Collaborative Research (RUI): Toward a stoichiometric theory of ant ecology--from colony performance to community composition

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The chemical composition of living organisms reflects their evolution, their traits, and the environment in which they exist. Differences in the availability of certain resources, and in particular a scarcity of a chemical resource that is critical for the expression of a particular trait, may restrict the abundance of some species. The extent to which a specific set of traits, starvation resistance, worker size, colony size, colony growth rate, and colony tempo, is linked to chemical composition and nutrient availability will be tested in a diverse community of litter ants in a lowland tropical rainforest of Panama. Experimental manipulations of particular nutrients will be used to test whether nutrient availability can shift the species composition of the ant community in ways that are consistent with observed correlations between species traits and chemical composition. This project in tropical biodiversity science is an excellent entry point to evolutionary ecology for students, and undergraduates will participate in all phases of the research. The familiarity and experimental tractability of ants make them an ideal instructional tool, and the multiple research foci of the project will provide opportunities for students to acquire a diversity of skills. The field work, set on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, will expose students to the dynamic research culture of an international field station. Together, these experiences should provide students with the skills, knowledge, and motivation to pursue a career in science.