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Ants are a ubiquitous, highly diverse, and ecologically dominant faunal group. They represent a large proportion of global terrestrial faunal biomass and play key ecological roles as soil engineers, predators, and re-cyclers of nutrients. They have particularly important interactions with plants as defenders against herbivores, as seed dispersers, and as seed predators. One downside to the ecological importance of ants is that they feature on the list of the world’s worst invasive species. Ants have also been important for science as model organisms for studies of diversity, biogeography, and community ecology. Despite such importance, ants remain remarkably understudied. A large proportion of species are undescribed, the biogeographic histories of most taxa remain poorly known, and we have a limited understanding of spatial patterns of diversity and composition, along with the processes driving them. The papers in this Special Issue collectively address many of the most pressing questions relating to ant diversity. What is the level of ant diversity? What is the origin of this diversity, and how is it distributed at different spatial scales? What are the roles of niche partitioning and competition as regulators of local diversity? How do ants affect the ecosystems within which they occur? The answers to these questions provide valuable insights not just for ants, but for biodiversity more generally.

Research & information: general --- ant diversity --- cryptic species --- morphospecies --- species delimitation --- sympatric association --- endosymbiont --- ant --- vertical transmission --- biogeography --- ancestral state reconstruction --- phylogeny --- ants --- community structure --- physiology --- interactions --- temperature --- behavioral interactions --- coexistence --- co-occurrence --- competitive exclusion --- dominance --- Formicidae --- scale --- Dolichoderinae --- species distribution models --- climatic gradients --- wet tropics --- climate change --- invasion ecology --- invasive species --- red imported fire ant --- commensalism --- gopher tortoise --- diversity --- conservation --- burrow commensal --- soil arthropods --- pitfall --- bait --- turnover --- food specialisation --- stratification --- sampling methods --- hypogaeic --- species richness --- species occurrence --- endemic species --- distribution ranges --- dispersal routes --- centre of origin --- refugium areas --- antbird --- army ant --- biodiversity --- biological indicator --- deforestation --- habitat fragmentation --- myrmecophiles --- mimicry --- species interactions --- tropics --- biological invasions --- species checklist --- urban ecology --- n/a

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This book provides a first synthetic view of an emerging area of ecology and biogeography, linking individual- and population-level processes to geographic distributions and biodiversity patterns. Problems in evolutionary ecology, macroecology, and biogeography are illuminated by this integrative view. The book focuses on correlative approaches known as ecological niche modeling, species distribution modeling, or habitat suitability modeling, which use associations between known occurrences of species and environmental variables to identify environmental conditions under which populations can be maintained. The spatial distribution of environments suitable for the species can then be estimated: a potential distribution for the species. This approach has broad applicability to ecology, evolution, biogeography, and conservation biology, as well as to understanding the geographic potential of invasive species and infectious diseases, and the biological implications of climate change. The authors lay out conceptual foundations and general principles for understanding and interpreting species distributions with respect to geography and environment. Focus is on development of niche models. While serving as a guide for students and researchers, the book also provides a theoretical framework to support future progress in the field.

Niche (Ecology). --- Niche (Ecology) --- Biogeography. --- Biogeography --- Mathematical models. --- Niche écologique --- Biogéographie --- Modèles mathématiques --- Microhabitat --- Biotic communities --- Competition (Biology) --- Ecology --- Habitat (Ecology) --- Areography (Biology) --- Geographical distribution of animals and plants --- Species --- Species distribution --- Biology --- Geography --- Geographical distribution --- Mathematical models --- BAM diagram. --- Eltonian Noise Hypothesis. --- Eltonian niche. --- Grinnellian niche. --- absence data. --- algorithm. --- ancillary data. --- biodiversity. --- biogeography. --- biotic interactions. --- biotically reduced niche. --- climate change. --- commission error. --- conservation biology. --- conservation planning. --- conservation reserve network planning. --- data preparation. --- data quality. --- disease distribution. --- disease ecology. --- disease transmission risk. --- disease transmission. --- distributional area. --- distributional ecology. --- diversification. --- ecological niche evolution. --- ecological niche modeling. --- ecological niche. --- ecology. --- environmental data. --- environmental space. --- epidemiology. --- evolutionary ecology. --- extinction risk. --- extrapolation. --- feedback loop. --- geographic distribution. --- geographic space. --- geography. --- habitat suitability modeling. --- hypervolume. --- infection. --- invasive species. --- macroecology. --- model calibration. --- model evaluation. --- model performance. --- model prediction. --- model projection. --- model significance. --- model. --- niche concept. --- niche conservatism. --- niche evolution. --- niche models. --- niche. --- nonequilibrium distribution. --- nonnative species. --- occupied distributional area. --- overfitting. --- pathogens. --- population biology. --- populations. --- potential distributional area. --- predictability. --- primary occurrence data. --- resolution. --- risk mapping. --- sampling bias. --- scenopoetic variables. --- sensitivity. --- sisterгpecies pairs. --- spatial extent. --- species distribution modeling. --- species distribution. --- species invasions. --- species limit. --- species occurrence. --- species reintroduction. --- statistical theory. --- transferability. --- unknown species.