Lizard Evolution and the Ants In Your Pants Dance

liza — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:29:52 +0000

Invasive red fire ants from South America have become a major pest in southwestern U.S., bringing their stinging venom and crop-destroying ways. In this edition of Field Talk, we catch up with Tracy Langkilde, assistant professor of biology at Penn State University, who studies one of the ants’ seemingly unlikely targets: eastern fence lizards. The lizards have evolved a novel twitching response that flicks attacking ants off their bodies. But in her paper in the January issue of Ecology, Dr. Langkilde explains that since native ants don’t normally attack lizards, this behavior must have evolved in a very short time.

Invasive fire ants alter behavior and morphology of native lizards

Tracy Langkilde

Ecology 2009 90:1, 208-217

Biocontrol Insects and the Mammals Who Love Them

liza — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:44:01 +0000

Managing biological invasions is one of ecology’s most difficult challenges. One controversial approach is the use of biocontrol agents, which involves transplanting an invasive’s natural enemies in an effort to control its spread. In this episode of Field Talk, Dean Pearson, a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service, talks about a grassland community in western Montana where a biocontrol insect has been introduced to control an invasive weed. His paper in the September issue of Ecological Applications shows that even the most carefully selected biocontrol agents can have complex and detrimental indirect effects on the community.

Invasive – Field Talk

Lizard Evolution and the Ants In Your Pants Dance

Biocontrol Insects and the Mammals Who Love Them