03076nas a2200373   4500008004100000245006500041210006400106300001100170490000800181520202300189653002502212653001202237653000902249653002102258653001202279653002102291653001402312653001102326653002302337653000902360653001602369653002102385653003302406653002002439653001302459653002502472653000902497653001402506653002402520653001202544653002302556100001902579856010402598       2005                        eng d00aEcological stoichiometry of ants in a New World rain forest.0 aEcological stoichiometry of ants in a New World rain forest  a221-310 v1423 aC:N stoichiometry was investigated in relation to diet (delta(15)N), N-deprivation, and worker body size for a diverse assemblage of tropical Amazonian ants. Relative nitrogen (N) deprivation was assayed for 54 species as an exchange ratio (ER), defined as SUCmin/AAmin, or the minimum sucrose concentration, divided by the minimum amino acid concentration, accepted as food by >/=50% of tested workers. On average, N-deprivation (ER) was almost fivefold greater for N-omnivorous and N-herbivorous (N-OH) taxa than for N-carnivores. In two-way ANOVAs at three taxonomic levels (species and species groups, genera, and tribes), higher ER was associated with small body size and (marginally) with less carnivorous diets. ERs did not differ systematically between trophobiont-tending and "leaf-foraging" functional groups, but specialized wound-feeders and coccid-tenders were prominent among high ER taxa. Paradoxically, some high ER taxa were among the most predatory members of their genera or subfamilies. Biomass % N was lower in N-OH taxa than in carnivores and varied inversely with N-deprivation (log ER) in the former taxa only. In an expanded data set, N-content increased allometrically in N-OHs, N-carnivores, and all ants combined, and with carnivory in large-bodied ants only. Exceptional taxa included small-bodied and predaceous Wasmannia, with high % N despite high ER, and Linepithema, with the lowest % N despite high delta(15)N. Patterns in C:N stoichiometry are explained largely at the genus level and above by elemental composition of alarm/defensive/offensive chemical weaponry and, perhaps in some cases, by reduced N investment in cuticle in taxa with high surface:volume ratios. Several consequences of C:N stoichiometry identify Azteca, and possibly Crematogaster, as taxa preadapted for their roles as prominent associates of myrmecophytes. C:N stoichiometry of ants should be incorporated into models of strategic colony design and examined in a phylogenetic context as opportunities permit.10aAnalysis of Variance10aAnimals10aAnts10aAnts: metabolism10aBiomass10aBody Composition10aBody Size10aCarbon10aCarbon: metabolism10aDiet10aEnvironment10aFeeding Behavior10aFeeding Behavior: physiology10aLogistic Models10aNitrogen10aNitrogen: metabolism10aPeru10aphylogeny10aSpecies Specificity10aSucrose10aSucrose: chemistry1 aDavidson, D.W.  uhttps://insectafgseag.myspecies.info/en/content/ecological-stoichiometry-ants-new-world-rain-forest