| Weakling ants
cheat by pruning the trees
In the ant wars
raging through acacia trees, a perennial loser makes the novel defense
of pruning its tree, destroying bridges that invaders could use, and
sterilizing the tree in the process.
References:
Stanton, M.L., et
al. 1999. Sterilization and canopy modification of a swollen thorn
acacia tree by a plant-ant. Nature 401(Oct. 7):578.
Further Readings:
Hölldobler, B.,
and E.O. Wilson. 1990. The Ants. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
University Press.
Milius, S. 1998.
What good can nectar do a fern? Science News 153(May 30):344.
Sources:
Lee Dyer
Mesa State College
Western Colorado Center for Tropical Research
Grand Junction, CO 81502
Daniel H. Janzen
University of Pennsylvania
Department of Biology
301 Leidy Laboratories
415 South University Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Jack Longino
Evergreen State College
Laboratory 1
Olympia, WA 98505
Maureen L.
Stanton
University of California, Davis
Center for Population Biology
Davis, CA 95616
From Science
News, Vol. 156, No. 15, October 9, 1999, p. 231. Copyright © 1999,
Science Service. |