::Biozentrum Universitaet Wuerzburg: People::

Research interests:
My main interested in biology is to gain an understanding of the factors that have led to the fascinating organismal diversity we observe today, and here especially the role of biotic interactions.
A key feature of the evolutionary success of social insects is their ability to form complex societies with division of labour and sophisticated communication systems. In addition to these complex social interactions of ants, they have shown an extraordinary capacity to form close associations with other organisms such as other insects, plants, fungi and bacteria.
Such symbiotic associations may lead to evolutionary innovation, may facilitate the use of new niches and may thus lead to increased rates of speciation in the associated groups of organisms. We study two such symbiotic associations on two different levels: the (ecto-) symbiotic association of ants of the genus Crematogaster with their obligate host-plants Macaranga as well as the diversity and function of endosymbionts in ants.

Peer reviewed publications:

(for the complete publication list please visit the PUBLICATION section on the horizontal menue)

Helmkampf M., J. Gadau., H. Feldhaar. Population- and sociogenetic structure of Atta colombica (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) in the Barro Colarado Island area, Panama. Insectes Sociaux: in revision.

Gomez-Valero L., A. Latorre, R. Gil, J, Gadau, H. Feldhaar, F.J. Silva. Patterns and rates of nucleotide substitution, insertion and deletion in the endosymbiont of ants Blochmannia floridanus. Molecular Ecology: in revision.

Feldhaar H., R. Gross (2008) Insects as hosts for mutualistic bacteria. International Journal of Medical Microbiology: in press. (invited review)

Feldhaar H., S. Foitzik, J. Heinze (2008) Life-long commitment to the wrong partner: Hybridization in ants. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: in press.
available online: DOI 10.1098/rstb.2008.0022

Pol R.G., J. Lopez de Casenave, H. Feldhaar, F. Milesi, J. Gadau (2008) Obligatory polyandry in two South American harvester ants. Insectes Sociaux 55: 91-97.

Feldhaar H., J. Straka, M. Krischke, K. Berthold, S. Stoll, M.J. Mueller, R. Gross (2007) Nutritional upgrading for an omnivore: the endosymbiont Blochmannia in carpenter ants. BMC Biology 5: 48.

Wilting A., V.A. Buckley-Beason, H. Feldhaar, J. Gadau, S.J. O’Brien, K.E. Linsenmair (2007) Clouded leopard phylogeny revisited: support for species and subspecies recognition. Frontiers in Zoology 4: 15.

Drescher J., N. Blüthgen, H. Feldhaar (2007) Population structure and intraspecific aggression in the invasive ant species Anoplolepis gracilipes in Malaysian Borneo. Molecular Ecology 16: 1453-1465.

Straka J., H. Feldhaar (2007) Development of a chemically defined diet for ants. Insectes Sociaux 54: 100-104. Erratum in Insectes Sociaux (2007) 54: 202.

Stoll S., J. Gadau, R. Gross, H. Feldhaar (2007) Bacterial microflora associated with ants of the genus Tetraponera. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 90: 399-412

Zientz E., I. Beyaert, R. Gross, H. Feldhaar (2006) Relevance of the endosymbiosis of Blochmannia floridanus and carpenter ants at different stages of the life cycle of the host. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 72: 6027-6033.

Feldhaar H., J. Drescher, N. Blüthgen (2006) Characterization of microsatellite markers for the invasive ant species Anoplolepis gracilipes. Molecular Ecology Notes 6: 912-914.

Maschwitz U., H. Feldhaar, R.H.D. Disney (2006) A virgin killer: The phorid Trucidophora feldhaarae Disney sp. n. parasitizes female reproductives of obligate plant-ants of the genus Crematogaster (Diptera: Phoridae; Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Sociobiology 47: 811-828.

Jürgens A., H. Feldhaar, B. Feldmeyer, B. Fiala (2006) Chemical composition of leaf volatiles in Macaranga species (Euphorbiaceae) and their potential role as olfactory cues in host-localisation of foundress queens of specific ant partners. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 34: 97-113.

Zientz E., H. Feldhaar, S. Stoll, R. Gross. (2005). Insights into the microbial world associated with ants. Archives of Microbiology 184: 199-206

Feldhaar H., B. Fiala, J. Gadau (2005). A shift in colony founding behaviour in the obligate plant-ant Crematogaster (Decacrema) morphospecies 2. Insectes Sociaux 52: 222-230.

Feldhaar H., B. Fiala, J. Gadau (2004). Characterization of microsatellite primers for plant-ants of the genus Crematogaster subgenus Decacrema. Molecular Ecology Notes 4: 409-411

Feldhaar H., B. Fiala, Rosli bin Hashim, U. Maschwitz (2003). Dynamics of the Crematogaster-Macaranga association: The ant partner makes the difference. Insectes Sociaux 50: 9-19.

Feldhaar H., B. Fiala, J. Gadau, Maryati Mohamed, U. Maschwitz (2003). Molecular phylogeny of Crematogaster subgenus Decacrema ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and the colonization of Macaranga (Euphorbiaceae) trees. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 27: 441-452.

Moog J., H. Feldhaar, U. Maschwitz (2002). On the caulinary domatia of the SE-Asian ant-plant Zanthoxylum myriacanthum Wall. ex Hook. f. (Rutaceae) and the protection against herbivory. Sociobiology 40 (3): 547-574

Feldhaar H., B. Fiala, Rosli bin Hashim, U. Maschwitz (2000). Maintaining an ant-plant symbiosis: secondary polygyny in the Macaranga triloba-Crematogaster sp. association. Naturwissenschaften 87: 408-411.

Feldhaar H., J. Stein (1998). Stress proteins and molecular chaperones - protectors of intestinal epithelial damage? Zeitschrift für Gastroenterologie 36: 193-195.

others:

Wilting A., H. Feldhaar, V.A. Buckley-Beason, K.E. Linsenmair, S.J. O’Brien,: Two species of clouded leopards: a molecular perspective. CatNews 47: 10-11.

Gross R, E. Zientz, H. Feldhaar (2006) Intrazelluläre bakterielle Endosymbiosen in Insekten. BioSpektrum 12(1): 23-25.