tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274672042024-03-18T09:54:49.587-04:00The Ant RoomIn which I will be keeping track (for my own benefit) of my daily progress in the identification of the ant fauna of Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Ecuador, the analysis of that data, and the pursuit of my PhD. And (for the benefit of everyone else) I hope to provide helpful information on ants, taxonomy, database management, identification, and other assorted endeavors. CheersKari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.comBlogger358125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-81755841363266938842010-10-04T13:12:00.000-04:002010-10-04T13:12:01.670-04:00Species Diversity and Distribution Patterns of the Ants of Amazonian EcuadorSo, if you've ever wondered what it is I have been doing for the past 10 years, a big chunk of it was just published in PLoS ONE. You can read the whole article <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0013146">here</a>.<br />
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<div><a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0013146"><b>Species Diversity and Distribution Patterns of the Ants of Amazonian Ecuador</b></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Kari T. Ryder Wilkie, Amy L. Mertl, James F. A. Traniello<br />
Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America</span><br />
<br />
Abstract<br />
Ants are among the most diverse, abundant and ecologically significant organisms on earth. Although their species richness appears to be greatest in the New World tropics, global patterns of ant diversity and distribution are not well understood. We comprehensively surveyed ant diversity in a lowland primary rainforest in Western Amazonia, Ecuador using canopy fogging, pitfall traps, baits, hand collecting, mini-Winkler devices and subterranean probes to sample ants. A total of 489 ant species comprising 64 genera in nine subfamilies were identified from samples collected in only 0.16 square kilometers. The most species-rich genera were Camponotus,Pheidole, Pseudomyrmex, Pachycondyla, Brachymyrmex, and Crematogaster. Camponotus andPseudomyrmex were most diverse in the canopy, while Pheidole was most diverse on the ground. The three most abundant ground-dwelling ant genera were Pheidole, Solenopsis and Pyramica.Crematogaster carinata was the most abundant ant species in the canopy; Wasmannia auropunctata was most abundant on the ground, and the army ant Labidus coecus was the most abundant subterranean species. Ant species composition among strata was significantly different: 80% of species were found in only one stratum, 17% in two strata, and 3% in all three strata. Elevation and the number of logs and twigs available as nest sites were significant predictors of ground-dwelling ant species richness. Canopy species richness was not correlated with any ecological variable measured. Subterranean species richness was negatively correlated with depth in the soil. When ant species were categorized using a functional group matrix based on diet, nest-site preference and foraging ecology, the greatest diversity was found in Omnivorous Canopy Nesters. Our study indicates ant species richness is exceptionally high at Tiputini. We project 647–736 ant species in this global hotspot of biodiversity. Considering the relatively small area surveyed, this region of western Amazonia appears to support the most diverse ant fauna yet recorded.<br />
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Citation: <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0013146">Ryder Wilkie KT, Mertl AL, Traniello JFA (2010) Species Diversity and Distribution Patterns of the Ants of Amazonian Ecuador. PLoS ONE 5(10): e13146. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013146</a></div>Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com402tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-49959997168981731662010-06-03T20:29:00.000-04:002010-06-03T20:29:17.827-04:00CNN report on Yasuni<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">CNN aired a report on Yasuni Biosphere Reserve in Ecuador, where I did my doctoral research. It includes an interview with my favorite director of Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Kelly Swing. You can also take a look at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">some context for the story that was put up on YouTube – find it with the keywords “Yasuni forever.”</span></span><br />
<br />
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="374" id="ep" width="416"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="movie" value="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=international/2010/05/27/ef.amazon.research.bk.b.cnn" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><embed src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=international/2010/05/27/ef.amazon.research.bk.b.cnn" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="416" wmode="transparent" height="374"></embed></object>Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-74901247052924679902010-02-10T18:44:00.002-05:002010-03-24T10:26:16.702-04:00Tiputini Termites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/NasuteImms.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/NasuteImms.png" width="290" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Along with all those <a href="http://people.bu.edu/karitr/AntSubfamilies.html">billions of ants</a> I collected from <a href="http://www.usfq.edu.ec/tiputini/">Tiputini Biodiversity Station</a>, I also collected some termites. Why? To see if there was a correlation between ant diversity and termite diversity. Ants and termites have a variety of significant relationships with each other from predatory to mutualistic, and I wanted to see if one could influence the other. What do you think?<br />
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Below is a list of the termite species collected during ant collections from Tiputini. Termite identifications were made by Reginaldo Constantino.<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.8pt; width: 261px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br />
</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br />
