LEAF CUTTER ANTS AND NUTRIENT CYCLING

This new research, funded by the Guggenheim Foundation, attempts to pinpoint individual trees close to leaf cutter ant nests which are using nest resources and to determine how these individuals differ in leaf nutrient and growth compared to individuals not using nest resources. This study is being done by Maria Camila Pinzon, one of my graduate students, and with the collaboration of Dr. Paulo Moutinho (IPAM, Brasil) and Dr. Allen Herre (Smithsonian, Panama). Publications will be forthcoming.

Sample Publications

Sternberg L. da S.L., Pinzon M. C., Moreira M. Z. Moutinho P., Rojas E. I. & Herre E. A. Plants use macronutrients accumulated in leaf-cutting ant nests. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 274:315-321. 2007.
Atta laevigata individual consumes leaves sprayed with N-15 labeled potassium nitrate. Notice the small crystal of this salt on the leaf at the upper left corner. Click on the picture above to see a film clip showing how avidly they take up the treated leaves into their nests.
Unlike Atta laevigata, Atta colombica has its trash pile external to the nest. They usually find a place about 0.5 to 1 m high to drop the refuse into a large pile.
Previous studies on root structure in a seasonal Amazonian forest indicate that roots of tropical trees exploit the abandoned nests having fluffier soil to grow roots (Sternberg et al. 1998).

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