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.

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]. https://tiee.ecoed.net/vol/v4/issues/figure_sets/army_ants/abstract.html