What is the magnitude of the effect of one mutualism in other mutualisms in which plants are involved in?

• Grant number: 21/09712-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: December 01, 2021
• End date: November 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Anselmo Nogueira
• Grantee: Douglas Donizeti de Souza
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/19544-7 - Synergistic effect of multiple mutualists on plants: how bacteria, ants and bees contribute to the evolution of a hyper-diverse lineage of legumes, AP.BTA.JP

Abstract

Mutualisms are interactions widely spread in nature and essential in diversifying different lineages of organisms, one of the central modulators of global biodiversity. Species can interact with more than one mutualist simultaneously, each conferring specific benefits. In plants, we can distinguish mutualisms that occur below ground, for example, association with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and above ground, such as established interactions with protective ants mediated by extrafloral nectaries. In both interactions, carbohydrates resulting from photosynthesis are offered to mutualistic partners in exchange for benefits such as obtaining nutrients and protection against herbivores. Studies investigating the effects of more than one type of mutualism in the same focal organism are rare. Considering that these interactions can be costly for plants, we hypothesise that interactions with rhizobia reduce the secretion of extrafloral nectaries and consequently ant-plant interactions, reducing the net benefits of ant protection for plants. Through a meta-analytic approach, we aim to investigate the effect of the presence of the plant-rhizobia mutualism on the magnitude of the ant-plant mutualism on plants with nectaries, identifying its consequences in different descriptors of plant performance.