Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer International Publishing
Résumé : International audience
Understanding the formation processes of maritime archaeological sites and the maritime landscape in the French West Indies is a new challenge in underwater archaeology. This chapter presents an analysis of formation and conservation processes of maritime archaeological sites in Guadeloupe using evidence from both historical and archaeological research. Formation parameters include contemporary events associated with maritime loss and the in situ geophysical regime. Questions considered include: what natural and/or anthropogenic parameters best classify maritime sites in the context of the French West Indies landscape? And: how do these parameters vary by site location? Field-tested case studies are used to assess the archaeological potential for submerged shipwreck sites for three locational typologies within the landscape: submerged, coastal, and micro-island. Geomorphic parameters, including erosion, sea level evolution, and tectonic activity, are evaluated with regard to the formation of coastal Amerindian and colonial sites. The location of shipwrecks are primarily determined by historic patterns in commercial trade and by topographical constraints associated with accessibility, risk, and the presence of natural harbors, parameters important in the Caribbean. A unique feature of Guadeloupe is the high variability of the structure of the coastline through time. The recent discovery of numerous underwater prehistoric artifacts confirms that several islands, coastal areas, and their archaeological sites have been completely submerged or eroded since their formation. The characterization of these formation processes provides both academically interesting and practical information valuable in assessing the impact of development and urbanization in Guadeloupe’s maritime landscape.
Formation Processes of Maritime Archaeological Landscapes

hal-01448703
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01448703

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : Plant germination and development depend upon a seed's successful dispersal into a suitable habitat and its ability to grow and survive within the surrounding biotic and abiotic environment. The seeds of Aechmea mertensii, a tank-bromeliad species, are dispersed by either Camponotus femoratus or Neoponera goeldii, two ant species that initiate ant gardens (AGs). These two mutualistic ant species influence the vegetative and reproductive traits of the bromeliad through their divergent ecological preferences (i.e. light and substrate). We hypothesised that the seeds dispersed by these two ant species have underlying genetic differences affecting germination, growth and survival of A.mertensii seedlings in different ways. To test this, we used an experimental approach consisting of sowing seeds of A.mertensii: (i) taken from the two AG-ant associations (i.e. seed origin), (ii) in two contrasting light conditions, and (iii) on three different substrates. Light and substrate had significant effects on germination, survival and on eight key leaf traits reflecting plant performance. Seed origin had a significant effect only on germination and on two leaf traits (total dry mass and relative growth rate). Overall, this bromeliad performs better (i.e. high growth and survival rates) when growing both in the shade and in the carton nest developed by C.femoratus ants. These results suggest that the plasticity of the tank bromeliad A.mertensii is mainly due to environment but also to genetic differences related to seed origin, as some traits are heritable. Thus, these two ant species may play contrasting roles in shaping plant evolution and speciation.
ISSN: 1435-8603

hal-01606565
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01606565
DOI : 10.1111/plb.12452
PRODINRA : 407514

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Royal Society, The
Résumé : Species engaged in multiple, simultaneous mutualisms are subject to trade-offs in their mutualistic investment if the traits involved in each interaction are overlapping, which can lead to conflicts and affect the longevity of these associations. We investigate this issue via a tripartite mutualism involving an ant plant, two competing ant species and a fungus the ants cultivate to build galleries under the stems of their host plant to capture insect prey. The use of the galleries represents an innovative prey capture strategy compared with the more typical strategy of foraging on leaves. However, because of a limited worker force in their colonies, the prey capture behaviour of the ants results in a trade-off between plant protection (i.e. the ants patrol the foliage and attack intruders including herbivores) and ambushing prey in the galleries, which has a cascading effect on the fitness of all of the partners. The quantification of partners' traits and effects showed that the two ant species differed in their mutualistic investment. Less investment in the galleries (i.e. in fungal cultivation) translated into more benefits for the plant in terms of less herbivory and higher growth rates and vice versa. However, the greater vegetative growth of the plants did not produce a positive fitness effect for the better mutualistic ant species in terms of colony size and production of sexuals nor was the mutualist compensated by the wider dispersal of its queens. As a consequence, although the better ant mutualist is the one that provides more benefits to its host plant, its lower host–plant exploitation does not give this ant species a competitive advantage. The local coexistence of the ant species is thus fleeting and should eventually lead to the exclusion of the less competitive species.
ISSN: 0962-8452

hal-01608641
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01608641
DOI : 10.1098/rspb.2016.1679
PRODINRA : 405078

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Myrmecophytism occurs in plants that offer ants a nesting space and, often, food rewards in exchange for protection from predators and competitors. Such biotic protection by ants can, however, interfere with the activity of pollinators leading to potential negative consequences for the plant’s reproduction. In this study, we focused on the association between the understory myrmecophyte, Hirtella physophora (Chrysobalanaceae), and its obligate ant partner, Allomerus decemarticulatus (Myrmicinae). We investigated the reproductive biology of H. physophora and the putative mechanisms that may limit ant–pollinator conflict. Our results show that H. physophora is an obligate outcrosser, self-incompatible, and potentially insect-pollinated species. The reproduction of H. physophora relies entirely on pollen transfer by pollinators that are likely quite specific. Potential interference between flower-visiting insects during pollination may also be lessened by a spatial and temporal segregation of ant and pollinator activities, thus enabling pollen transfer and fruit production.
ISSN: 1872-8855

hal-01140817
https://hal-sde.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01140817
DOI : 10.1007/s11829-014-9352-x