Leaf-Cutting Ants at the Bocas del Toro Research Station, Smithsonian Institute, Panama, July 2008

http://www.stri.org/english/research/facilities/marine/bocas_del_toro/ .
This videoclip shows leaf-cutting ants that were filmed during the Tropical Field Phycology Workshop held at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) at Bocas del Toro, Caribbean Panama, 9-23 July 2008. http://striweb.si.edu/taxonomy_training/past_courses/2008/2008_phycology.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leafcutter_ant:
These unique ants are social insects found in warmer regions of the Americas and have evolved an advanced agricultural system based on ant-fungus mutualism. They feed on special structures called gongylidia produced by a specialized fungus that grows only in the underground chambers of the ants' nest. Different species of leaf-cutting ants use different species of fungus, but all of the fungi the ants use are members of the Lepiotaceae family. The ants actively cultivate their fungus, feeding it with freshly-cut plant material and maintaining it free from pests and molds. This mutualist relationship is further augmented by another symbiotic partner, a bacterium that grows on the ants and secretes chemicals- essentially the ants use portable anti-microbials.

Leaf-cutting ants are sensitive enough to adapt to the fungi's reaction to different plant material, apparently detecting chemical signals from the fungus. If a particular type of leaf is toxic to the fungus the colony will no longer collect it. In addition to feeding the fungus, the ants also produce a natural antibiotic to protect the fungus from a mold. This mold is present in nearly all colonies of leaf-cutting ants. The antibiotic consists of a white coating on the bodies of many ants made up of bacteria. Close inspection of the bacteria shows that it is that which makes half of our modern antibiotics. The natural antibiotic produced by the ants does such a good job of keeping the mold in check that it was only recently that anybody thought to investigate infestations in the ant colonies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leafcutter_ant

The aim of this course was designed to orient participants to the biodiversity of tropical marine floras through field and laboratory work. Specifically, it emphasized the development or enhancement of practical skills essential for identification, characterization and preservation of tropical marine macroalgae (seaweeds). Sampling forays in diverse environments (e.g., mangrove habitats, seagrass beds, coral reefs, sponge communities) on protected and exposed shorelines throughout the Bocas del Toro Archipelago complemented morphological and molecular investigations in the laboratory.

Funding was made possible by a grant from the Smithsonian's Marine Science Network, with additional support from the National Science Foundation's Biodiversity Surveys and Inventories Program, the NSF Partnership for the Enhancement of Expertise in Taxonomy (PEET) Program, and the Smithsonian's Institution's DNA Barcode Initiative.

The Workshop was organized by Rachel Collin (STRI); lectures on barcoding were provided by Amy Driskell (Smithsonian Institution); and the Phycology lectures were given by Brian Wysor (Roger Williams University), Wilson Freshwater (University of North Carolina at Wilmington) and Suzanne Fredericq (University of Louisiana at Lafayette). Videoclip montage by S. Fredericq in Lafayette, Louisiana.

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