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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
The Meat-Farming Ants: Predatory Mutualism Between Melissotarsus Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) And Armored Scale Insects (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), Scott A. Schneider
The Meat-Farming Ants: Predatory Mutualism Between Melissotarsus Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) And Armored Scale Insects (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), Scott A. Schneider
Doctoral Dissertations
Ant agricultural mutualisms are common, well studied, and receive attention from scientific and public spheres due to shared similarities with human agriculture (i.e. ant/fungus ‘crop farming’ and ant/insect ‘dairy farming’). They also serve as important model systems for studying many facets of mutualism. This study reveals that the repertoire of ant agriculture may also include ‘meat farming’. Predatory mutualisms occur between Melissotarsus ants and various species of armored scale insects. This dissertation employs a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate the evolutionary history and nature of ant/diaspidid mutualisms. Chapter 1 reviews the current state of knowledge regarding species composition of these associations …
Vulnerability Of Logfin Inshore Squid (Loligo Pealeii) To Predation: The Influence Of Relative Prey Size And Behavior, Michelle Dana Staudinger
Vulnerability Of Logfin Inshore Squid (Loligo Pealeii) To Predation: The Influence Of Relative Prey Size And Behavior, Michelle Dana Staudinger
Open Access Dissertations
Cephalopods provide forage to a wide range of predators in marine food-webs. Despite their ecological importance, a basic understanding of the mechanisms controlling predation risk and demand is lacking. This is true of one of the most common species of squid found in the northwest Atlantic, the longfin inshore squid (Loligo pealeii). In this dissertation, I address this shortcoming by investigating the role that size and behavior play in influencing squid’s vulnerability to predation. I used long-term food habits, population survey, and commercial landings data, to quantify size-based patterns of predation respective to 25 species of predators. Additionally, I estimated …