Cospeciation of ants and plants

  1. Takao Itino1,†,
  2. Stuart J. Davies2,
  3. Hideko Tada3,
  4. Yoshihiro Hieda3,
  5. Mika Inoguchi3,
  6. Takao Itioka4,
  7. Seiki Yamane5,
  8. Tamiji Inoue6

Article first published online: 17 JUL 2002

DOI: 10.1046/j.1440-1703.2001.00442.x

Issue

Ecological Research

Ecological Research

Volume 16, Issue 4, pages 787–793, December 2001

Additional Information

How to Cite

Itino, T., Davies, S. J., Tada, H., Hieda, Y., Inoguchi, M., Itioka, T., Yamane, S. and Inoue, T. (2001), Cospeciation of ants and plants. Ecological Research, 16: 787–793. doi: 10.1046/j.1440-1703.2001.00442.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shinshu University, Asahi 3-1-1, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-8621, Japan,

  2. 2

    Harvard University Herbaria, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA and Institute of Biodiversity and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia,

  3. 3

    Laboratory of Applied Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Kita-gun, Kagawa 761-0795, Japan,

  4. 4

    Laboratory of Applied Entomology, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan,

  5. 5

    Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan and

  6. 6

    Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Kamitanakami, Hirano-cho, Otsu 520–2113, Japan

  1. †

    *Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: itinot@gipac.shinshu-u.ac.jp

  1. †

    *Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: itinot@gipac.shinshu-u.ac.jp

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 17 JUL 2002
  2. Article first published online: 17 JUL 2002

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Keywords:

  • coevolution;
  • Crematogaster;
  • Macaranga;
  • molecular phylogeny;
  • myrmecophyte

Cospeciation, in which both parties of an ecological interaction speciate in parallel with each other, has rarely been reported in biotic associations except the cases for host–parasite interaction. Many tropical plants house ants and thereby gain protection against herbivores. Although these ant–plant symbioses have been regarded as classical cases of coevolved mutualism, no evidence of cospeciation has been documented. The Asian ant–plant association between Crematogaster ants and Macaranga plants is highly species specific and the molecular phylogeny of the ants parallels the plant phylogeny, reflecting history of cospeciation. Evidence is presented that this association has been maintained over the past seven million years. Phylogeographic patterns of 27 ants from two Macaranga species suggest that allopatric cospeciations are still in progress in Asian wet tropics.

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