PT Journal
AU McClure, M
   Chouteau, M
   Dejean, A
TI Territorial aggressiveness on the arboreal ant Azteca alfari by Camponotus blandus in French Guiana due to behavioural constraints
SO Comptes Rendus Biologies
JI C. R. Biol.
PY 2008
BP 663
EP 667
VL 331
IS 9
DE Azteca alfari (Dolichoderinae); Camponotus blandus (Formicinae); foraging; rhythm of activity; territorial aggressiveness
AB This study reports new information on interactions between two sympatric ant species, the plant-ant Azteca alfari (Dolichoderinae) living in association with the myrmecophyte Cecropia obtusa (Cecropiaceae) and Camponotus blandus (Formicinae), a ground-nesting, arboreal-foraging species. Workers of A. alfari forage only on the foliage and the tipper parts of the trunk of their host Cecropia, while C. blandus nests in the ground but frequently forages and patrols pioneer tree foliage, including Cecropia. The activity pattern of A. alfari and the number of C. blandus on Cecropia obtusa was monitored hourly during a two-day period in a disturbed area in French Guiana. The maximum activity of C. blandus occurred between 8:30 and 12:30, at which time A. alfari had retreated within the domatia and were least present on the trunks. Even though aggressive confrontations were observed, C. blandus workers often initiate confrontations but do not prey on A. alfari nor exploit food bodies produced by Cecropia, the principal food source of A. alfari. Hence hostility appears to be the result of territoriality. Differences in their foraging rhythms are proposed as promoting resource and territory partitioning in this ant assemblage.
ER