrés (30 broméliacées étudiées, index de Shannon, profils de diversité). Une analyse en composantes principales (ACP) montre que la présence de fourmis n’est pas corrélée avec la taille de la plante, la quantité d’eau, le nombre de puits, la quantité de matière organique et la radiation incidente. L’ACP et un modèle mixte généralisé montrent un impact d’Azteca serica (comparé aux autres cas) attribuable à une plus grande quantité de prédateurs (effet top–down). La présence et l’identité des fourmis jouent un rôle sur la composition des communautés de macro-invertébrés aquatiques à travers des interactions directes, les ouvrières évacuant fèces et déchets dans les réservoirs.

Abstract: In French Guiana, the arboreal nests of the swarm-founding social wasp Protopolybia emortualis (Polistinae) are generally found near those of the arboreal dolichoderine ant Dolichoderus bidens. These wasp nests are typically protected by an envelope, which in turn is covered by an additional carton ‘shelter’ with structure resembling the D. bidens nests. A few wasps constantly guard their nest to keep D. bidens workers from approaching. When alarmed by a strong disturbance, the ants invade the host tree foliage whereas the wasps retreat into their nest. Notably, there is no chemical convergence in the cuticular profiles of the wasps and ants sharing a tree. The aggressiveness of D. bidens likely protects the wasps from army ant raids, but the ants do not benefit from the presence of the wasps; therefore, this relationship corresponds to a kind of commensalism. Résumé En Guyane française, les nids de la guêpe Protopolybia emortualis (Polistinae) se trouvent généralement à proximité de ceux de la fourmi arboricole Dolichoderus bidens (Dolichoderinae). Ces nids de guêpes sont typiquement protégés par une enveloppe de carton, elle-même recouverte d’une autre enveloppe formant un abri qui ressemble aux nids de carton de D. bidens. Quelques guêpes gardent leur nid en permanence afin de tenir à distance les ouvrières D. bidens. Alarmées par une forte perturbation, les fourmis envahissent tout le feuillage de leur arbre support alors que les guêpes se réfugient dans leur nid. Il n’y a pas de convergence chimique entre les profils cuticulaires des guêpes et ceux des fourmis associées. Il est très probable que les P. emortualis bénéficient d’une protection contre les fourmis légionnaires grâce à l’agressivité des D. bidens, mais il n’y a pas réciprocité, de sorte que cette relation correspond à une forme de commensalisme.

Abstract: Abstract We show that in French Guiana the large carton nests of Azteca chartifex, a territorially-dominant arboreal dolichoderine ant, are protected from bird attacks when this ant lives in association with Polybia rejecta, an epiponine social wasp. Because A. chartifex colonies are well known for their ability to divert army ant raids from the base of their host tree so that they protect their associated wasps from these raids, there is a reciprocal benefit for these two partners, permitting us to call this association a mutualism. We also show that P. rejecta nests are significantly less often attacked by birds than are those of two compared epiponine social wasp species. Furthermore, experimentation using a standardized protocol demonstrated the significantly higher aggressiveness of P. rejecta compared to seven other wasp species. We conclude that the efficacious protection of its associated ant nests is likely due to the extreme aggressiveness of P. rejecta. © 2015 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Abstract: Many tank bromeliads have facultative relationships with ants as is the case in French Guiana between Aechmea aquilega (Salib.) Griseb. and the trap-jaw ant, Odontomachus haematodus Linnaeus. Using a redundancy analysis, we determined that the presence of O. haematodus colonies is accompanied by a greater quantity of fine particulate organic matter in the water likely due to their wastes. This increase in nutrient availability is significantly correlated with an increase in the abundance of some detritivorous taxa, suggesting a positive bottom-up influence on the aquatic macroinvertebrate communities living in the A. aquilega wells. On the other hand, the abundance of top predators is negatively affected by a lower number of available wells due to ant constructions for nesting, releasing a top-down pressure that could also favor lower trophic levels. © 2015 Académie des sciences.