Herbivory of Leaf-Cutting Ants

1 About This Book.- 2 The Natural History of Leaf-Cutting Ants.- 3 The Study Area - Barro Colorado Island.- 4 Species Composition of the Forest.- 5 Forest Light Regimes.- 6 Canopy Structure of the Forest.- 7 Colony Dynamics.- 8 Harvest Dynamics.- 9 The Trail System.- 10 Host Plant Selection.- 11 Herbivory Rates.- 12 Herbivory and Light.- 13 Seed Dispersal by Leaf-Cutting Ants.- 14 Nutrient Cycling and Water Relations.- 15 Conclusions: Ecosystem Perspectives.- References.- Taxonomic Index.

Bert Hölldobler, Gründungsprofessor der Life Sciences an der Arizona State University und ehemaliger Professor für Zoologie an der Harvard University und der Universität Würzburg, hat zahlreiche Preise erhalten - einschliesslich des Pulitzer-Preises, den er sich mit Edward O.Wilson für das 1991 erschienene Werk The Ants teilt. Darüber hinaus erhielt Bert Hölldobler unter anderem den Wilhelm-Gottfried-Leibniz-Preis sowie den Alfried-Krupp-Wissenschaftspreis. Er lebt in Arizona und Deutschland.

From the reviews:

"... an impressive account of almost a decades work on the ecological importance of leaf-cutting ants. ... a fascinating monograph ... So if you are asked by your librarian this year for a "wish-list of books to buy" then this monograph on the true ecosystem engineers of the tropics should definietly be on it." (Phytocoenologia)

"This volume examines the interactions of leaf-cutting ants with the rainforest vegetation on Barro Colorado Islands in Central America. It is the synthesis of field research on multiple scales extending over a period of several years. This work can serve as a model study summarizing and extending knowledge about herbivorous insect-plant relationships ... . The text is an invaluable reference for researchers and land managers working in the fields of plant-animal interactions, herbivory, community ecology and biodiversity." (Ethology, Ecology & Evolution, Vol. 16 (2), 2004)

"The recently published book by R. Wirth and co-authors is an impressive account of almost a decades' work on the ecological importance of leaf-cutting ants. ... a fascinating monograph and hopefully an incentive for more, intensified research on the ecological impacts on leaf-cutting ants in the future. So if you are asked by your librarian this year for a 'wish-list of books to buy' then this monograph on the true ecosystem engineers of the tropics should definitely be on it." (Till Eggers, Phytocoenologia, Vol. 34 (1), 2004)