Army-ant following in Neotropical birds: A review and prospectus

The Auk ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ari E Martínez ◽  
Henry S Pollock ◽  
Patricia F Rodrigues ◽  
Janeene M Touchton
Keyword(s):  
Research Area ◽  
Army Ants ◽  
Neotropical Forests ◽  
Army Ant ◽  
Behavioral Adaptations ◽  
Eciton Burchellii ◽  
Fruitful Research ◽  
Associated Species ◽  
Areas Of Interest ◽  
And Behavior

Abstract Army-ants (particularly swarm-raiding species Eciton burchellii and Labidus praedator) are keystone predators in Neotropical forests. Hundreds of associated species from diverse taxa depend on them for survival, the most conspicuous of which are the ant-following birds. These birds forage on cryptic arthropods and vertebrates as they attempt to escape raiding army-ants. Despite capturing the attention of tropical biologists for centuries, research on ant-following birds has been largely limited to natural history observations until more recently. Here, we argue that this complex system provides unique and underappreciated opportunities for testing hypotheses in 5 main areas of interest: (1) competitive interactions among attendant birds, (2) cognitive and behavioral adaptations for locating swarms, (3) evolution of ant-following behavior, (4) biogeography of ant-following behavior, and (5) conservation of ant-following birds. For each research area, we review the current state of knowledge and make suggestions for fruitful research avenues that we believe will help address important questions in the fields of ecology, evolution, and behavior.

scholarly journals Eciton Army Ants—Umbrella Species for Conservation in Neotropical Forests

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Sílvia Pérez-Espona
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fragmentation ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Army Ants ◽  
Neotropical Forests ◽  
Umbrella Species ◽  
Priority Areas ◽  
Army Ant ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Identification of priority areas for conservation is crucial for the maintenance and protection of biodiversity, particularly in tropical forests where biodiversity continues to be lost at alarming rates. Surveys and research on umbrella species can provide efficient and effective approaches to identify potential areas for conservation at small geographical scales. Army ants of the genus Eciton are keystone species in neotropical forests due to their major role as top predators and due to the numerous vertebrate- and invertebrate associated species that depend upon their colonies for survival. These associates range from the iconic army ant-following birds to a wide range of arthropod groups, some of which have evolved intricate morphological, behavioural and/or chemical strategies to conceal their presence and integrate into the colony life. Furthermore, Eciton colonies require large forested areas that support a diverse leaf litter prey community and several field-based and genetic studies have demonstrated the negative consequences of forest fragmentation for the long-term maintenance of these colonies. Therefore, Eciton species will not only act as umbrella for their associates but also for many other species in neotropical forests, in particular for those that require a large extent of forest. This review summarises past and recent accounts of the main taxonomic groups found associated with Eciton colonies, as well research assessing the impact of forest fragmentation on this army ant, to encourage the adoption of Eciton army ants as umbrella species for the identification of priority areas for conservation and assessments of the effect of disturbance in neotropical forests.

PLCA

2012 ◽  
pp. 63-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuko Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Graph Theory ◽  
Computational Geometry ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Spatial Reasoning ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Qualitative Spatial Reasoning ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Fruitful Research ◽  
Topology Graph

This chapter describes a framework called PLCA for Qualitative Spatial Reasoning (QSR) based on the connection patterns of regions. The goal of this chapter is to provide a simple but expressive and feasible representation for qualitative data with sufficient reasoning ability. PLCA provides a symbolic representation for spatial data using simple objects. The authors of this chapter define its expression and operations on it, and show the correspondance between the expression and a figure. PLCA also provides semantical reasoning incorporated with spatial reasoning. Moreover, it can be extended to handle shapes of regions. Throughout the study, the authors discovered many topics that relate QSR to other research areas such as topology, graph theory, and computational geometry, while achieving the research goals. This indicates that QSR is a very fruitful research area.

scholarly journals A Survey on Job Scheduling in Big Data

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Senthilkumar ◽  
P. Ilango
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Job Scheduling ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Data Locality ◽  
Distributed Data ◽  
Distributed Data Processing ◽  
Big Data Applications ◽  
Mapreduce Model ◽  
Active Research ◽  
And Behavior

Abstract Big Data Applications with Scheduling becomes an active research area in last three years. The Hadoop framework becomes very popular and most used frameworks in a distributed data processing. Hadoop is also open source software that allows the user to effectively utilize the hardware. Various scheduling algorithms of the MapReduce model using Hadoop vary with design and behavior, and are used for handling many issues like data locality, awareness with resource, energy and time. This paper gives the outline of job scheduling, classification of the scheduler, and comparison of different existing algorithms with advantages, drawbacks, limitations. In this paper, we discussed various tools and frameworks used for monitoring and the ways to improve the performance in MapReduce. This paper helps the beginners and researchers in understanding the scheduling mechanisms used in Big Data.

