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Full-Text Articles in Behavior and Ethology
The Importance Of Ants In Cave Ecology, With New Records And Behavioral Observations Of Ants In Arizona Caves, Robert B. Pape
The Importance Of Ants In Cave Ecology, With New Records And Behavioral Observations Of Ants In Arizona Caves, Robert B. Pape
International Journal of Speleology
The importance of ants as elements in cave ecology has been mostly unrecognized. A global list of ant species recorded from caves, compiled from a review of existing literature, is presented. This paper also reviews what is currently known about ants occurring in Arizona (USA) caves. The diversity and distribution represented in these records suggests ants are relatively common cave visitors (trogloxenes). A general utilization of caves by ants within both temperate and tropical latitudes may be inferred from this combined evidence. Observations of ant behavior in Arizona caves demonstrate a low level and sporadic, but persistent, use of these …