| caste evolution and ecology: a special worker for novel prey. | individual specialization underpins the division of labour within ant societies, but only in a small minority do morphological specialists, or physical castes, exist in the workforce. the genetic conditions that allow such castes to evolve are well understood, but the ecological pressures that select for them are not. we provide compelling evidence that the task of transporting novel prey selected for an exaggerated transport caste, or 'submajor', in the army ant eciton burchellii. this species ... | 2005 | 16188606 |
| dispersal and population structure of a new world predator, the army ant eciton burchellii. | the army ant eciton burchellii is probably the most important arthropod predator in the neotropics, and many animal species depend upon it. sex-biased dispersal with winged males and permanently wingless queens may render this species especially sensitive to habitat fragmentation and natural barriers, which might have severe impacts on population structure and lead to population decline. using nuclear microsatellite markers and mitochondrial sequences, we investigated genetic differentiation in ... | 2008 | 18422531 |