</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Genus<o:p></o:p></b></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">species<o:p></o:p></b></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Anoplotermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>sp. 1<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Anoplotermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>sp. 2<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Anoplotermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>sp. 3<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Anoplotermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>sp. 4<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Armitermes<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>minutus<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Atlantitermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>sp.<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Coptotermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>cf. testaceus<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 8;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Cornicapritermes<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>sp.<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 9;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Cornitermes<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>sp. A<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 10;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Crepititermes<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>verruculosus<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 11;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Cylindrotermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>cf. nordenskioeldi<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 12;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Cylindrotermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>flangiatus<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 13;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Cylindrotermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>parvignathus<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 14;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Cylindrotermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>sp. (workers)<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 15;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Heterotermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>tenuis<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 16;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Nasutitermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>callimorphus<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 17;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Nasutitermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>ephratae<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 18;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Nasutitermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>guayanae<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 19;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Nasutitermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>intermedius<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 20;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Nasutitermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>llinquipatensis<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 21;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Nasutitermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>longirostratus<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 22;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Nasutitermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>sp. 2 <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 23;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Nasutitermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>surinamensis<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 24;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Neocapritermes<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>pumilis<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 25;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Neocapritermes<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>sp. (worker)<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 26;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Rotunditermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>bragantinus<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 27;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Ruptitermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>sp.<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 28;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Triangularitermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>triangulariceps<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 29; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 89.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Velocitermes <o:p></o:p></i></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 107.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="143"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>sp.<o:p></o:p></i></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com79tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-49012209270718049642009-12-07T17:29:00.001-05:002009-12-07T17:29:51.343-05:00Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species: A Graphic Adaptation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://scit.us/~reed/origin_gn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://scit.us/~reed/origin_gn.jpg" width="238" /></a><br />
</div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160529697X/ref=s9_simp_gw_s0_p14_t1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=191KQHNWH1A2WNKZYWK1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846"><b>Charles Darwin's on the Origin of Species: A Graphic Adaptation</b></a><br />
by Michael Keller, illustrated by Nicolle Rager Fuller<br />
<h1 style="color: #5a7d56; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt;"><em class="nl" style="color: #666666; display: block; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><br />
</em></h1><br />
I admit that I have not seen this book in person yet but it is illustrated by my cousin, Nicolle Rager Fuller, and therefore must be awesome. Also, it has gotten a lot of good reviews (from <a href="http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2009/11/charles-darwins.html">Panda's Thumb</a>, <a href="http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/49207/title/Book_Review_Charles_Darwin%E2%80%99s_On_the_Origin_of_Species_A_Graphic_Adaptation_by_Michael_Keller">ScienceNews</a>, and <a href="http://www.graphicnovelreporter.com/content/charles-darwins-origin-species-graphic-adaptation-review">Graphic Novel Reporter</a>, for instance). It's on my Christmas list. Maybe it should be on yours, too!Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-86158010120559437992009-12-07T17:14:00.000-05:002009-12-07T17:14:05.042-05:00Impact of Flooding on the Species Richness, Density and Composition of Amazonian Litter-Nesting AntsBetter late than never:<div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><div><br />