scholarly journals Joint Inventory, Pricing, and Advertising Decisions with Surplus and Stockout Loss Aversions

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bing-Bing Cao ◽  
Zhi-Ping Fan ◽  
Hongyan Li ◽  
Tian-Hui You
Keyword(s):  
Loss Aversion ◽  
Optimal Policy ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Order Quantity ◽  
Effort Level ◽  
Optimal Decisions ◽  
Advertising Effort ◽  
Fruitful Research

The newsvendor models considering decision-makers’ behavioral factors remain a fruitful research area in operation management field in past decade. In this paper, we further extend the current literatures to look into joint inventory, pricing, and advertising decisions considering loss aversion effects under the newsvendor setting. The purpose is to explore how the loss aversions affect the optimal policy of order quantity, price, and advertising effort level. We present an integrated utility model to measure both economic payoff and loss aversion utility of the newsvendor, where surplus loss aversion and stockout loss aversion are first separately defined and quantified. Then, we analyze the optimal solution conditions of the integrated model under exogenous and endogenous price cases, respectively. Under exogenous price case, we find that the uniquely optimal policy exists and is presented in the closed form. Under endogenous price case, the optimal policy is determined under mild conditions; we also provide the solutions when order quantity factor or advertising effort level is fixed in this case. In addition, the sensitivity analysis shows that the loss aversions affect the optimal decisions of order quantity, price, and advertising effort level in a systematic way.

scholarly journals Deep-time parallel evolution of myrmecoid syndrome in rove beetle symbionts of army ants

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Munetoshi Maruyama ◽  
Joseph Parker
Keyword(s):  
Parallel Evolution ◽  
Army Ants ◽  
Deep Time ◽  
Rove Beetles ◽  
Army Ant ◽  
Rove Beetle ◽  
Arthropod Predators ◽  
Adaptive Radiations ◽  
Ecological Dominance ◽  
Temporary Nest

Recent adaptive radiations provide striking examples of convergence, but the predictability of evolution over much deeper timescales is controversial, due to a scarcity of ancient clades exhibiting repetitive patterns of phenotypic evolution. Army ants are ecologically dominant arthropod predators of the world's tropics, with large nomadic colonies housing diverse communities of socially parasitic myrmecophiles. Remarkable among these are many species of rove beetle (Staphylinidae) that exhibit ant-mimicking “myrmecoid” body forms and are behaviorally accepted into their aggressive hosts' societies: emigrating with colonies and inhabiting temporary nest bivouacs, grooming and feeding with workers, but also consuming the brood. Here we demonstrate that myrmecoid rove beetles are strongly polyphyletic, with this novel adaptive morphological and behavioral syndrome having evolved at least twelve times during the evolution of a single staphylinid subfamily, Aleocharinae. Each independent myrmecoid clade is restricted to one zoogeographic region and highly host-specific on a single army ant genus. Dating estimates reveal that myrmecoid clades are separated by substantial phylogenetic distances—as much as 105 million years (My). All such groups arose in parallel during the Cenozoic, as army ants are proposed to have risen to ecological dominance. This work uncovers a rare example of an ancient system of complex morphological and behavioral convergence, with replicate beetle lineages following a predictable phenotypic trajectory during their parasitic coevolution with army ants.

scholarly journals Comparative chemical analysis of army ant mandibular gland volatiles (Formicidae: Dorylinae)

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Brückner ◽  
Philipp O. Hoenle ◽  
Christoph von Beeren
Keyword(s):  
Solid Phase ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Chemical Compounds ◽  
Mandibular Gland ◽  
Army Ants ◽  
Army Ant ◽  
Alarm Communication ◽  
Gland Volatiles ◽  
Precise Role ◽  
Mandibular Gland Secretions

Army ants are keystone species in many tropical ecosystems. Yet, little is known about the chemical compounds involved in army ant communication. In the present study, we analyzed the volatile mandibular gland secretions—triggers of ant alarm responses—of six Neotropical army ant species of the genus Eciton (outgroup: Nomamyrmex esenbeckii). Using solid-phase microextraction, we identified 12 chemical compounds, primarily ketones with associated alcohols, one ester and skatole. Most compounds were shared among species, but their relative composition was significantly different. By comparing chemical distances of mandibular gland secretions to species divergence times, we showed that the secretions’ compositions are not strictly determined by phylogeny. By identifying chemical bouquets of seven army ant species, our study provides a valuable comparative resource for future studies aiming to unveil the chemicals’ precise role in army ant alarm communication.

