Colony size and growth efficiency

__I am interested in determining the physical constraints that limit animal size. One such constraint may be related to the energetics of growth. Currently, I am testing the social efficiency hypothesis with seed harvester ants. The hypothesis suggests that the social insects have been able to be so ecological dominant on the planet because they function more efficiently as a large group then would a comparably sized set of individuals.

Publications:

Socha, J. J., Westneat, M.W., Harrison, J.F., Waters, J.S., and Lee, W-K. (2007) Real-time phase contrast x-ray imaging: a new technique for the study of animal form and function. BMC Biology 5:6. [open-access]

Mark W. Westneat, John J. Socha, James S. Waters, Melina E. Hale, and Wah-Keat Lee. (2006) The expiration data is today: Diversity of convective insect respiratory behavior visualized by synchrotron x-ray imaging. Integrative and Comparative Biology 46(6).

John J. Socha, James S. Waters, Mark W. Westneat, Michael LaBarbera, Steve Cook, Kamel Fezzaa, and Wah-Keat Lee. (2006) The Poise that refreshes: dynamics of internal food transport in a butterfly. Integrative and Comparative Biology 46(6).

Melina E. Hale, James S. Waters, Wah-Keat Lee, John J. Socha, Kamel Fezzaa, and Mark W. Westneat. (2006) Drawing inspiration from insect breathing and heaving conventional wisdom: Convective tracheal and air sac mechanisms in Drosophila visualized with x-ray imaging. Integrative and Comparative Biology 46(6).

James S. Waters and John J. Socha. (2005) Mechanics of tracheal compression in the bessbug, Popilius disjunctus. Integrative and Comparative Biology 45(6): 1209.

John J. Socha, Kamel Fezzaa, Wah-Keat Lee, James S. Waters, and Mark W. Westneat. (2004) Tracheal compression patterns involved in gas exchange in the ground beetle, Platynus decentis. Integrative and Comparative Biology 44(6): 748.