</div>Impact of Flooding on the Species Richness, Density and Composition of Amazonian Litter-Nesting Ants</span><br />
<br />
Authors: Mertl, Amy L.; Ryder Wilkie, Kari T.; Traniello, James F. A.<br />
Source: Biotropica, Volume 41, Number 5, September 2009 , pp. 633-641(9)<br />
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</div><div class="hidden" style="clear: both; line-height: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Abstract:</span><img alt="Click here to find out more!" border="0" src="http://static.2mdn.net/viewad/817-grey.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></span><br />
</div><div id="abstract" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-left: 20px; position: relative;">Litter-nesting ants are diverse and abundant in tropical forests, but the factors structuring their communities are poorly known. Here we present results of the first study to examine the impact of natural variation in flooding on a highly diverse (21 genera, 77 species) litter-nesting ant community in a primary Amazonian forest. Fifty-six 3 × 3 m plots experiencing strong variation in flooding and twenty-eight 3 × 3 m terra firme plots were exhaustively searched for litter-nesting ants to determine patterns of density, species richness and species composition. In each plot, flooding, litter depth, twig availability, canopy cover, plant density, percent soil nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus were measured. Degree of flooding, measured as flood frequency and flood interval, had the strongest impact on ant density in flooded forest. Flooding caused a linear decrease in ant abundance, potentially due to a reduction of suitable nesting sites. However, its influence on species richness varied: low-disturbance habitat had species richness equal to terra firme forest after adjusting for differences in density. The composition of ant genera and species varied among flood categories; some groups known to contain specialist predators were particularly intolerant to flooding. <i>Hypoponera</i> STD10 appeared to be well-adapted to highly flooded habitat. Although flooding did not appear to increase species richness or abundance at the habitat scale, low-flooding habitat contained a mixture of species found in the significantly distinct ant communities of terra firme and highly flooded habitat.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://people.bu.edu/karitr/PDF/Mertletal2009.pdf">printable version</a><br />
</div></div>Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-55507360807990340572009-07-09T00:33:00.002-04:002009-07-09T00:59:56.877-04:00GigaPan ant<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5GiRPso9cQWQhAa9bxLNHLFZZFEUBNe2L8kQRnMfCVTuhWhSivhVqBSSq41ZmAaX-goaqgJU317ZcNLI_lTlBVfKESyVQal4p6GFk1b5eNbve3hTl0egvvAZYpS__IMLdhwJf/s1600-h/gigaant.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 422px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5GiRPso9cQWQhAa9bxLNHLFZZFEUBNe2L8kQRnMfCVTuhWhSivhVqBSSq41ZmAaX-goaqgJU317ZcNLI_lTlBVfKESyVQal4p6GFk1b5eNbve3hTl0egvvAZYpS__IMLdhwJf/s320/gigaant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356320507873687810" border="0" /></a><br />I'm not totally clear on what <a href="http://www.gigapan.org/index.php">GigaPan </a>is, but <a href="http://www.gigapan.org/viewGigapan.php?id=27105&window_height=870&window_width=1663">check out this awesome panorama photo of <span style="font-style: italic;">Eutetramorium mocquerysi</span></a> from Madagascar.Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-84837146246671006232009-06-16T17:05:00.002-04:002009-06-17T01:03:15.502-04:00a few links to tide you over...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nba.com/media/dleague/fortwayne/mascot_400_071205.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 350px;" src="http://www.nba.com/media/dleague/fortwayne/mascot_400_071205.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/">Not exactly Rocket Science</a> has a very interesting post entitled <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2009/06/how_research_saved_the_large_blue_butterfly.php">How research saved the Large Blue Butterfly</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Hint: first they had to save some ants.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://membracid.wordpress.com/">Bug Girl's Blog</a> comments on <a href="http://membracid.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/pseudonyms-and-anonymity/">Pseudonyms and anonymity</a> with a really nice quote from Charles Darwin: "<em>I am dying by inches, from not having any body to talk to about insects..."</em> Very nice.<br /><br />From <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/">ScienceDaily</a> comes news that <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616080137.htm">Linnaeus invented the index card</a>. Who knew?<br /><br /><a href="http://myrmecos.wordpress.com/">Myrmecos </a>has a wonderful post about the difference between <a href="http://myrmecos.wordpress.com/2009/06/06/pyramica-vs-strumigenys-why-does-it-matter/">Smithistruma and Pyramica</a>.<br /><br />The New York Times has <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/science/16conv.html?partner=rss&emc=rss">an interview with Bert Holldobler</a>.<br /><br />And, just for kicks, I gotta give props to the <a href="http://www.nba.com/dleague/fortwayne/">Fort Wayne Mad Ants</a>, an NBA development team. Go check out their website! Love the theme, from the tagline "join the invasion" to the kids club "ants army" to the cheerleaders "Madame Ants." Not to mention the awesome mascot "The Mad Ant" (see above). Rock on!Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-81036447052014272622009-06-03T12:57:00.002-04:002009-06-03T13:55:25.338-04:00Insects In Flagrante<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzcBBMPl_tuWfkofgV1rKqct4CyQIpTWzSpScbXjKmZ3AEWiAu-MgkY48bjPUy95hgojekC7EfZzQyP1RAG1MvQlDXoX8Y3QES7gkezoKCRx1lUTi72zlcxBelWOYqvl3kgArZ/s400/20.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 205px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzcBBMPl_tuWfkofgV1rKqct4CyQIpTWzSpScbXjKmZ3AEWiAu-MgkY48bjPUy95hgojekC7EfZzQyP1RAG1MvQlDXoX8Y3QES7gkezoKCRx1lUTi72zlcxBelWOYqvl3kgArZ/s400/20.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMmPasf5KhoZPSX12gMvWS7mc1_Cx23OUhLengB5LKKrHl-pKI3Fp8hMDMn8pCZrwn2XVC31lfmcjmbZJSBnUJ2FRNcpjvCcK8GMezNXv8Gi-uLiWBgdLbCBzLn8825izkxxc/s400/9.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 149px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMmPasf5KhoZPSX12gMvWS7mc1_Cx23OUhLengB5LKKrHl-pKI3Fp8hMDMn8pCZrwn2XVC31lfmcjmbZJSBnUJ2FRNcpjvCcK8GMezNXv8Gi-uLiWBgdLbCBzLn8825izkxxc/s400/9.