scholarly journals Rethinking the basic conservation unit and associated protocol for augmentation of an "endangered" caribou population: An opinion

Rangifer ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank L. Miller ◽  
Samuel J. Barry ◽  
Wendy A. Calvert ◽  
Keri A. Zittlau
Keyword(s):  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Basic Unit ◽  
Conservation Unit ◽  
Melting Pot ◽  
Geographic Population ◽  
Evolutionarily Significant Units ◽  
Behavioral Adaptations ◽  
Population Conservation ◽  
Endangered Population ◽  
And Behavior

Use of the subspecies as the basic unit in the conservation of endangered caribou (Rangifer tarandus) would produce a “melting pot” end-product that would mask important genotypic, phenotypic, ecological, and behavioral variations found below the level of the subspecies. Therefore, we examined options for establishing the basic conservation unit for an endangered caribou population: use of subspecies based on taxonomy, subspecies based solely on mtDNA, Evolutionarily Significant Units, and the geographic population. We reject the first three and conclude that the only feasible basic unit for biologically and ecologically sound conservation of endangered caribou in North America is the geographic population. Conservation of endangered caribou at the level of the geographic population is necessary to identify and maintain current biodiversity. As deliberations about endangered caribou conservation often involve consideration of population augmentation, we also discuss the appropriate augmentation protocol for conserving biodiversity. Management of a critically endangered caribou population by augmentation should only be initiated after adequate study and evaluation of the genotype, phenotype, ecology, and behavior for both the endangered caribou and the potential‘donor’ caribou to prevent the possible ‘contamination’ of the endangered caribou. Translocation of caribou into an endangered population will have failed, even if the restocking efforts succeed, if the donor animals functionally alter the population’s gene pool or phenotype, or alter the ecological and behavioral adaptations of individuals in the endangered population. Most importantly, a seriously flawed restocking would risk irreversibly altering those functional characteristics of caribou in an endangered population that make them distinct and possibly unique. It might even result in the loss of the endangered population, thus eliminating a uniquely evolved line from among the caribou species. 

scholarly journals Animal-oriented Virtual Environments: illusion, dilation, and discovery

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradly Alicea
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Sensorimotor Integration ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Spatial Navigation ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Time Dilation ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Dilate Space

As a research tool, virtual environments hold immense promise for brain scientists. Yet to fully realize this potential in non-human systems, theoretical and conceptual perspectives must be developed. When selectively coupled to nervous systems, virtual environments can help us better understand the functional architecture of animals brains during naturalistic behaviors. While this will no doubt allow us to further our understanding of the neural bases of behavior, there is also an opportunity to uncover the diversity inherent in brain activity and behavior. This is due to two properties of virtual environments: the ability to create sensory illusions, and the ability to dilate space and/or time. These issues will be presented in the context of three types of neurobehavioral phenomena: sensorimotor integration, spatial navigation, and interactivity. For each of these behaviors, a combination of illusory and time dilation examples will be reviewed. Once these applications have been reviewed, implications for improving upon virtual models for inducing the mental phenomena of illusion and time dilation will be considered. To conclude, future directions for this research area will be presented, particularly with relevance to gene-environment interactions.

scholarly journals Colony expansions underlie the evolution of army ant mass raiding

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (22) ◽  
pp. e2026534118
Author(s):  
Vikram Chandra ◽  
Asaf Gal ◽  
Daniel J. C. Kronauer
Keyword(s):  
Collective Behavior ◽  
Colony Size ◽  
Cooperative Behavior ◽  
Close Relative ◽  
Army Ants ◽  
Army Ant ◽  
Cooperative Hunting ◽  
Behavioral Rules ◽  
Behavioral Interaction ◽  
Collective Phenomenon

The mass raids of army ants are an iconic collective phenomenon, in which many thousands of ants spontaneously leave their nest to hunt for food, mostly other arthropods. While the structure and ecology of these raids have been relatively well studied, how army ants evolved such complex cooperative behavior is not understood. Here, we show that army ant mass raiding has evolved from a different form of cooperative hunting called group raiding, in which a scout directs a small group of ants to a specific target through chemical communication. We describe the structure of group raids in the clonal raider ant, a close relative of army ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. We find evidence that the coarse structure of group raids and mass raids is highly conserved and that all doryline ants likely follow similar behavioral rules for raiding. We also find that the evolution of army ant mass raiding occurred concurrently with expansions in colony size. By experimentally increasing colony size in the clonal raider ant, we show that mass raiding gradually emerges from group raiding without altering individual behavioral rules. This suggests that increasing colony size can explain the evolution of army ant mass raids and supports the idea that complex social behaviors may evolve via mechanisms that need not alter the behavioral interaction rules that immediately underlie the collective behavior of interest.

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