THE DIVERSITY AND ECOLOGY OF ANT GARDENS REVISITED: NEWS ABOUT ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX ANT-PLANT INTERACTIONS IN THE BRAZILIAN RAINFOREST

Ant Gardens (AGs) are the most complex mutualistic interaction between ants and plants that occur in tropical forests. In these systems, ants build nests on tree branches incorporating epiphytic plant seeds. After germination and establishment, these epiphytes control humidity in the nests and provide structure for nest growth and food for the ants. Meanwhile, ants provide nutrients to epiphytes and protect them against natural enemies. Therefore, the interaction between ants and partner epiphytes in this system is mutualistic, with some epiphytes being obligatory mutualists and others not. Thus, AGs constitute a tangle of types and forces of mutualistic and negative interactions linked to defense and establishment in the territory by ants and epiphytes. These interactions, which may vary depending on the organisms involved, expand beyond the AGs, demonstrating that the AGs may be directing the succession dynamics of the community where it occurs. Despite their importance and complexity, AGs are among the least studied in mutualistic ant-plant interactions, especially in Brazilian tropical forests. This review synthesizes current knowledge on AGs, focusing on Neotropical parabiotic AGs, their ecological roles, and the factors influencing their distribution and diversity.