Evolutionary Ecology
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Dr. Angelika Pohl

PhD-student

Contact

LMU München
Department Biologie II
Großhaderner Str. 2
82152 Planegg-Martinsried

Research Project

Pheromone communication in invasive ant species

Ants are amongst the world’s most successful organisms, since they inhabit almost all terrestrial habitats and occupy a great variety of ecological niches. One key factor of the ants’ success is their sophisticated pheromone communication that allows for cooperation within large colonies. Due to a combination of mass occurrences and highly effective cooperation some ant species range among the world’s most invasive organisms, imposing serious threats to native fauna and flora. An understanding of the biology of invasive ants is a prerequisite of developing appropriate control strategies. Therefore, one of our approaches is to analyse the species’ communication systems with the goal of isolating bioactive species-specific compounds which can be used for the control of pest species.