Question

Recall that the bullhorn acacia forms a symbiosis with p. Ferruginea ants. A researcher takes an acacia seed and plants it in an area without p. Ferruginea. What will happen to this acacia plant?

Answer 1

Without P. ferruginea, the plant won't have any defenses against herbivores

Bullhorn acacia trees protect themselves from herbivorous animals by developing a mutualism with the ant- Pseudomyrmex ferruginea (also known as acacia ant). Ants get inhabited on tree, kill insects and stinging the heads of mammals that try to eat acacia. On the other side, acacia has special glands at the base of the leaves that produce a nectar rich in sugar and amino acids that ants can consume.