Johnson R A
Department of Biology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-1501, USA.
Annu Rev Entomol. 2001;46:1-29. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ento.46.1.1.
Seed-harvester ants are a dominant and conspicuous insect group throughout arid portions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, and they include approximately 75 species. Intense study in the late 1970s and early 1980s led to the paradigm that interspecific competition for limited seed resources is the primary factor that structures seed-harvester ant communities. This review attempts to adjust this paradigm, suggesting that interspecific competition for food is probably less important than previously thought, whereas intraspecific competition is common and strong. Abiotic-habitat factors also have important effects on local species composition and attributes. This review also emphasizes several aspects of seed-harvester ants that have been poorly studied, including historical factors, adaptive radiation, and biogeography, to provide a more detailed evolutionary background for understanding existing species assemblages.
收获种子的蚂蚁是美国西南部和墨西哥北部干旱地区的一个占主导地位且引人注目的昆虫群体，约有75个物种。20世纪70年代末和80年代初的深入研究形成了一种范式，即对有限种子资源的种间竞争是构建收获种子蚂蚁群落的主要因素。本综述试图调整这一范式，表明种间食物竞争可能没有之前认为的那么重要，而种内竞争则普遍且强烈。非生物栖息地因素也对当地物种组成和特征有重要影响。本综述还强调了收获种子蚂蚁几个研究较少的方面，包括历史因素、适应性辐射和生物地理学，以提供一个更详细的进化背景来理解现有的物种组合。
