Eur. J. Entomol. 102 (2): 175-180, 2005 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2005.028

Indirect effects of ant predation (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus

Ola ATLEGRIM
Department of Animal Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden; e-mail:

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) is one of the dominant plants of the Fennoscandian boreal coniferous forest and constitutes a major food source for many insect herbivores. A common ant species in these forests is the wood ant Formica (Formica) aquilonia Yarrow, which preys heavily on other invertebrates within its territories. The aim of this study was to investigate whether aquilonia's predation on the insect herbivores may have indirect positive or negative effects on bilberry. Damage to the bilberry, its vegetative growth and reproduction were quantified in order to contrast localities close to (2 m) and far away from (50 m) ant nests.
Close to ant nests, herbivore damage to the bilberry was significantly lower and reproductive success, i.e. proportion of flowers succeeding to berries, significantly higher. The results of this study therefore suggest that distance to aquilonia nests, and thus predation from ants, can significantly affect herbivore damage to the bilberry and its reproductive success (supporting the hypothesis of a top down effect in this three-trophic-level system). Vegetative growth, i.e., density and biomass of current year shoots, and reproductive investment, i.e., proportion of current year shoots with flower, of the bilberry was, however, not affected by distance to ant nests, indicating that the bilberry can also compensate for losses due to herbivory.

Keywords: Top-down, indirect effects, Formicidae, Formica aquilonia, ants, bilberry, Vaccinium myrtillus, insect larvae, herbivory, predation effect

Received: April 27, 2004; Revised: January 3, 2005; Accepted: January 10, 2005; Published: May 3, 2005  Show citation

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ATLEGRIM, O. (2005). Indirect effects of ant predation (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus. EJE, 102(2), 175-180. doi: 10.14411/eje.2005.028
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