Ants as Model Organisms to Study Species Coexistence

 

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2013, Volume 34

Jonathan Z. Shik, Lauren M. Nichols, Andrea Lucky & Mari&?euml;lle H. Hoefnagels

Abstract

Community ecologists seek to understand mechanisms regulating species coexistence. Decades of experimental research suggest that niche differentiation plays an important role in allowing ecologically similar species to coexist. In this lab, we will perform a field experiment to test for niche differentiation in an ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) community. We will have four main objectives: 1) appreciate ant diversity, 2) test hypotheses about how niche differentiation mediates species coexistence, 3) use ecological methods and analyze data, and 4) participate in School of Ants, a global citizen science initiative based in North Carolina that uses ants to explore biological diversity.

Keywords:  ants, community ecology, species coexistence, niche partitioning, interspecific competition

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2012)