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
CONTENTS
NOTE TO THE GENERAL READER
1 THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SUPERORGANISM
WHY COLONIES ARE SUPERIOR
THE CONSTRUCTION OF SUPERORGANISMS
THE LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION
EUSOCIALITY AND THE SUPERORGANISM
A BRIEF HISTORY OF INSECT SOCIOBIOLOGY
2 GENETIC SOCIAL EVOLUTION
AN ABRIDGED HISTORY OF THE GENETIC THEORY OF SOCIAL EVOLUTION
MULTILEVEL NATURAL SELECTION
THE EVOLUTION OF EUSOCIALITY
CROSSING THE EUSOCIALITY THRESHOLD
COUNTERVAILING FORCES OF SELECTION
PASSING THE POINT OF NO RETURN
3 SOCIOGENESIS
THE COLONY LIFE CYCLE
SOCIAL ALGORITHMS
SELF-ORGANIZATION AND EMERGENCE
PHYLOGENETIC INERTIA AND DYNAMIC SELECTION
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
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
CHILD LABOR
GENETIC CASTE DETERMINATION
NONGENETIC CASTE DETERMINATION
WORKER SUBCASTES
THE PHYSIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION OF PHYSICAL CASTES
ADAPTIVE DEMOGRAPHY
TEAMWORK
THE LARGER PICTURE
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
MESSAGE AND MEANING
MODULATORY COMMUNICATION
MOTOR DISPLAYS IN RECRUITMENT COMMUNICATION
ENVIRONMENTAL CORRELATES OF RECRUITMENT SYSTEMS
THE MEASUREMENT OF INFORMATION
TACTILE COMMUNICATION AND TROPHALLAXIS
THE SOCIAL BUCKET
VISUAL COMMUNICATION
ANONYMITY AND SPECIFICITY OF CHEMICAL SIGNALS
NECROPHORIC BEHAVIOR
NESTMATE RECOGNITION
WITHIN-COLONY RECOGNITION
RECOGNITION OF BROOD
COMMUNICATING RESOURCE-HOLDING POTENTIAL AMONG COLONIES
CONCLUSION
7 THE RISE OF THE ANTS
THE ORIGIN OF ANTS
THE EARLY RADIATION OF THE ANTS
THE CENOZOIC RADIATION
THE PONERINE PARADOX
THE TROPICAL ARBOREAL ANTS
THE DYNASTIC-SUCCESSION HYPOTHESIS
8 PONERINE ANTS: THE GREAT RADIATION
THE SOCIAL REGULATION OF REPRODUCTION
HARPEGNATHOS: LIFE CYCLE OF A COLONIAL ARCHITECT
DINOPONERA: GIANT "WORKER QUEENS"
QUEENS, WORKERS, GAMERGATES IN PERMUTATIONS
DIACAMMA: REGULATING REPRODUCTION BY MUTILATION
STREBLOGNATHUS: DOMINANCE AND FERTILITY UNCOUPLED
GAMERGATES VERSUS ERGATOID QUEENS
PACHYCONDYLA FOCHI: MASS TERMITE RAIDERS
ERGATOID QUEENS AND ARMY ANTS
PACHYCONDYLA: SOCIOBIOLOGICALLY THE MOST DIVERSE ANT GENUS
PLATYTHYREA PUNCTATA: EXTREME PLASTICITY IN REPRODUCTION
AGGRESSION AND DOMINANCE: ORIGIN AND LOSS
HARPEGNATHOS: RESILIENCE IN REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR
COLONY SIZE AS AN ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION
PACHYCONDYLA: HYPERDIVERSITY SUMMARIZED
9 THE ATTINE LEAFCUTTERS: THE ULTIMATE SUPERORGANISMS
THE ATTINE BREAKTHROUGH
THE ASCENT OF THE LEAFCUTTERS
THE ATTA LIFE CYCLE
THE ATTA CASTE SYSTEM
HARVESTING VEGETATION
COMMUNICATION IN ATTA
THE ANT-FUNGUS MUTUALISM
HYGIENE IN THE SYMBIOSIS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
AGROPREDATORS AND AGROPARASITES
LEAFCUTTER NESTS
TRAILS AND TRUNK ROUTES
10 NEST ARCHITECTURE AND HOUSE HUNTING
THE ANALYSIS OF NEST ARCHITECTURE
HOW ARCHITECTURE IS ACHIEVED
THE PROCESS OF STIGMERGY
HOUSE HUNTING AND COLONY EMIGRATION
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
GLOSSARY
INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
