Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

The Theory of Island Biogeography

THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTS. By Oscar Kempthorne. New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1952. 631 pp. $8.50. This book by a teacher of statistics (as well as a consultant for \"experimenters\") is a comprehensive study of the philosophical background for the statistical design of experiment. It is necessary to have some facility with algebraic notation and manipulation to be able to use the volume intelligently. The problems are presented from the theoretical point of view, without such practical examples as would be helpful for those not acquainted with mathematics. The mathematical justification for the techniques is given. As a somewhat advanced treatment of the design and analysis of experiments, this volume will be interesting and helpful for many who approach statistics theoretically as well as practically. With emphasis on the \"why,\" and with description given broadly, the author relates the subject matter to the general theory of statistics and to the general problem of experimental inference. MARGARET J. ROBERTSON

The Design and Analysis of Experiments

In his introduction to this detailed survey of knowledge of insect societies, the author points out that research on insect sociology has proceeded in three phases, the natural history phase, the physiological phase and the population-biology phase. Advances in the first two phases have permitted embarkation in the third phase on a more rigorous theory of social evolution based on population genetics and writing this book, the author wished to relate the three phases of research on insects and to express insect sociology as population biology. A glossary of terms, a considerable bibliography and a general index are included. Other CABI sites 

The Insect Societies

Many plants interact with carnivores as an indirect defence against herbivores. The release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the secretion of extrafloral nectar (EFN) are induced by insect feeding, a response that is mediated by the plant hormone, jasmonic acid. Although VOCs mainly attract predatory mites and parasitic wasps, while EFN mainly attracts ants, many more animal-plant interactions are influenced by these two traits. Other traits involved in defensive tritrophic interactions are cellular food bodies and domatia, which serve the nutrition and housing of predators. They are not known to respond to herbivory, while food body production can be induced by the presence of the mutualists. Interactions among the different defensive traits, and between them and other biotic and abiotic factors exist on the genetic, physiological, and ecological levels, but so far remain understudied. Indirect defences are increasingly being discussed as an environmentally-friendly crop protection strategy, but much more knowledge on their fitness effects under certain environmental conditions is required before we can understand their ecological and evolutionary relevance, and before tritrophic interactions can serve as a reliable tool in agronomy.

https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2007.02330.x

Indirect defence via tritrophic interactions.

▪ Abstract Protective ant-plant interactions, important in both temperate and tropical communities, are increasingly used to study a wide range of phenomena of general interest. As antiherbivore defenses “worn on the outside,” they pose fewer barriers to experimentation than do direct (e.g., chemical) plant defenses. This makes them tractable models to study resource allocation to defense and mechanisms regulating it. As multi-trophic level interactions varying in species specificity and impact on fitness of participants, ant-plant-herbivore associations figure prominently in studies of food-web structure and functioning. As horizontally transmitted mutualisms that are vulnerable to parasites and “cheaters,” ant-plant symbioses are studied to probe the evolutionary dynamics of interspecies interactions. These symbioses, products of coevolution between plants and insect societies, offer rich material for studying ant social evolution in novel contexts, in settings where colony limits, resource supply, and ...

Protective ant-plant interactions as model systems in ecological and evolutionary research.

1. Harvester ants perform important ecological functions, such as seed predation and redistribution of nutrients in the soil, through a complex of ecological interactions. Most studies are static descriptions of network structure, while their temporal organisations and the factors that modulate it have been neglected. 2. This study describes the temporal organisation and the influence of climatic variables (e.g. temperature and rainfall) on network structure between a harvester ant species and its food resources (seeds and invertebrates) in the Brazilian savanna over a 1‐year period. In addition, considering the ant–seed networks, the relationship between the size of seeds collected by ants and the distance travelled was examined, as well as how this relationship behaves over time. 3. For all network types (ant–seed, ant–invertebrate, and combined) there was great structural variation throughout the year. Among climatic variables, only rainfall influenced the properties of ant–invertebrate networks, presenting a positive influence on diversity of interactions and a negative influence on network specialisation. Finally, this study shows that harvester ants tend to collect larger seeds in the vicinity of the nest (< 5 m) and smaller seeds at greater distances, and this relationship appears to be constant over time. 4. This study highlights that ecological networks are useful tools with which to understand the temporal organisation of ecological functions. In addition, climatic changes, mainly in the rainfall regime, may interfere directly in the availability of resources and ultimately in the interactions between harvester ants and their food resources.

Structural changes over time in individual‐based networks involving a harvester ant, seeds, and invertebrates

Besides the eff ectiveness of floral visitors, to better understand pollination systems is necessary to consider the role of predators. Ants are ubiquitous on the vegetation, especially on plants bearing extrafloral (EFNs) and pericarpial nectaries (PNs). Both EFNs and PNs reward ants which in turn provide to plants effective protection against herbivores. However, ants can also repel pollinators and cause an indirect cost for the plant partner, although the role of ants on pollinators’ performance has rarely been assessed in Neotropics, mainly on PN-bearing plants. Here, our main aim was, through an experimental field study in terms of ant’s presence versus absence, to test the hypothesis that ants dissuade floral visitors by decreasing the time spent during visits on the PN-bearing Declieuxia fruticosa. Additionally, we recorded floral phenology, and quantified and qualified floral visits. We showed that bees were the most frequent pollinators and the presence of ants dissuades them. In ant presence, pollinators were on average 30% faster than without ants. Since D. fruticosa produces fruits mainly after cross-pollination, the role of ants may be profi table to plants as they induce pollinators to do shorter visits and search for other fl owers in conspecifi c plants. Therefore, pollinators avoid stay at longer on plants with ants in order to avoid attacks, which may contribute to plant outcrossing. However, whether positive or negative the effects of ants on D. fruticosa reproduction are, they remain to be studied.