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4wTSCQe1_9qO2BE4pyTKGAJVRJyQQsH9l-5u9dpGtpNPuJWIYaVfyWJ4tpoM5li4T5RJp5J9M6SSEBFQOWxYRNOJf5qC2zpFDtZTrYl9j447ZTLS5kvBBHmZ5Ds8dQGsBd9M/s400/13.jpg"><br /><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 255px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4wTSCQe1_9qO2BE4pyTKGAJVRJyQQsH9l-5u9dpGtpNPuJWIYaVfyWJ4tpoM5li4T5RJp5J9M6SSEBFQOWxYRNOJf5qC2zpFDtZTrYl9j447ZTLS5kvBBHmZ5Ds8dQGsBd9M/s400/13.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CnGbZX4Rag2_M4wa1cfZyXWQN31AM_8-Uscptd745XapPFF0WAgZQLs31ZG3LNmuap5pjAFxxT1_1MwUAjcmfmoGP89av7GcJ-YfPlgYXyS01mwLezLBVTM7yztdYP-9zjtA/s400/15.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 169px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CnGbZX4Rag2_M4wa1cfZyXWQN31AM_8-Uscptd745XapPFF0WAgZQLs31ZG3LNmuap5pjAFxxT1_1MwUAjcmfmoGP89av7GcJ-YfPlgYXyS01mwLezLBVTM7yztdYP-9zjtA/s400/15.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />More insect sex <a href="http://www.webphemera.com/2009/05/insects-in-flagrante.html">here</a>.<br /><br />And, while we're on the subject of animal sex, Isabella Roselini's <a href="http://www.sundancechannel.com/greenporno/">Green Porno</a> is now in its second season! If you haven't experienced this, you must do so now. Go. Now. <a href="http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid18011345001?bclid=17841335001&bctid=18005808001">Watch the whale one</a>.Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-44548963888952693602009-06-01T19:04:00.004-04:002009-06-01T20:17:12.522-04:00Colony as ArtThere is a <a href="http://www.mnh.si.edu/ants/index.html">new ant exhibit </a>at the Smithsonian, which features, among other things, Walter Tschinkel's lovely <a href="http://illustrationrevealed.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/interview-walter-tschinkel/">casts of ant colonies</a>. Which reminded me of a <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2009/05/25/coaxing-bees-into-ma.html">recent post on BoingBoing </a>featuring <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/art/features/51163/">Hilary Berseth's beehive art.</a> The article, explaining how he gets his bees to build their honeycomb structure in just a certain way, is fascinating. And check out the <a href="http://www.mnh.si.edu/ants/photogallery/index.htm">Smithsonian website </a>for a nice photo gallery of where ants live.<br /><a href="http://www.bio.fsu.edu/graphics/Ants7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 171px; height: 228px;" src="http://www.bio.fsu.edu/graphics/Ants7.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mnh.si.edu/ants/photogallery/images/Shelter_G_092_111453.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 188px; height: 165px;" src="http://www.mnh.si.edu/ants/photogallery/images/Shelter_G_092_111453.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://craphound.com/images/asdfasjfdsksjdfhlksdjfhlskdjfh9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 177px; height: 230px;" src="http://craphound.com/images/asdfasjfdsksjdfhlksdjfhlskdjfh9.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-80184002309050481652009-05-22T15:37:00.003-04:002009-05-22T16:19:20.508-04:00Multiple Choice questionWhich of the following headlines are real (real as in they are the titles of serious news stories)<br /><ol><li>Ants have magnets in their antennae</li><li>Ants Demand 23.9-Hour Workday</li><li>Brain-Controlling Flies to Triumph Over Alien Ants?</li><li>Magneto-ants pump iron</li><li>Ant Farm Teaches Children About Toil, Death</li><li>FOR KIDS: Night of the living ants </li><li>Children bitten by ants, mother arrested</li><li>Zombie ants walk the earth in East Texas</li><li>Study Shows Ants Can Smell Their Fallen Comrades</li><li>Latest pest-control attempt: Turn fire ants into zombies</li></ol><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Answer: all of them except for #2 and #5</span>Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-82322504202128351292009-05-14T10:00:00.004-04:002009-05-14T16:26:38.569-04:00So, you want to be a citizen scientist?<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3207/3145657392_41d35eb670.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 372px; height: 248px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3207/3145657392_41d35eb670.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/christmasbirdcount/pool/">Christmas Bird Count (Pool)</a> Flickr group<br /></span></div><br />I am slowly trying to get myself back into the blogging swing of things. Here is a CNN article from a couple of weeks ago that caught my eye. I love the idea of citizen scientists:<br /><br /><blockquote>(CNN) -- As a hobby, Suzie Jirachareonkul, a teacher and mother of two, spends many of her nights searching for endangered toads on the country roads near her home outside Cape Town, South Africa.<br /><br />She often finds them flattened on the street.<br /><br />"They're so beautiful and it's just really hard to live with, especially when you're living on the road right here," the 33-year-old said of the toad deaths. "So we started doing something about it. We started saving them off the road in the middle of the rain."<br /><br />When a scientist caught onto her efforts, Jirachareonkul and a friend assembled about 20 volunteers -- a group she calls the "Toad NUTS" -- to collect data on the endangered Western Leopard Toad.<br /><br />The information they collect is being used in scientific research.<br /><br />Read more <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/05/04/citizen.science.climate.change/">here</a><br /></blockquote><br />Some other interesting sites about citizen science:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">NatureNews</span> article: <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090422/full/458959a.html">Personal technology: Phoning in data -- Far from being just an accessory, mobile phones are starting to be used to collect data in an increasing number of disciplines. Roberta Kwok looks into their potential.</a></li><li><a href="http://citizensci.com/">http://citizensci.com/</a> A weblog about<span style="font-weight: bold;"> citizen science projects</span></li><li>blog post from <span style="font-weight: bold;">Science Progress</span>: <a href="http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/07/harnessing-citizen-scientists/">Harnessing Citizen Scientists -- Let’s Create a Very Public Office of Technology Assessment</a></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">CNN</span> story: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/03/26/pp.bird.usgs/index.html?iref=newssearch">Ninety years of birdwatchers' notes going online</a></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Science Cheerleader</span> blog post: <a href="http://sciencecheerleader.com/2008/03/citizen_scientists_theyre_all_the_rage/">Citizen Scientists: They’re All the Rage</a></li><li>Fill out this <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://sciencecheerleader.com/2009/01/calling_all_citizen_scientists/">Online Citizen Science Survey</a></li><li>And, yes, <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/04/future-iphone-app-may-identify-trees-from-photos/">an iPhone app is coming</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">....