Navigation Links
Ants, not evil spirits, create devil's gardens in the Amazon rainforest, study finds

the saplings," Frederickson explains.

To test this hypothesis, she and her colleagues conducted a series of experiments at the Madre Selva Biological Station in the Amazonian rainforest of Loreto, Peru. The research team located 10 devil's gardens for the study, ranging in size from one to 328 D.hirsuta plants.

Two saplings of a common Amazonian tree called Cedrela odorata, or Spanish cedar, were planted inside each garden near the base of a D. hirsuta tree actively patrolled by worker ants. A sticky insect barrier was applied to one cedar sapling to exclude ants, while the other sapling was left untreated. The researchers planted two additional saplings--one treated, one untreated--about 150 feet outside of each garden but within the primary rainforest.

The results were immediate. Worker ants promptly attacked the untreated saplings, injecting a poison called formic acid into the leaves, which began to die within 24 hours. "Most of the leaves on these saplings were lost within five days, and the proportion lost was significantly higher than on ant-excluded saplings," the authors write. On the other hand, cedars treated with Tanglefoot fared well, whether inside or outside devil's gardens.

"These results show that devil's gardens are produced by M. schumanni workers rather than by D. hirsuta allelopathy," the authors conclude.

Domatia

To find out if worker ants only attack non-host plants, the scientists decided to mimic D. hirsuta's hollow stems, called domatia, which are the ants' primary nesting sites. Artificial domatia were constructed out of foil-wrapped test tubes partially filled with cotton. Two cedar saplings, with and without artificial tubes, were planted in devil's gardens near two D. hirsuta saplings, one with and one without domatia. After 24 hours, there was significant leaf death on all of the cedar plants, but none on any D. hirsuta saplings. "We conclude that M. schumanni att
'"/>

Source:Stanford University


Page: 1 2 3 4

Related biology news :

1. Chemists create Superbowl molecule; May lead to better health
2. Deficiency of growth hormone and IGF-1 reduces cancer and kidney disease, but creates other problems
3. RNA project to create language for scientists worldwide
4. Researcher gets NSF grant to create mutant maize lines
5. Breakthrough: Scientists create worlds tiniest organic particles
6. NIH creates nationwide network of molecular libraries screening centers
7. Researchers create infectious hepatitis C virus in a test tube
8. Researchers create functioning artificial proteins using natures rules
9. Scientists create digital bacteria to forge advances in biomedical research
10. Student scientists create living bacterial photographs
11. Molecular research suggest shift needed in how some drugs are created

