Ecology and Evolution of Myrmecophilous Associations
A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Ecology, Diversity and Conservation".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2024) | Viewed by 854
Special Issue Editors
Interests: chemical ecology; vibroacoustics; myrmecophily; butterflies; ants; social insects; pollinators
Interests: plant–insect interactions; coevolution; eusociality; communication; butterflies; ants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Associations with ants range from mutualistic to parasitic and can involve distantly related organisms. Since the first attempts to describe the amazing diversity of species interacting with ants, current research has dissected various aspects of these associations. Several studies have investigated the coevolution between partners, the morphological or behavioral adaptations, the communication signals involved in the interactions, and the relative fitness of partners using a multidisciplinary approach that enables tackling the complexity of these relationships.
We believe that the outcomes obtained so far will pave the way to understanding how myrmecophily could have played a pivotal role in the evolution and ecology of several organisms and shaped the community structure of many terrestrial ecosystems.
This Special Issue will focus on the underlying mechanisms fostering associations between ants and various organisms. We will target all groups of myrmecophiles in the broader sense, including insects but also other invertebrates, fungi, and plants. Physiological, ethological, and ecological studies are welcomed.
Dr. Luca Pietro Casacci
Dr. Francesca Barbero
Dr. Magdalena Witek
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- myrmecophily
- ants
- social parasitism
- mutualism
- trophobiosis
- host manipulation
- mimicry
- arthropods
- plants
- fungi
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