Effects of ants on pollinator performance in a distylous pericarpial nectary-bearing Rubiaceae in Brazilian Cerrado

Polistes ferreri Saussure, 1853 es una avispa de papel neotropical encontrada a menudo en ambientes antropicos. Sin embargo, hay poca informacion disponible sobre las interacciones biologicas, ecologicas y de comportamiento de esta especie en estas condiciones ambientales. Este estudio investigo el ciclo de la colonia, la estrategia de fundacion y la biologia de anidacion de esta especie. Desde marzo de 2000 a febrero de 2004, varias colonias fueron estudiadas en el municipio de Juiz de Fora, en el sureste de Brasil. Los eventos del ciclo de la colonia de P. ferreri se concentran en determinados periodos del ano. Las colonias se establecen, principalmente, por asociacion de hembras, siendo esta la estrategia que se traduce en un mayor exito. La nidificacion en sustratos artificiales parece comun para la especie. El pedunculo del nido va aumentando en ancho para soportar el peso de los miembros de la colonia. Del mismo modo, las celdas aumentan en altura, de acuerdo con el tamano de las capas de meconio, lo que permite el alojamiento de los inmaduros. Se sugiere que, al menos para las colonias de postemergentes de P. ferreri, el costo de la construccion del nido no es un factor que limita el desarrollo de las colonias. Por ultimo, los resultados tambien apoyan la idea de que la reutilizacion de las celdas es una estrategia ventajosa porque reduce los costos relacionados con la construccion de nuevas celdas.

/pdf/colony-cycle-foundation-strategy-and-nesting-biology-of-a-4v3i9o2pb7.pdf

Colony cycle, foundation strategy and nesting biology of a Neotropical paper wasp

Many studies have investigated the mechanisms behind the structure of arboreal ant assemblages. In this study, the objective was to evaluate the effect of availability of honeydew-producing colonies of Calloconophora pugionata (Membracidae) on the structure of ant assemblages associated with the host plant Myrcia obovata (Myrtaceae) in an Atlantic forest of Minas Gerais (Brazil). Our experiment consisted in a gradual exclusion of hemipteran colonies out of the host plant crown and further record of the ant assemblage response (species richness, composition, and occurrence) to the presence and density of treehopper colonies. The hypothesis was that an increase in the number of trophobiont herbivores results in an increase in tending ant occurrence but a reduction in ant species diversity. Results corroborated our main hypothesis: membracids had a positive effect on the occurrence of ants but negative on species richness. Overall insect occurrence was also reduced with increasing in C. pugionata colonies, probably due to strengthening dominant ant species territory sizes and intensification of patrolling.

/pdf/effects-of-the-trophobiont-herbivore-calloconophora-13t1ebo7dj.pdf

Effects of the Trophobiont Herbivore Calloconophora pugionata (Hemiptera) on Ant Fauna Associated with Myrcia obovata (Myrtaceae) in a Montane Tropical Forest

We intend to provid a first basic ethogram for the study of the scorpion Tityus serrulatus Lutz & Mello, 1922. The study was conducted in laboratory conditions (Laboratorio de Experimentacao Animal, LEA – UFU) where the animals (13 individuals) were maintained in a terrarium and observed for 110 hours (“ad libitum”), so divided in 18 hours of qualification and 92 hours of quantification of behavioral acts (observations between 06:00am and 01:30am hs, from April to July 2001). Seventeen distinct acts were observed and classified in six groups of activities: resting, exploration, foraging, interactions with cospecific, self-grooming and searching by umidity. Resting and foraging can be confused due the “ambush” hunting behavior of this species. The use of pectines in a mecano-receptive function can justify a lot of time spent in self-grooming, cleanning the sensitive structures as occurs in other artropods. The long time in captive conditions can stress or to reduce the behavioral acts showed by T. serrulatus.

Kleber Del-Claro

Papers

Structural changes over time in individual‐based networks involving a harvester ant, seeds, and invertebrates

Effects of ants on pollinator performance in a distylous pericarpial nectary-bearing Rubiaceae in Brazilian Cerrado

Colony cycle, foundation strategy and nesting biology of a Neotropical paper wasp

Effects of the Trophobiont Herbivore Calloconophora pugionata (Hemiptera) on Ant Fauna Associated with Myrcia obovata (Myrtaceae) in a Montane Tropical Forest

Repertório comportamental do escorpião amarelo Tityus serrulatus Lutz & Mello 1922 (Scorpiones, Buthidae) em cativeiro