Extrafloral nectary plants not only occur in natural areas but also in urban parks. These areas are prone to edge effects, and plants face different microenvironmental conditions. We investigated the spatial variation of ant–plant interactions in an urban park, and we examined if plants with ants would show lower herbivory levels and if it depended on habitat type (interior or edges). Seedlings of Inga laurina were set in 200-m long transects (which covered both the west and east edges, and the interior) in an urban park and then experimentally assigned to be either ant-present or ant-excluded plants. Leaf herbivory was investigated throughout the wet season and was influenced by the interaction effect between ants and habitat type. Ants decreased the herbivory on the west edge, but on the east edge results were the opposite. The east edge had higher temperature and sunlight exposure in comparison to the other sites and was assumed to disrupt the stability of ant–plant interactions. In the interior of the fragment, herbivory depended on ant presence/absence and on the location of plants along the transect. Our study highlights how the outcomes of ant–plant interactions are spatially conditioned and affected by different types of habitats.

中文翻译：

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蚂蚁对 Inga laurina 食草动物水平的影响：城市地区空间和时间的相互作用

花外蜜腺植物不仅出现在自然区域，也出现在城市公园中。这些区域容易产生边缘效应，植物面临不同的微环境条件。我们调查了城市公园中蚂蚁与植物相互作用的空间变化，并检查了有蚂蚁的植物是否会表现出较低的食草水平，以及它是否取决于栖息地类型（内部或边缘）。的幼苗印加月桂被设置在城市公园 200 米长的横断面（覆盖东西边缘和内部），然后通过实验指定为蚂蚁存在或蚂蚁排除的植物。在整个雨季对叶食草进行了调查，并受到蚂蚁和栖息地类型之间相互作用的影响。蚂蚁减少了西边的食草动物，但东边的结果恰恰相反。与其他地点相比，东边有更高的温度和阳光照射，并被认为会破坏蚂蚁与植物相互作用的稳定性。在片段的内部，食草动物取决于蚂蚁的存在/不存在以及植物沿样带的位置。我们的研究强调了蚂蚁与植物相互作用的结果如何在空间上受到不同类型栖息地的影响。