Kyle Gray receives Mary Jane West-Eberhard-Award for paper on the global biogeography of socially parasitic ants [10.07.23]
International Union for the Study of Social Insects honors Hohenheim scientist for article in Journal of Biogeography.
Photos: Florian Gerlach (middle), private (right).
Kyle Gray, scientist in the KomBioTa research team of Prof. Christian Rabeling, Department for Integrative Taxonomy of Insects at the University of Hohenheim, received the Best Paper Award in 2022 for his article Global biogeography of ant social parasites: Exploring patterns and mechanisms of an inverse latitudinal diversity gradient.
This award honors the importance of his taxonomic and evolutionary biology study. This study examines the global distribution of socially parasitic ant species. By utilizing a comprehensive dataset and employing detailed statistical analyses, the researcher could test the century-old hypothesis that the biogeographic distribution of ant social parasites follows an inverse latitudinal diversity gradient, where species richness peaks in temperate regions instead of the tropics. This biogeographic pattern contrasts with the global distribution of non-parasitic ant species, which are distributed along a classical latitudinal diversity gradient with peak diversity in the tropics.
Kyle Gray’s study strengthens our understanding about the origin and distribution of global biodiversity and contributes to developing appropriate measures to protect endangered species. In particular, studying the distribution of species can help identify potential threats to biodiversity and develop effective conservation measures.
Congratulations for this achievement!
Paper:
- Kyle W. Gray, Christian Rabeling (2022): Global biogeography of ant social parasites: Exploring patterns and mechanisms of an inverse latitudinal diversity gradient. Journal of Biogeography.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14528
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