Weaver Ants Increase Premature Loss of Leaves Used for Nest Construction in Rhizophora Trees 1

Oecophylla ants utilize living leaves when they construct their nests. We investigated how Oecophylla smaragdina nests in southern Thailand affected leaf performance on the mangrove tree Rhizophora mucronata . Leaves used in nests and neighboring leaves showed a higher rate of premature leaf loss compared to control leaves farther from the nests. However, a tree's total cost due to the higher premature leaf loss was estimated to be approximately between 3‐ and 20‐fold lower than the benefit derived from ant protection, detected in a previous study (Offenberg et al. 2004).