Edge effects are among the most important
drivers of species interactions in fragmented habitats,
but the impacts of edge effects on multitrophic
interactions are largely unknown. In this study we
assess edge effects on species interactions within an
ant–plant mutualistic system—where ants protect
plants against herbivory—to determine whether habitat
edges alter the amount of protection ants provide.
We focus on a single species of myrmecophytic plant,
Solanum americanum, and experimentally manipulate
ant access to study plants in large-scale fragmented
habitat patches at the Savannah River Site National
Environmental Research Park, USA. In this system, S.
americanum commonly hosts honeydew-producing
aphids that are tended by ants, and grasshoppers are
the primary herbivores. We measured edge effects on
the per-plant abundance of aphids and protective ants
as well as the abundance of grasshoppers in each
habitat patch, and we evaluated levels of ant protection
against herbivory near and far from habitat edges
Edge effects are among the most important
drivers of species interactions in fragmented habitats,
but the impacts of edge effects on multitrophic
interactions are largely unknown. In this study we
assess edge effects on species interactions within an
ant–plant mutualistic system—where ants protect
plants against herbivory—to determine whether habitat
edges alter the amount of protection ants provide.
We focus on a single species of myrmecophytic plant,
Solanum americanum, and experimentally manipulate
ant access to study plants in large-scale fragmented
habitat patches at the Savannah River Site National
Environmental Research Park, USA. In this system, S.
americanum commonly hosts honeydew-producing
aphids that are tended by ants, and grasshoppers are
the primary herbivores. We measured edge effects on
the per-plant abundance of aphids and protective ants
as well as the abundance of grasshoppers in each
habitat patch, and we evaluated levels of ant protection
against herbivory near and far from habitat edges
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