</span></li></ul>Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-91202607845598660742009-05-08T11:36:00.008-04:002009-12-07T17:06:51.250-05:00Look! A Paper!<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;">Diversity of ground-dwelling ants in primary and secondary forests in Amazonian Ecuador</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial;">Kari T. Ryder Wilkie, Amy L. Mertl & James F.A. Traniello</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Abstract</span>: An inventory of the ground-dwelling ant faunas of primary and secondary forests at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Amazonian Ecuador revealed a total of 101 ant species in 32 genera. Eighty species were collected from the primary forest, while 65 species were collected from the secondary forest. Species overlap between the two sites was low (42.6%) and the composition was significantly different (p<0.0001). Actual species richness was estimated to be 126 species for primary forest and 110 for secondary forest. The most species-rich genus in both habitats was Pheidole (21 species), which was also the most widespread genus, occurring in 38 of 40 collection sites. In the primary forest, in addition to Pheidole (18 species), the most species-rich genera were Crematogaster (8 species), and Pachycondyla (7 species), whereas Pheidole (17 species), Camponotus (5 species), and Pachycondyla (5 species) were the most species-rich genera in the secondary forest. These results are consistent with past studies showing that the number of ant species in secondary forest increases with time from disturbance and may approach that of primary forest within several decades, but that species composition may take significantly longer to resemble that of the original ant assemblage. The prevalence of different ant functional groups in the two habitats is discussed and the results compared to similar studies in Australia and North America. <br />
</div><br />
<span style="text-decoration: line-through;"><a href="http://www.myrmecologicalnews.org/cms/images/pdf/online_earlier/mn12_139-147_non-printable.pdf" style="font-family: arial;">Ryder Wilkie KT, Mertl AL, Traniello JFA. 2009. Diversity of ground-dwelling ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in primary and secondary forests in Amazonian Ecuador. Myrmecological News 12: 139-147 published Online Earlier 20 April 2009</a></span><br />
<br />
UPDATE: <a href="http://people.bu.edu/karitr/PDF/FINAL-PDF-Ryder-Wilkie&al%202009.pdf">printable version</a>Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-41959071609001072382009-02-21T13:22:00.004-05:002009-02-21T13:35:28.900-05:00Rod Page talks taxonomy<div align="center"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://vsmith.info/files/images/TalkScienceFlyerMed.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 126px; height: 179px;" src="http://vsmith.info/files/images/TalkScienceFlyerMed.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://vsmith.info/files/images/GoingDigitalFlyerMed.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 133px; height: 178px;" src="http://vsmith.info/files/images/GoingDigitalFlyerMed.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />If I lived in London, this is what I would be doing on March 17th:<br /><p><a href="http://taxonomy.zoology.gla.ac.uk/rod/rod.html"></a></p><blockquote><p><a href="http://taxonomy.zoology.gla.ac.uk/rod/rod.html">Rod Page</a>, Professor of Taxonomy at <a href="http://www.gla.ac.uk/">Glasgow University</a> will be giving two talks in London about taxonomy on March 17th. These will be at the <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/">Natural History Museum</a> and later at the <a href="http://www.bl.uk/">British Library</a>. Details as follows:</p><p> <strong>"<em>Going digital: what's in it for taxonomy and taxonomists?</em>"<br /></strong>Flett Theatre, NHM from 11-12.30, refreshments from 10.30.</p><p><em><strong>"What's in a name: Taxonomy in Crisis"</strong></em><br />British Library, 18-20.30.</p></blockquote><p></p><p>Via <a href="http://vsmith.info/Talking-Taxonomy">Vince Smith's blog</a><br /></p>Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-15717940334460449822009-02-19T19:43:00.002-05:002009-02-19T19:53:28.048-05:00Kaspari & Davidson receive NSF funds to work on BCI<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://stri.org/english/about_stri/headline_news/thumbnail.php?id=942"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 345px;" src="http://stri.org/english/about_stri/headline_news/thumbnail.php?id=942" alt="" border="0" /></a>Good stuff from the <a href="http://stri.org/index.php">Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute</a>:<br /><blockquote>NSF granted funds to do research on BCNM to STRI research associate Michael Kaspari from the University of Oklahoma ($324K) and Adam Kay Davidson, St. Thomas University ($316K) for the project “Toward stoichiometric theory of ant ecology--from colony performance to community composition," on Barro Colorado Nature Monument. This project explores a basic goal of evolutionary ecology: to understand how organisms respond to environmental challenges and to scale that information up to predict the behavior of communities and ecosystems.<br /><br />The big goal is to detail the natural history of 50-75 common ant species, link their reproductive biology to the colony's niche, and access the degree to which those niches are phenol typically plastic.</blockquote>Also of interest is the fact that this was announced through their <a href="http://twitter.com/smithsonianrss">Twitter feed</a>. Rock on Smithsonian!Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-74537778289837630682009-02-17T16:48:00.003-05:002009-02-17T17:33:50.379-05:00Videos on EOL<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxRsYixtLmLiUqyUHNprfcgGT-c9vbpQv_YOl6nXwv05d-mmXDfKSJZdXSqmnhKEO6Vq4GhrrQvPxGhS5Sro4WdHz86PNsunBZc0L-KZ1URqt6WF_odot7SphRqlbGG-lzPcK/s1600-h/beevideo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxRsYixtLmLiUqyUHNprfcgGT-c9vbpQv_YOl6nXwv05d-mmXDfKSJZdXSqmnhKEO6Vq4GhrrQvPxGhS5Sro4WdHz86PNsunBZc0L-KZ1URqt6WF_odot7SphRqlbGG-lzPcK/s320/beevideo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303897943540937602" border="0" /></a>Looks like the Encyclopedia of Life is now indexing videos as well as images from Flickr. Just upload your videos to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/encyclopedia_of_life">EOL group in Flickr</a> and tag it with with a species name. The videos will should then be featured in EOL species pages. The <a href="http://www.eol.org/pages/1045608">Honeybee</a><a href="http://www.eol.org/pages/1045608"> (Apis mellifera)</a> page has an example. From EOL:<br /><blockquote>Since the group began less than 6 months ago contributors have submitted over 13,000 photos and now over 200 videos which are shown in EOL species pages. Follow the instructions on our group homepage and learn how to submit and tag your photos and videos. We encourage everyone to check out the EOL Flickr group and start submitting photos and videos today!