The Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of The Ants render the extraordinary lives of the social insects in this visually spectacular volume.The Superorganism promises to be one of the most important scientific works published in this decade. Coming eighteen years after the publication of The Ants, this new volume expands our knowledge of the social insects (among them, ants, bees, wasps, and termites) and is based on remarkable research conducted mostly within the last two decades. These superorganisms—a tightly knit colony of individuals, formed by altruistic cooperation, complex communication, and division of labor—represent one of the basic stages of biological organization, midway between the organism and the entire species. The study of the superorganism, as the authors demonstrate, has led to important advances in our understanding of how the transitions between such levels have occurred in evolution and how life as a whole has progressed from simple to complex forms. Ultimately, this book provides a deep look into a part of the living world hitherto glimpsed by only a very few.
Author(s): Bert Hölldobler, Edward O. Wilson
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Year: 2008
Language: English
Commentary: This is a complete rework in Abby Reader of the 'worse' file md5=48E2004013F7C0302C902E20B6C281F1, in view of producing a high quality html edition of the book. See companion entry (zip html). [UL, V1]
Pages: 536
NOTE TO THE GENERAL READER xvi
CHAPTER 1 THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SUPERORGANISM 3
Why Colonies Are Superior 5
The Construction of Superorganisms 6
The Levels of Organization 7
Eusociality and the Superorganism 8
A Brief History of Insect Sociobiology 10
CHAPTER 2 GENETIC SOCIAL EVOLUTION 15
An Abridged History of the Genetic Theory of Social Evolution 16
Multilevel Natural Selection 24
The Evolution of Eusociality 29
Crossing the Eusociality Threshold 31
Countervailing Forces of Selection 42
Passing the Point of No Return 42
CHAPTER 3 SOCIOGENESIS 51
The Colony Life Cycle 53
Social Algorithms 53
Self-Organization and Emergence 58
Phylogenetic Inertia and Dynamic Selection 60
CHAPTER 4 THE GENETIC EVOLUTION OF DECISION RULES
The Genetic Origin and Further Evolution of Eusociality Sociogenetics and Sociogenomics Honeybee Sociogenomics Sociogenomic Conservation The Fire Ant Case
Genetic Variation and Phenotypic Plasticity
CHAPTER 5 THE DIVISION OF LABOR
Parallels: Organism and Superorganism The Ecology of Caste Systems The Evolution of Caste: Principles Dominance Orders in Caste Determination Temporal Castes
The Physiology of Temporal Castes Genetic Variability in Caste Differentiation Memory in Division of Labor Task Switching and Behavior Plasticity Child Labor
Genetic Caste Determination Nongenetic Caste Determination Worker Subcastes
The Physiology and Evolution of Physical Castes
Adaptive Demography
Teamwork
The Larger Picture
CHAPTER 6 COMMUNICATION
Dance Communication in Honeybees Communication in Ant Societies
The Evolution of Ant Recruitment Signals and Trail Guides Design and Functional Efficiency of Pheromones Behavioral Modes of Recruitment Communication The Extreme Multiple Recruitment System of Weaver Ants Multimodal Signals, Parsimony, and Ritualization [Page XII]
Message and Meaning 229
Modulatory Communication 231
Motor Displays in Recruitment Communication 235
Environmental Correlates of Recruitment Systems 247
The Measurement of Information 251
Tactile Communication and Trophallaxis 252
The Social Bucket 259
Visual Communication 267
Anonymity and Specificity of Chemical Signals 270
Necrophoric Behavior 273
Nestmate Recognition 275
Within-Colony Recognition 288
Recognition of Brood 299
Communicating Resource-Holding Potential Among Colonies 301
Conclusion 309
CHAPTER 7 THE RISE OF THE ANTS 313
The Origin of Ants 315
The Early Radiation of the Ants 318
The Cenozoic Radiation 320
The Ponerine Paradox 322
The Tropical Arboreal Ants 328
The Dynastic-Succession Hypothesis 330
CHAPTER 8 PONERINE ANTS: THE GREAT RADIATION 333
The Social Regulation of Reproduction 334
Harpegnathos: Life Cycle of a Colonial Architect 336
Dinoponera: Giant "Worker Queens" 355
Queens, Workers, Gamergates in Permutations 364
Diacamma: Regulating Reproduction by Mutilation 366
Streblognathus: Dominance and Fertility Uncoupled 373
Gamergates versus Ergatoid Queens 376
Pachycondyla fochi: Mass Termite Raiders 378
Ergatoid Queens and Army Ants 380
Pachycondyla: Sociobiologically the Most Diverse Ant Genus 382 [Page XIII]
Platythyrea punctata: Extreme Plasticity in Reproduction 394
Aggression and Dominance: Origin and Loss 397
Harpegnathos: Resilience in Reproductive Behavior 397
Colony Size as an Ecological Adaptation 398
Pachycondyla: Hyperdiversity Summarized 404
CHAPTER 9 THE ATTINE LEAFCUTTERS:
THE ULTIMATE SUPERORGANISMS 407
The Attine Breakthrough 408
The Ascent of the Leafcutters 411
The Atta Life Cycle 412
The Atta Caste System 426
Harvesting Vegetation 430
Communication in Atta 439
The Ant-Fungus Mutualism 445
Hygiene in the Symbiosis 449
Waste Management 454
Agropredators and Agroparasites 456
Leafcutter Nests 457
Trails and Trunk Routes 463
CHAPTER 10 NEST ARCHITECTURE AND HOUSE HUNTING 469
The Analysis of Nest Architecture 470
How Architecture Is Achieved 473
The Process of Stigmergy 479
House Hunting and Colony Emigration 481
EPILOGUE 501
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 503
GLOSSARY 505
INDEX 515
