An ant (Crematogaster opuntiae) visits an extrafloral nectary of a fishhook barrel cactus (Ferocactus wislizeni).
An ant (Crematogaster opuntiae) visits an extrafloral nectary of a fishhook barrel cactus (Ferocactus wislizeni). In many mutualistic species interactions, a suite of species in one guild exchanges resources or services with another guild. In this example, at least 14 species of ants feed from extrafloral nectaries of the fishhook barrel cactus and in exchange protect it from herbivores. Ant species compete to dominate individual cactus plants, with one ant species (Crematogaster opuntiae) dominating a higher proportion of the cacti in winter/spring and the other (Solenopsis aurea) dominating more in summer/fall. This photograph originally appeared on the cover of Ecology (86:12) in December of 2005.
| Primary or BEN resource type | |
|---|---|
| Format | |
| Temporal and geographic description | Sonoran Desert, Arizona, USA. |
| Core Concepts |
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| Drought & Water-Ecosystem Services Collection | Off |
| Conservation Targets Under Global Change Collection | Off |
| Big Data Collection | Off |
| Editor's Choice | No |
| Audience | |
| Pedagogical Use Description | This photograph could be used to illustrate ants, extrafloral nectaries, mutualism, or plant-insect interactions. |
| Keywords | desert, mutualism, extrafloral nectary, plant-insect |
| Key taxa | ant, Crematogaster opuntiae, fishhook barrel cactus, Ferocactus wislizeni |
| Life science discipline (subject) | |
| Primary Author Controlled Name | |
| Primary Author Affiliation | Department of Biology, Duke University |
| Primary Author email | wgw@duke.edu |
| Rights | Copyright 2005 by the Ecological Society of America. |
| Date Of Record Submission | 2008-04-07 |
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