</blockquote>So.... let's get some ant videos up there!Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-67770017866252667732009-02-13T09:14:00.002-05:002009-02-13T09:19:22.214-05:00SPADE update<span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><div><div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">"Dear Collegues/Friends and SPADE Users,</span></div></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Thank you for your use/interest/request of SPADE program in the past. (SPADE: Species Prediction And Diversity Estimation). I also thank many users for very helpful comments and feedbacks, which have led substantial improvement in SPADE. Now SPADE has been recently updated/modified and added two new parts: multiple-community similarity/diversity measures and genetic applications. In the genetic application part, we have featured Jost's differentiation measure</span></div> <div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">D proposed in Jost (2008, Molecular Ecology,17, 4015-4026).<br /><br />The latest version of SPADE <span style="color:#ff0000;">(2009/Feb 13 Version)</span> and the revised User Guide now can be freely downloaded online from </span><a href="http://chao.stat.nthu.edu.tw/softwareCE.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">http://chao.stat.nthu.edu.tw/<wbr>softwareCE.html </span></a><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">by just clicking SPADE there. The installation procedures have been greatly simplified. Please also note that the data input format for frequency or abundance data in one community case has been properly modified in order to be consistent with data format for multiple communities. Your comments, thoughts and suggestions are </span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">always welcome."</span></div> <div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">.</span></div> <div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Best regards, Anne Chao</span></div> <div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Tsing Hua Distinguished Chair Professor</span></div> <div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Institute of Statistics</span></div> <div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">National Tsing Hua University</span></div> <div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Hsin-Chu, TAIWAN </span></div> <div><a href="http://chao.stat.nthu.edu.tw/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">http://chao.stat.nthu.edu.tw</span></a></div></blockquote></div><a href="http://chao.stat.nthu.edu.tw/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></a>Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-2340493814234517372009-02-13T02:09:00.002-05:002009-02-13T02:17:54.026-05:00Slogging through the setbacksI have been out of commission for awhile with severe bronchitis and something called hyper-reactive airway syndrome, whatever that means. I spent 2 days in the hospital and am currently working from home because doing things like going outside in the cold distresses my lungs. At what point did I become an old person? I am back to working on my big paper and will hopefully have more to say on that matter soon. Cheers!Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-60083025311150382002009-01-13T09:17:00.000-05:002009-01-13T09:17:00.695-05:00Ant links to check out<ul><li><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/01/linnaeus_legacy_no_15_sorting.php">Linnaeus' Legacy 15: Sorting it all ou</a>t</li></ul><blockquote>"The latest edition of <i>Linnaeus' Legacy</i> is up at <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/01/linnaeus_legacy_no_15_sorting.php">Greg Laden's Blog</a>. This month's keywords: <i>Not, a third of it is in Latin, now you get it for free, dahlias, something about the way, littlest sauropodomorph, martini, can of worms, Jocko, finches on mescaline, wench, tricks, oriole, parrots, bucket full of gasoline, extinction"</i></blockquote><ul><li><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V5X-4V995WJ-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=29c0dd27385516a4856e753ecf69dadd">Species compensation maintains abundance and raid rates of African swarm-raiding army ants in rainforest fragments</a></li></ul><blockquote>"Our study demonstrates that habitat fragmentation may have a differential effect on two ecologically highly similar keystone species. Moreover, it shows that species compensation might help in maintaining an important ecosystem function (i.e. raiding by swarm-raiding army ants) in fragmented tropical rainforests."</blockquote><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090108121616.htm"><blockquote></blockquote></a><ul><li><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090108121616.htm">How cheating ants give themselves away</a></li></ul><blockquote>"According to research findings published in the journal <i>Current Biology</i> on Jan. 8, hydrocarbons on the outside cuticle of fertile ants form 'a particular chemical signature blend.' A cocktail that an ant apparently can't deny, cover up, or lie about and which brands a cheater much like the red "A" on the bosom of Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter.'"</blockquote><ul><li><a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/sent/2009/00000034/00000001/art00005">Evolution of the Neotropical ant genus Linepithema</a> by Alex Wild</li></ul><blockquote><br /></blockquote><ul><li><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/bloggingtheorigin/2009/01/variation_under_domestication.php">Origin of Species read along</a><br /></li></ul>Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-69242129375490097882009-01-05T15:27:00.009-05:002009-01-05T15:46:08.594-05:00Look! Pretty pictures!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://myrmecos.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/swarm241.jpg?w=500&h=328"><img style="display: block; text-align: center; width: 369px; height: 241px;" src="http://myrmecos.