BCOR 12 Lab- Homework Assignment

Insect Diversity (10 pts) – Data Analysis Short Report

Due on Blackboard by Sunday, April 26 (by 11:59pm)

In lab this week you were introduced to the incredible diversity of insects and their important ecological
roles for both human and natural systems. Our goal for the lab is to better understand how insects affect
their communities by focusing on a model system: mutualistic associations between ants and Homopteran
sap-sucking insects that colonize plants. A former UVM graduate student, Nabil Nasseri, conducted a
field experiment to test how mesquite trees in south Texas are impacted by interactions between ants
(order Hymenoptera) and treehoppers, small sap-feeding Homopterans that suck phloem from mesquite
trees and provide honeydew, a sugary liquid, to the ants (Figure 1). For one set of trees he applied a
poison bait to remove the ants (the treatment), while on another set of trees he left the ants undisturbed
(the control). After a year, he measured the number of flowers on each tree, sampled the insects on the
trees with a modified vacuum cleaner, and identified and counted all the insects he had collected.

Figure 1 An ant (Camponotus sp.) taking honeydew from a treehopper (Vanduzea sp.) - photo credit N. Nasseri

In this week’s lab, we are trying to explain a paradoxical result of his experiment: having ant-treehopper
interactions (AHM, for Ant-Homopteran Mutualism) on the trees, which should take resources from the
tree due to the treehopper’s feeding activity, in fact result in more tree reproduction, not less (Fig. 2).

Figure 2 Comparison of mean abundance (+/- standard error) of flowers produced by mesquite trees with and
without ant-treehopper (AHM) interactions on them.
Why might this happen? One possibility is that ants benefit trees indirectly, through the aggression they
show to other insects as they protect the treehoppers. When Nabil sampled the insects that are on
mesquite trees, he found a huge variety of insects and other arthropods, including species with all of the
different feeding mouthparts you explored in lab. The provided dataset (posted in Blackboard in the Lab
Assignment folder: AHM_experiment_insect-data.xlsx) shows the abundance data Nabil collected on the
ants, the Vanduzea treehopper, and other insects in the community, categorized by feeding type.

1. (2 pts) Think about the impact each of these feeding types would have on the tree. Do you think
it would help or hurt the tree if ants chased away each of these types of insects? Why?

If ants were to chase away the other insects, it would most likely hurt the tree. Every organism
plays a role in the ecosystem, even as simple as a tree. As shown in Nabil’s experiment, the Ant-
Treehopper interactions would result in more tree production, rather than the expected depletion of
resources from the tree. The ants most likely benefit from the trees indirectly. The graph even shows
that when ants are not present, the mean reproduction of the treehoppers decreases because the ants
are not there to provide protection. The ants also keep the over reproduction of all the other insects at
bay.

2. (2 pts) Using the data, were his efforts to remove the ants actually successful? Make a bar graph
in Excel that shows the effect of the removal on ant abundance and explain the results verbally (a
couple of sentences). Please use graphing best practices throughout!

Nabil’s experiment was successful in proving that trees are impacted by ant-treehopper
interactions. When the ants were absent, the mean reproduction of the treehoppers decreased.

Obviously, when you remove a certain number of a species there will be a significant decrease in
the population. Unless reproduction occurs very quickly, the population will remain low or be greatly
impacted by natural selection.
3. (2 pts) Are ants actually important for treehoppers? Although the experimental treatment only
affects ants, by altering their abundances, we can also test whether treehoppers are dependent on
having the ants. Graph the relationship between ant and treehopper abundances across all the
trees (control and treatment) using a scatterplot. Your graph should include a best-fit line, linear
equation, and R2 fit value. What do the data indicate? Describe the results verbally in addition to
presenting the graph.

When the ants are removed from the trees, the number of treehoppers also decreases. The
treehoppers depend on the ants for protection. Each species requires each other’s presence to
survive and thrive.
4. (2 pts) Is there any evidence that ants affect other insects in ways that could indirectly benefit the
tree? Present one or more scatterplots showing the relationship between ant abundance and that
of other insect types that you hypothesized could be important for tree fitness in Q1 above. Your
graph should include a best-fit line, linear equation, and R 2 fit value.

5. (2 pts) Based on your results, what can you conclude about the importance of ants in this
community?

Ants are crucial in this insect community. Without them, the treehoppers would not have
protection from other insects. This would create a flux in the insect populations and possibly
cause damage to the trees. As said in question 1, every organism plays a role in the community.