Herbivory of Leaf-Cutting Ants

Herbivory of Leaf-Cutting Ants PDF Author: Rainer Wirth
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3662052598
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 235

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Book Description
Plant-animal interactions have become a focus of ecological research, with the processes of herbivory being of special interest. This volume examines the interactions of leaf-cutting ants with the rainforest vegetation on Barro Colorado Islands in Central America. It is the synthesis of field research on multiple scales extending over a period of several years. This work can serve as a model study summarizing and extending knowledge about herbivorous insect-plant relationships, and the resulting consequences on structural and functional features of tropical ecosystems. The text is an invaluable reference for researchers and land managers working in the fields of plant-animal interactions, herbivory, community ecology and biodiversity.

Herbivory of Leaf-Cutting Ants

Herbivory of Leaf-Cutting Ants PDF Author: Rainer Wirth
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3662052598
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 235

Get Book Here

Book Description
Plant-animal interactions have become a focus of ecological research, with the processes of herbivory being of special interest. This volume examines the interactions of leaf-cutting ants with the rainforest vegetation on Barro Colorado Islands in Central America. It is the synthesis of field research on multiple scales extending over a period of several years. This work can serve as a model study summarizing and extending knowledge about herbivorous insect-plant relationships, and the resulting consequences on structural and functional features of tropical ecosystems. The text is an invaluable reference for researchers and land managers working in the fields of plant-animal interactions, herbivory, community ecology and biodiversity.

Herbivory of Leaf-Cutting Ants

Herbivory of Leaf-Cutting Ants PDF Author: Rainer Wirth
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9783540438960
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Plant-animal interactions have become a focus of ecological research, with the processes of herbivory being of special interest. This volume examines the interactions of leaf-cutting ants with the rainforest vegetation on Barro Colorado Islands in Central America. It is the synthesis of field research on multiple scales extending over a period of several years. This work can serve as a model study summarizing and extending knowledge about herbivorous insect-plant relationships, and the resulting consequences on structural and functional features of tropical ecosystems. The text is an invaluable reference for researchers and land managers working in the fields of plant-animal interactions, herbivory, community ecology and biodiversity.

Herbivory of Leaf-Cutting Ants

Herbivory of Leaf-Cutting Ants PDF Author: Rainer Wirth
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9783540438960
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Plant-animal interactions have become a focus of ecological research, with the processes of herbivory being of special interest. This volume examines the interactions of leaf-cutting ants with the rainforest vegetation on Barro Colorado Islands in Central America. It is the synthesis of field research on multiple scales extending over a period of several years. This work can serve as a model study summarizing and extending knowledge about herbivorous insect-plant relationships, and the resulting consequences on structural and functional features of tropical ecosystems. The text is an invaluable reference for researchers and land managers working in the fields of plant-animal interactions, herbivory, community ecology and biodiversity.

Ant-Plant Interactions

Ant-Plant Interactions PDF Author: Paulo S. Oliveira
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110715975X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 461

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Book Description
The first volume devoted to anthropogenic effects on interactions between ants and flowering plants, considered major parts of terrestrial ecosystems.

Patterns of Leaf-cutting Ant Herbivory in Simple and Complex Tropical Successional Ecosystems in Costa Rica

Patterns of Leaf-cutting Ant Herbivory in Simple and Complex Tropical Successional Ecosystems in Costa Rica PDF Author: Chantal Marie Blanton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ants
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description


Microbial Mediation of Herbivory in Leaf-cutter Ant Fungus Gardens

Microbial Mediation of Herbivory in Leaf-cutter Ant Fungus Gardens PDF Author: Lily Khadempour
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 139

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Book Description
Most metazoans lack the physiological capacity to use plants as their sole source of energy and nutrients. To compensate for this, metazoans associate with microbial symbionts, which aid their hosts with the breakdown of recalcitrant biomass, remediation of plant defense compounds, and nutrient supplementation. Leaf-cutter ants, dominant herbivores in the Neotropics, are a paradigmatic example of this microbial mediation of herbivory. The ants cut foliar biomass from their surroundings and provide it as a growth substrate to their fungal cultivar Leucoagaricus gongylophorus. The cultivar breaks down the plant biomass and provides specialized hyphal swellings called gongylidia, which the ants consume as their primary source of energy. In this dissertation, I explore the relationships between the different types of substrates ants incorporate into their fungus gardens and how both the fungal cultivar and the bacterial community facilitate the ants' breadth in substrate use. I approach these investigations through an ecological and evolutionary lens using contemporary 'omics' tools. In chapter 1, I present the context in which this dissertation work was completed. I describe trends in the microbial mediation of herbivory and review the current state of understanding of how this relates to leaf-cutter ants. In chapter 2, I use metaproteomics to compare the proteins that the cultivar secretes when provided with different plant substrates. I show that the fungus responds in a flexible, substrate-specific manner to the material that the ants incorporate into their gardens. In chapter 3, I focus on the bacterial community in the fungus gardens of ants and how they may facilitate the ants' transition from using dicots to grasses. Using metagenomics, I show a shift in the bacterial community between these two types of substrate specialization and an associated shift in the functional capacity of the bacteria. In chapter 4, I continue investigating the ants' evolutionary transition to a novel substrate by examining the genomes of the fungal cultivars from the colonies of ants with grass and dicot substrate specializations. In this chapter I present preliminary results that further support the fungus' capacity for biomass degradation and present future directions into the evolution of this fungus, in terms of its transition to symbiosis, its transition to novel substrates, and its polykaryotic life history. In sum, the work presented in this dissertation expands our knowledge into the microbial mediation of herbivory in the leaf-cutter ant system.

