Virtually every social interaction involves reasoning about the perspectives of others, or 'theory of mind (ToM).' Previous research suggests that it is difficult to ignore our current knowledge when reasoning about a more naïve perspective (i.e., the curse of knowledge). In this Mini Review, we discuss the implications of the curse of knowledge for certain aspects of ToM. Particularly, we exam...

Robert I. Colautti,* Anthony Ricciardi, Igor A. Grigorovich and Hugh J. MacIsaac Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada N9B 3P4 Redpath Museum, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2K6 *Correspondence: E-mail: [email protected] Abstract A recent trend in invasion ecology relates the success of non-indigenous species...

The within-plant distribution of soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura has been attributed to various causes, yet it is unclear which factor or combination of factors most influence aphid within-plant distribution. Understanding soybean aphid distribution within the soybean canopy is important both in developing sampling programs and in evaluating injury. Because natural enemies have the pote...

Large plants are often more conspicuous and more attractive for associated animals than small plants, e.g. due to their wider range of resources. Therefore, plant size can positively affect species richness of associated animals, as shown for single groups of herbivores, but studies usually consider intraspecific size differences of plants in unstandardised environments. As comprehensive tests ...

1049-9644/$ see front matter Published by Elsevier doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2009.05.008 * Corresponding author. Address: Biological Cont National Biological Control Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Mi Lee Road, Stoneville, MS 38776, USA. Fax: +1 662 312 We review aspects of the life histories of representative enemies of coccinellids (both entomophagous and phytophagous species) and expose both potential ...

An explanation for successful invasion is that invasive alien species sustain less pressure from natural enemies than co-occurring native species. Using meta-analysis, we examined whether invasive species: (1) incur less damage, (2) exhibit better performance in the presence of enemies, and (3) tolerate damage more than native species. Invasive alien species did not incur less damage than nativ...

The importance of mutualism is receiving more attention in community ecology. In this study, the fire ant Solenopsis invicta was found to take advantage of the shelters constructed by the leaf roller Sylepta derogata to protect mealybugs (Phenacoccus solenopsis) against their natural enemies. This protective effect of fire ant tending on the survival of mealybugs in shelters was observed when e...