THE ISSUE

The effects of species interactions are not always obvious. This issue examines the nature of the relationship between army ants and ant-following birds. Students will design a hypothetical experiment to measure the effect of birds on army ant foraging success, interpret the results of a real experiment, and consider the consequences of the interaction on the ant colony and the forest community.

NOTE: This Issue is different from other Figure Sets in TIEE in that students explore a specific question (in this case about mutualistic relationships) and uses figures from just one paper. The editors would welcome complimentary submissions for this Figure Set.

ECOLOGICAL CONTENT

interspecific interactions, mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, experimental design, foraging, social behavior

STUDENT-ACTIVE APPROACHES

turn-to-your-neighbor and informal group work

STUDENT ASSESSMENTS

design an experiment, essay, essay quiz

AUTHOR

Mark Kuhlmann

Biology Department, Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY 13820, kuhlmannm@hartwick.edu

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This figure set was developed and written with partial support from a Wandersee Scholar-in-Residence award from Hartwick College. It was greatly improved by input from students in Biol-225 at Hartwick College and suggestions by two reviewers.

CITATION

Kuhlmann, Mark. April 2006, posting date. Do Antbirds Help or Hinder Army Ants? Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology, Vol. 4: Issues Figure Set #1 [online]. http://tiee.ecoed.net/vol/v4/issues/figure_sets/army_ants/abstract.html