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Evolutionary ecology

Pax Argentinica

Nature volume 405, pages 519–520 (2000)Cite this article

Colonizing species often lose genetic variation. Usually this has harmful effects, but in Argentine ants it has led to loss of clan warfare and formation of supercolonies that overwhelm native species.

In the first and second centuries, most of the Mediterranean region flourished under the Pax Romana. Wars with foreign enemies continued at the frontiers, but the peaceful core of the empire gave border provinces the advantage of friendly forces at their flanks and rear. A paper by Tsutsui and colleagues, just published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences1, shows how a biological version of this system has been reinvented by the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile. The study yields some fascinating insights into the causes of both ecological and evolutionary success.

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Figure 1: In combat — Argentine ants fighting.

© MARC S. DANTZKER 2000

References

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  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University, PO Box 1892, Houston, 77251-1892, Texas, USA

    David C. Queller

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  1. David C. Queller
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Correspondence to David C. Queller.

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Queller, D. Pax Argentinica. Nature 405, 519–520 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35014705

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