Pitcher Plants With Ants Escort

The scientists discovered a unique symbiosis between ants and carnivorous plants. Pitcher plants that recruited ants as a janitor at a time of cruel guards. 

Carnivorous pitcher plants (Nepenthes bical-
carata). (Picture from: http://www.3quarksdaily.com/)

This unique relationship is owned by Nepenthes bicalcarata, a type of pitcher plants (Indonesian-"Kantong Semar") that live in nutrient poor areas of peat swamp forest in Kalimantan, the ant Camponotus schmitzi. 

Pitcher plants it is not really dangerous carnivorous plants. Their bags do not have slippery walls that make prey slip. This plant also produces no corrosive digestive fluids trapped prey into the bag. 

To get around the weaknesses, N. bicalcarata use of army ants C. schmitzi to keep the bag lip trap crop. Instead, the pitcher plants to the home of the vine to the ants. Nektar is also provided as a food source for ants. 

Setting the trap: cleaning behaviour of Camponotus schmitzi ants increases long-term capture efficiency of their pitcher plant host, Nepenthes bicalcarata. (Picture from: http://www.functionalecology.org/)

Not only keeping the pitcher plants, ants clean the bag lip traps is also pretty slick so that prey slip through. Army ants also attack the beetles commonly prey on plants. They protect the plants and do not hesitate to attack any prey trying to escape from the trap. Not only that, dirt ants also useful as a fertilizer plant fertilizer. 

Scientists initially thought the symbiosis between ants and carnivorous plants are mutually beneficial. Latter assumption is changed. Recent studies show even more gains with the ants is symbiosis.

They then compared the number of plants in symbiosis with ants and do not establish symbiosis. The researchers found that plants in symbiosis with ants fared much better. 

"Symbiosis shown to play an important role for obtaining food for the ants, whose role in the survival of their host plants," said Vincent Bazile, an ecologist at the University of Montpellier 2 in France. The scientists published their findings in the journal PLoS ONE. 

Bazile said, carnivorous plants are symbiotic with ants produce more leaves. Foliage that grows larger and three times more nitrogen-rich, nutrient plays an important role in the formation of organic molecules, such as proteins and DNA. Carnivorous plants are symbiotic with ants also have a bag that traps more and more. *** [LIVESCIENCE | MAHARDIKA SATRIA HADI | KORAN TEMPO 3881]

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