Ivens, Aniek B. F. ; Beeren, Christoph von ; Blüthgen, Nico ; Kronauer, Daniel J. C. (2016)
Studying the Complex Communities of Ants and Their Symbionts Using Ecological Network Analysis.
In: Annual review of entomology, 61
Artikel, Bibliographie
Kurzbeschreibung (Abstract)
Ant colonies provide well-protected and resource-rich environments for a plethora of symbionts. Historically, most studies of ants and their symbionts have had a narrow taxonomic scope, often focusing on a single ant or symbiont species. Here we discuss the prospects of studying these assemblies in a community ecology context using the framework of ecological network analysis. We introduce three basic network metrics that we consider particularly relevant for improving our knowledge of ant-symbiont communities: interaction specificity, network modularity, and phylogenetic signal. We then discuss army ant symbionts as examples of large and primarily parasitic communities, and symbiotic sternorrhynchans as examples of generally smaller and primarily mutualistic communities in the context of these network analyses. We argue that this approach will provide new and complementary insights into the evolutionary and ecological dynamics between ants and their many associates, and will facilitate comparisons across different ant-symbiont assemblages as well as across different types of ecological networks.
| Typ des Eintrags: | Artikel |
|---|---|
| Erschienen: | 2016 |
| Autor(en): | Ivens, Aniek B. F. ; Beeren, Christoph von ; Blüthgen, Nico ; Kronauer, Daniel J. C. |
| Art des Eintrags: | Bibliographie |
| Titel: | Studying the Complex Communities of Ants and Their Symbionts Using Ecological Network Analysis. |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Publikationsjahr: | 2016 |
| Titel der Zeitschrift, Zeitung oder Schriftenreihe: | Annual review of entomology |
| Jahrgang/Volume einer Zeitschrift: | 61 |
| Kurzbeschreibung (Abstract): | Ant colonies provide well-protected and resource-rich environments for a plethora of symbionts. Historically, most studies of ants and their symbionts have had a narrow taxonomic scope, often focusing on a single ant or symbiont species. Here we discuss the prospects of studying these assemblies in a community ecology context using the framework of ecological network analysis. We introduce three basic network metrics that we consider particularly relevant for improving our knowledge of ant-symbiont communities: interaction specificity, network modularity, and phylogenetic signal. We then discuss army ant symbionts as examples of large and primarily parasitic communities, and symbiotic sternorrhynchans as examples of generally smaller and primarily mutualistic communities in the context of these network analyses. We argue that this approach will provide new and complementary insights into the evolutionary and ecological dynamics between ants and their many associates, and will facilitate comparisons across different ant-symbiont assemblages as well as across different types of ecological networks. |
| Fachbereich(e)/-gebiet(e): | 10 Fachbereich Biologie 10 Fachbereich Biologie > Komplexe ökologische Netzwerke |
| Hinterlegungsdatum: | 23 Mär 2016 07:21 |
| Letzte Änderung: | 28 Jul 2021 13:39 |
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