Do Antbirds Help or Hinder Army Ants?

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In this activity, students examine the nature of the interaction between army ants and ant-following birds. Ant-following birds benefit from the relationship by staying just ahead of the ants and capturing prey animals that are disturbed by the ants. While early studies suggested that the birds' foraging might in turn benefit the ants, it is possible that the birds remove prey that the ants would capture. Using figures from a research paper, students determine whether the species interaction is mutualism, commensalism, or parasitism. Students design a hypothetical experiment to measure the effect of birds on army ant foraging success, interpret figures from a real experiment, and consider the consequences of the interaction on the ant colony and the forest community.

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Primary or BEN resource type	Assignment/activity (non-laboratory)
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Format	html
Ecological Core Concept	Interspecific interactions -- Parasitism and disease Interspecific interactions -- Mutualism, symbiosis, and commensalism Interspecific interactions
Drought & Water-Ecosystem Services Collection	Off
Conservation Targets Under Global Change Collection	Off
Big Data Collection	Off
Editor's Choice	No
Audience	Undergraduate upper division 15-16 Undergraduate lower division 13-14
Pedagogical Use Description	Teachers can use this activity to teach about the types of interactions between species and the behavior of army ants and ant-following birds. The activity provides instructions for students and also guides teachers through student-active teaching methods. Experimental design, data interpretation, and critical thinking are emphasized. The context of the activity highlights the importance of testing a hypothesized relationship with a controlled experiment when possible.
Keywords	parasitism, competition, ant-following bird, army ant, antbird, data interpretation, experimental design, foraging, predation
Key taxa	army ant, Eciton burchellii
Life science discipline (subject)	Ecology
Primary Author Controlled Name	Mark Kuhlmann
Primary Author Affiliation	Biology Department, Harwick College
Primary Author email	kuhlmannm@hartwick.edu
Rights	Author retains copyright
Resource Editor	Unknown
Reviewer A	Unknown
Reviewer B	Unknown
Date Of Record Submission	1999-11-30

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