Post Your Comments:
(Date:11/4/2009)..., Calif., Nov. 4 GenVault Corporat...ody, M.D., Ph.D., has joined its Board of Director... of the Salk Institute, is an acclaimed physician-... the Salk Institute, Dr. Brody served as president...of the National Academy of Engineering and the Ins...
(Date:11/3/2009)...ark may be the ultimate loner of the ocean, cruisi...am of researchers has discovered that the sharks h...ion that over tens of thousands of years the white...arated themselves into a population genetically di...ite sharks are a large, highly mobile species," sa...
(Date:11/3/2009)...EST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Chief executives in 35 of th... 129 times their "ideal salaries" in 2008, accordi...by a Purdue University researcher to determine fai...economic and corporate governance issues of the da... said Venkat Venkatasubramanian, a professor of ch...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Dr. William Brody, President of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Appointed to GenVault's Board of Directors 2Dr. William Brody, President of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Appointed to GenVault's Board of Directors 3Tags reveal white sharks have neighborhoods in the north Pacific, say Stanford researchers 2Tags reveal white sharks have neighborhoods in the north Pacific, say Stanford researchers 3Tags reveal white sharks have neighborhoods in the north Pacific, say Stanford researchers 4New theory on fairness in economics targets CEO pay 2New theory on fairness in economics targets CEO pay 3New theory on fairness in economics targets CEO pay 4New Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters Opens Doors to Improve Provider Patient Communication 26 Quality Medical Care 57223 1New Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters Opens Doors to Improve Provider Patient Communication 26 Quality Medical Care 57223 2New Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters Opens Doors to Improve Provider Patient Communication 26 Quality Medical Care 57223 3Gene Switch May Help Drive Excess Fluid in Lungs 57218 1Comprehensive cardiac CT scan may give clearer picture of significant heart disease 57214 1Comprehensive cardiac CT scan may give clearer picture of significant heart disease 57214 2
...molecular biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laborat... a gene mutation causes a cellular editing error t...erebellar hypoplasia (PCH). The new findings were... in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular B...ood, PCH is characterized by the slow wasting away...
...USTA, Ga. Researchers may have found why women ha...the amount of salt they eat and excrete - at least... are known to have fewer problems with salt-sensit...afterward their risks are essentially the same as ... the Vascular Biology Center at the Medical Colleg...
... declining mountain caribou populations of Canada,...scientists previously believed, according to a new...s shedding light on the ancient ancestry of the mo...d in the current issue of the journal Molecular E...date Byron Weckworth and his research group descri...
Other Biology News:CSHL scientists clarify editing error underlying genetic neurodegenerative disease 2CSHL scientists clarify editing error underlying genetic neurodegenerative disease 3CSHL scientists clarify editing error underlying genetic neurodegenerative disease 4Researchers may have found why women have an edge on salt-sensitive hypertension 2Mountain caribou's ancient ancestry revealed 2
(Date:11/5/2009)... 5 Transgenomic, Inc. (O... results for the quarter ended September 30, 2009....the tables that follow. ,, Third Quarter 2009 ... or $0.01 per share for the third quarter of 2009 ... share for the third quarter of 2008. ,, Net s...
(Date:11/5/2009)...Nov. 5 WaferGen Biosyste...eloper of state-of-the-art genetic analysis system...as joined the company,s Scientific Advisory Board....mercializing novel molecular diagnostics for cance...elopment of computational biology systems for seve...
(Date:11/5/2009)... Brooke Sanders brings a new look to Pro Repro ...ber 5, 2009 -- Professional Reprographics, Orange ...ny is pleased to present Brooke Sanders to the com...R specialist. The addition of Brooke to the compan...n Professional Reprographics., , ,Brooke brings wi...
(Date:11/4/2009)...LE, Md., Nov. 4 Zyngenia, Inc., a ...next-generation antibody drug development, today a... A funding from New Enterprise Associates (NEA), o...he capital will be used to create novel, multi-spe...more biological targets with a single agent. The c...
Breaking Biology Technology:Transgenomic, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2009 Results 2Transgenomic, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2009 Results 3Transgenomic, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2009 Results 4Transgenomic, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2009 Results 5Transgenomic, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2009 Results 6Transgenomic, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2009 Results 7WaferGen Names Christopher Sears, Ph.D., Architect of High-Value Molecular Diagnostics and Computational Biology Platforms, to Company's Scientific Advisory Board 2WaferGen Names Christopher Sears, Ph.D., Architect of High-Value Molecular Diagnostics and Computational Biology Platforms, to Company's Scientific Advisory Board 3WaferGen Names Christopher Sears, Ph.D., Architect of High-Value Molecular Diagnostics and Computational Biology Platforms, to Company's Scientific Advisory Board 4Zyngenia, Inc. Raises $10 Million in Series A Funding 2Zyngenia, Inc. Raises $10 Million in Series A Funding 3Zyngenia, Inc. Raises $10 Million in Series A Funding 4
...ceive recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rbST) make ...ressure and substantially reducing environmental i...be published in the Proceedings of the National A... milk uses large quantities of land, energy and fe...erican farms has been in agricultural use for nea...
...parta),the maker of TrackWise(R) and the market le...nt software, today announced that Genzyme, a,world...a Systems to enhance,its quality management progra...ive and Preventive Actions,(CAPA) as well as devia...as,chosen to replace an existing solution and lega...
...pond to NEBIDO Delay, LEXINGTON, Mass., June 30 ...ay announced that it has received,an approvable le...DA) for,NEBIDO(R) related to a New Drug Applicatio...etter, received on June 27, 2008, indicated that t...ble to adequately respond to,certain clinical defi...
Other Biology Technology:Carbon hoofprint: Cows supplemented with rbST reduce agriculture's environmental impact 2Sparta Systems Selected by Genzyme to Optimize Quality Assurance Processes with TrackWise 2Indevus Receives Approvable Letter from FDA for NEBIDO(R) 2Indevus Receives Approvable Letter from FDA for NEBIDO(R) 3Indevus Receives Approvable Letter from FDA for NEBIDO(R) 4Indevus Receives Approvable Letter from FDA for NEBIDO(R) 5Indevus Receives Approvable Letter from FDA for NEBIDO(R) 6Indevus Receives Approvable Letter from FDA for NEBIDO(R) 7
PCR Optimizer Kit from Invitrogen
Mouse Anti-Human VEGFB Monoclonal Antibody, Unconjugated, Clone 4H5 from Abnova Corporation
...Infinite 200 series of microplate readers combines...e or absorbance detection in an affordable, easy-t...nce applications. The unique modular design and ad...earchers with a choice of a monochromator (M200) o...
RNA 6000 Nano Chip Kit from Agilent Technologies
Biology Products: