Allelopathy by Myrmecophytes: The Ant Azteca as an Allelopathic Agent of Cecropia

Azteca ants, that obligatorily live in neotropical second—growth trees of the genus Cecropia, kill vine ends that begin to climb on the Cecropia trunk. Presumably this aids the Cecropia tree in its efforts to maintain an emergent position in the general canopy, and may be one of the selective advantages of being occupied by an Azteca colony. This system is, in both process and pattern, extremely similar to that of the swollen—thorn acacias and their ant occupants. In both cases the ants are effectively allelopathic agents, and are functionally analogous to the chemicals liberated by some plants in their competitive interactions with other plants; like these chemicals, the ants are "produced" at a metabolic cost to the plant. The ants may, however, be a more efficient allelopathic agent than a chemical because of their versatility.