Food Exploitation By Social Insects : Ecological, Behavioral, and Theoretical Approaches

Integrating the immense, but scattered, published data with contributions from preeminent active researchers, this book presents the most up-to-date information on foraging ecology, individual search and social recruitment behaviors, and theoretical models of foraging and food exploitation among ants, bees, and wasps. It employs mathematical models to map coordinate processes and unites traditional studies with theoretical approaches. By cross referencing information and concluding with a final synthesis chapter, the authors ensure a complete understanding of the interrelationship between various disciplines regarding foraging and food exploitation in social insects.

Omnipresent in virtually all terrestrial ecosystems and of undisputed ecological and economical importance, the study of social insects is an area that continues to attract a vast number of researchers. As a consequence, a huge amount of information about their biology and ecology has accumulated. Distilling this scattered information into a highly focused reference, Food Exploitation by Social Insects: Ecological, Behavioral, and Theoretical Approaches unites traditional behavioral and ecological studies with theoretical and mathematical models.

The book covers foraging ecology and behavior of social insects, their communication mechanisms, and theoretical models of important aspects. It examines two different but inseparably interlaced levels of social insect foraging: the macroscopic or colony level and the microscopic or individual level. The chapters include discussions of foraging decisions, patterns and strategies of social insect colonies, and information use and information transfer between workers. The book provides examples of how this biological knowledge can be used as a basis for the construction of mathematical and neural network models that in return may increase understanding of social insect foraging.

The contributors provide a fresh look on their topics, covering a wide range of subjects and recent scientific developments that are unprecedented in breadth and depth. The coverage of ants, bees, and wasps in one resource is a unique feature of the book. This taxonomic content combined with the variety of research approaches, allows the book to provide deeper insight into the subject.