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/swarm241.jpg?w=500&h=328" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />You know how you get sometimes when you have been working on a revision of a revision of a revision and you are just so tired of the stupid thing you can barely even look at it let alone work on it? Well, that is where I am right now. So... here are some pretty pics of a leafcutter ant mating swarm in Arizona from (who else?) <a href="http://myrmecos.wordpress.com/2009/01/04/on-gossamer-wings/">myrmecos</a>.Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-79546140741326296022009-01-05T01:30:00.000-05:002009-01-05T15:13:53.312-05:00Ants Digging the Web<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.squareoak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/leaf-cutter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 121px;" src="http://www.squareoak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/leaf-cutter.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>While looking for info on <a href="http://theantroom.blogspot.com/2008/12/ants.html">Ants, Nature's Secret Power</a>, I stumbled across <a href="http://www.squareoak.com/blog/why-ants-know-more-about-digg-than-you-do-social-voting-models/">this post</a> comparing ants laying trails to social voting sites like Digg and Reddit. Ants do everything first!Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-14422426396049922072008-12-30T10:19:00.006-05:002008-12-30T17:52:27.577-05:00Myrmecos reviews the year in ants<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://myrmecos.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/cephalotes47.jpg?w=400&h=268"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://myrmecos.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/cephalotes47.jpg?w=400&h=268" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >image: <a href="http://myrmecos.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/cephalotes47.jpg?w=400&h=268"></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Alex Wild</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">via <a href="http://myrmecos.wordpress.com/2008/12/29/2008-the-year-in-ants/">myrmecos</a>:<br /><strong></strong><strong></strong><blockquote><ul><li><strong>The Demise of the Standard Ant</strong>. That is the title of a <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/105/13/5150">review by Juergen Heinze</a>, but the idea that our basic conception of how ant colonies work is overly simplistic receives plenty of additional support from the research community. For instance, <a href="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/591688">Smith <em>et al</em></a> document the complexity of caste determination in <em>Pogonomyrmex badius</em>, while <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/322/5901/552">Schwander & Keller</a> find likewise in <em>P. rugosus. </em>Meanwhile, <a href="http://journals.royalsociety.org/content/64p04h25t0096r57/">Dobata <em>et al</em></a> show some supposed queens of <em>Pristomyrmex punctata</em> are actually parasites, and <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/105/13/5150">Hughes <em>et al</em></a> find parasitic patrilines among the attines.</li><li><strong>The Eureka Ant</strong>. A potential sister lineage to all living ants is discovered when Christian Rabeling and Manfred Verhaagh find <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2008/09/13/0806187105.abstract"><em>Martialis heureka</em> wandering about in Amazonian leaf litter</a> near Manaus, Brazil. We gain a subfamily, Martialinae, and a great deal new to ponder about ant evolution.</li><li><strong>Ant Genomes.</strong> The Howard Hughes Medical Institute <a href="http://www.hhmi.org/news/reinberg_20081120.html">announces the funding</a> of not one, but <em>three </em>ant genomes. While we won’t see the assembled data for a good while yet, the genomes are certain to become a gold mine for many different areas of myrmecology. The announcement comes on the heels of Tsutsui <em>et al’</em>sstudy on <a href="http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/8/64">the evolution of genome size in ants</a>.</li><li><strong>Elephants and giraffes</strong> are a <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/319/5860/192">pivotal part of Africa’s famed ant-acacia mutualisms</a>. Palmer <em>et al</em> experimentally removed large mammals from the system to find that the ant-acacia relationship broke down.</li><li><strong>Attine fungus-growing ants</strong> have a big year, with Schultz & Brady producing <a href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0711024105v1">a detailed phylogeny of the attini</a>, Bacci <em>et al</em> publishing a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2008.11.005">phylogeny of the leafcutting genus <em>Atta</em></a>, Mueller <em>et al</em> showing that some of the microbes in the system are <a href="http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121388044/abstract">not as co-evolved as had been thought</a>, and Hughes <em>et al</em> documenting an <a href="http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120084353/abstract">abrupt shift in anti-microbial gland size</a> in the leaf-cutting attine genera.</li><li><strong>Parasitic nematodes</strong> turn their ant hosts into <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080116142805.htm">bird-attracting berries</a> so that they can spread to new ants via tasty bird poop. This, according to <a href="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/528968">work by Yanoviak<em> et al</em></a>.</li><li><strong><em>Lasius neglectus’ </em></strong>transition to invasiveness receives thorough documentation in a. The team concludes that pre-existing traits may have combined with human activity to assist an escape from parasites. A new pest is born.</li><li><strong>The ant evolutionary tree</strong> receives a boost as systematists produce species-level histories of the genera <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2008.02.020"><em>Pheidole</em></a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2008.11.005"><em>Atta</em></a>, <a href="http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/8/237/abstract"><em>Lasius</em></a>, <a href="http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/abstract/211/14/2358"><em>Odontomachus</em></a>, and <em><a href="http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121462256/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0">Linepithema</a>.</em></li><li><strong>Suicidal <em>Forelius </em>workers</strong> provide a stark example of altruism when they <a href="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/591688">regularly close themselves out of the nest in the process of sealing it from attackers</a>. As recorded by <a href="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/591688">Tofilski <em>et al</em></a>.