Coevolution: Leafcutter Ants of the Amazon
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PBS Learning Media
Coevolution: Leafcutter Ants of the Amazon
Learn about the coevolution of the leafcutter ant and the fungus on which it feeds in this video segment from Evolution: Evolutionary Arms Race. Leafcutters have been "farming" this fungus for millions of years—feeding, fertilizing, weeding, and harvesting it. Learn how one graduate student's seemingly far-fetched idea led to the discovery that this symbiotic relationship involved at least two more previously unaccounted for species.