The Ecology and Evolution of Ant-Plant Interactions

The Ecology and Evolution of Ant-Plant Interactions PDF Author: Victor Rico-Gray
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226713547
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
Ants are probably the most dominant insect group on Earth, representing ten to fifteen percent of animal biomass in terrestrial ecosystems. Flowering plants, meanwhile, owe their evolutionary success to an array of interspecific interactions—such as pollination, seed dispersal, and herbivory—that have helped to shape their great diversity. The Ecology and Evolution of Ant-Plant Interactions brings together findings from the scientific literature on the coevolution of ants and plants to provide a better understanding of the unparalleled success of these two remarkable groups, of interspecific interactions in general, and ultimately of terrestrial biological communities. The Ecology and Evolution of Ant-Plant Interactions synthesizes the dynamics of ant-plant interactions, including the sources of variation in their outcomes. Victor Rico-Gray and Paulo S. Oliveira capture both the emerging appreciation of the importance of these interactions within ecosystems and the developing approaches that place studies of these interactions into a broader ecological and evolutionary context. The collaboration of two internationally renowned scientists, The Ecology and Evolution of Ant-Plant Interactions will become a standard reference for understanding the complex interactions between these two taxa.

Fire Ants And Leaf-cutting Ants

Fire Ants And Leaf-cutting Ants PDF Author: Clifford S. Lofgren
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 0429691645
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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Book Description
The 1985 Research Conference on Fire Ants and Leaf-Cutting Ants covered the most recent developments in research and control of these insect pests of the New World tropical and subtropical zones, the southern United States, South and Central America, and the Caribbean Islands. This volume contains chapters that discuss the history and economics, biology and ecology, behavior, pheromones and other semiochemicals, physiology, and biochemistry of fire ants and leaf-cutting ants, as well as current and future control strategies. The information provided illustrates past and present agricultural and medical problems associated with these pest ants; however, it also brings out the point that they may at times be beneficial. The chapters on basic aspects of the biology and ecology of the ants provide up-to-date information that is useful for a more complete understanding of their social behavior and the unique symbiotic relationship between leaf-cutting ants and their fungi. New approaches to control are illustrated by innovative research on anti-feedant chemicals from plants that prevent feeding by leaf-cutting ants. The present status of chemical baits and biocontrol is addressed, as well as the possibilities of future novel methods based on the use of anti-metabolites, insect hormones, behavior modifying substances, and species-specific toxic bait systems to create integrated pest management systems.

Fire Ants And Leaf-cutting Ants

Fire Ants And Leaf-cutting Ants PDF Author: Clifford S. Lofgren
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 0429691645
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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Book Description
The 1985 Research Conference on Fire Ants and Leaf-Cutting Ants covered the most recent developments in research and control of these insect pests of the New World tropical and subtropical zones, the southern United States, South and Central America, and the Caribbean Islands. This volume contains chapters that discuss the history and economics, biology and ecology, behavior, pheromones and other semiochemicals, physiology, and biochemistry of fire ants and leaf-cutting ants, as well as current and future control strategies. The information provided illustrates past and present agricultural and medical problems associated with these pest ants; however, it also brings out the point that they may at times be beneficial. The chapters on basic aspects of the biology and ecology of the ants provide up-to-date information that is useful for a more complete understanding of their social behavior and the unique symbiotic relationship between leaf-cutting ants and their fungi. New approaches to control are illustrated by innovative research on anti-feedant chemicals from plants that prevent feeding by leaf-cutting ants. The present status of chemical baits and biocontrol is addressed, as well as the possibilities of future novel methods based on the use of anti-metabolites, insect hormones, behavior modifying substances, and species-specific toxic bait systems to create integrated pest management systems.

Forest Pest and Disease Management in Latin America

Forest Pest and Disease Management in Latin America PDF Author: Sergio A. Estay
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030351432
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
By providing multiple economic goods and ecosystem services, Latin American forests play a key role in the environmental, social and economic welfare of the region’s countries. From the tropical forests of Central America to the Mediterranean and temperate vegetation of the southern cone, these forests face a myriad of phytosanitary problems that negatively impact on both conservation efforts and forest industry. This book brings together the perspectives of several Latin American researchers on pest and disease management. Each chapter provides modern views of the status and management alternatives to problems as serious as the impact of introduced exotic insects and diseases on Pinus and Eucalyptus plantations throughout the continent, and the emergence of novel insect outbreaks in tropical and temperate native forests associated with global warming. It is a valuable guide for researchers and practitioners working on forest health in Latin America and around the world.