</li><li><strong>Treehoppers in trouble call ants</strong>. According to <a href="http://journals.royalsociety.org/content/0554713525741p65/">Morales <em>et al</em></a>, when hoppers get in trouble with lady beetles they issue audio signals. These attract ants that chase off the carnivorous coccinellids.<strong><br /></strong></li><li><strong>GP-9 demystified.</strong> The enigmatic gp-9 was the first gene to be associated with social behavior in ants, marking the difference between single and multiple queen colonies of the fire ant <em>Solenopsis invicta</em>. A study by <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.1000127">Wang <em>et al</em></a> showed that the gp-9 locus might not directly cause the difference itself; instead, it primarily affects gene expression at a small number of other loci, many associated with chemical communication. If you’re wondering what the future holds for myrmecology, pay attention. These sorts of genomic studies will become much more common as researchers begin to dissect the links between genetics and social behavior.</li></ul></blockquote></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Read more <a href="http://myrmecos.wordpress.com/2008/12/29/2008-the-year-in-ants/">here</a>.<br /><br /></div>Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-5774465280535857072008-12-30T00:03:00.003-05:002008-12-30T01:29:24.579-05:00Leafcutter ant colony + 10 tons of cement = awesome documentary<p><object width="425" height="350"><param value="http://youtube.com/v/xQERRbU23bU" name="movie"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://youtube.com/v/xQERRbU23bU" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br />This video is from a documentary titled <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ants! Natures Secret Power</span>. I saw it on <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2008/12/11/excavation-of-an-ant.html">BoingBoing</a> recently, but it appears to have been around for years. Based on Bert Hölldobler’s research, it shows the excavation of a full sized leafcutter ant colony filled with 10 tons of cement ala <a href="http://www.nhmag.com/master.html?http://www.nhmag.com/0401/0401_feature.html">Walter Tschinkel</a>. Yup. I haven't seen the full documentary but the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQERRbU23bU">YouTube clip</a> is amazing. What I really want to know is what happened to this ten ton cement colony afterwards? <br /><br /><span class="style_4">If you happen to be in Oklahoma on March 24th, it appears that there will be a <a href="http://www.ou.edu/darwin/Site/Calendar/Calendar.html">showing </a>at the University of Oklahoma. The word on the street is that it is well worth watching. </span><br /></div>Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-46858183489684206642008-12-23T07:25:00.001-05:002008-12-23T23:50:15.195-05:00More mystery ants<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxw7l6_TdTBeyKXuZteQUykzEWUEH114qzaHscNGNWkLnlof9RyLOtUpPp-rspIE0xeuhBFuSo8F2gnIqf-TulWs5BI3cyTPAbSTbNqdL6pVBEFis-cHxGfF6f1KirtCtfUkz/s1600-h/11c.+leaf+shelter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxw7l6_TdTBeyKXuZteQUykzEWUEH114qzaHscNGNWkLnlof9RyLOtUpPp-rspIE0xeuhBFuSo8F2gnIqf-TulWs5BI3cyTPAbSTbNqdL6pVBEFis-cHxGfF6f1KirtCtfUkz/s320/11c.+leaf+shelter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282776038798267218" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOa4RsgDEKLWkLIdQkKiE3WU5tTpp3SDvcoQ1j2DByGXW7ESQt2l_2juOGTSqH8bXQ0s-8RB_dBVe2dk4CoZ5uuIurCWo8Xc0Bz7H445s_l9bYJI9TJxmEEQhj_zmAQj5mr0-/s1600-h/11a.+leaf+shelter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOa4RsgDEKLWkLIdQkKiE3WU5tTpp3SDvcoQ1j2DByGXW7ESQt2l_2juOGTSqH8bXQ0s-8RB_dBVe2dk4CoZ5uuIurCWo8Xc0Bz7H445s_l9bYJI9TJxmEEQhj_zmAQj5mr0-/s320/11a.+leaf+shelter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282776030539616802" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Once again, these photos were taken by Kelly Swing at Tiputini Biodiversity Station.Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-72533420753011471252008-12-21T23:11:00.003-05:002008-12-21T23:43:52.926-05:00Mystery ant!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhET5UYmq0GRsZqp7K5SMj50zfop7iBjrJoKakuU5TVni3PlHfxq_UcPUh7IkNerOiFVwhN_BP5sflxv2B2kPCTcxOkGcxn84EyY_z_lctpAK1onRWBIDAXA6Be0wfiSNBzd7Di/s1600-h/26.+unknown+ant.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhET5UYmq0GRsZqp7K5SMj50zfop7iBjrJoKakuU5TVni3PlHfxq_UcPUh7IkNerOiFVwhN_BP5sflxv2B2kPCTcxOkGcxn84EyY_z_lctpAK1onRWBIDAXA6Be0wfiSNBzd7Di/s400/26.+unknown+ant.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282469245684752754" border="0" /></a>So, anybody know what this ant is? This photo was taken by Kelly Swing at Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Ecuador. More mystery ants are coming....<br /><img src="file:///F:/WD%20Sync%20Data/My%20Documents/Current/KellysAnts/26.%20unknown%20ant.JPG" alt="" />Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27467204.post-28804499612777683272008-12-08T19:14:00.010-05:002008-12-12T17:54:49.530-05:00A few interesting links<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZcR1RWPzASXh6GWtgegm7ovaXs48Kews-zOgpH43GSMPbkUxRiUioDDXTzcHAOXDPn3VafUcCgMCh6g8BPqGwh0CfctFu6ZZiz99mc482ToXSjaL4pxsZYiitMWHozcKUr40j/s1600-h/anteater.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZcR1RWPzASXh6GWtgegm7ovaXs48Kews-zOgpH43GSMPbkUxRiUioDDXTzcHAOXDPn3VafUcCgMCh6g8BPqGwh0CfctFu6ZZiz99mc482ToXSjaL4pxsZYiitMWHozcKUr40j/s320/anteater.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279040662887632482" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><ul><li>Roberto Keller has started a blog <a href="http://roberto.kellerperez.com/">Archetype: Ant reconstruction one homology at a time</a>. </li><li><a href="http://www.collectionsweb.org/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">CollectionsWeb: Building a Community of Natural History Collections</span></a></li><li><a href="http://www.redantspants.com/index.php">Red Ants Pants</a>: Workpants for women. Why not?</li><li><a href="http://www.threadless.com/product/963/Amazon_Addiction">Cool ant T-shirt</a> on Threadless. And <a href="http://www.threadless.com/product/971/Anthill_trap?streetteam=needleful">another one</a>.<br /></li><li>Some <a href="http://courtney-kim.blogspot.com/2008/12/opening-night-new-works.html">disturbing art involving ants</a> from Courtney Kim</li><li><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3328480/Otto-the-octopus-wrecks-havoc.html">Otto the octopus wreaks havoc</a> -- so bored he juggles hermit crabs</li><li><a href="http://www.metapress.com/content/k8l5474170581332/">Chill out</a>: cooling promotes aggressive behavior in ant</li></ul>Kari T. Ryder Wilkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00759385993269504640noreply@blogger.com1