Jürgen Liebig
Evolution of Sociality/Cooperative Behavior
In general, I am interested in the evolution and maintenance of sociality or cooperation, respectively. Both ultimate and proximate levels are included to get a broad understanding of the evolutionary processes involved. I am concentrating on social insects as study organisms with a special focus on ants, wasps and socially less derived bees. In addition, I will include other groups that are interesting and prove to be practical. The comparison of several different species originating from different taxonomic groups should help to extract the common factors that shape the "essence" of sociality, if one exists.
My main areas of focus include the analysis of chemical communication and behavior involved in reproductive conflicts, the analysis of the transition of solitary to social life, the evolution of colony size including the efficiency of division of labor, and the analysis of the basics of social behavior. My aim is to address all fields with practical experiments and theoretical approaches.
Selected Publications
Endler A, Hölldobler B, Liebig J, (accepted). Lack of physical policing and fertility cues in egg-laying workers of the ant Camponotus floridanus. Anim. Beh.
Weissel N, Mitesser O, Liebig J, Poethke H-J, Strohm E, 2006. The influence of soil temperature on the nesting cycle of the halictid bee Lasioglossum malachurum. Insect. Soc. 53: 390-398.
Endler A, Liebig J, Hölldobler B, 2006. Queen fertility, egg marking and colony size in the ant Camponotus floridanus. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 59:490-499.
Hoyer SC, Liebig J, Rössler W. 2005. Biogenic amines in the ponerine ant Harpegnathos saltator: serotonin and dopamine immunoreactivity in the brain. Arthropod Structure & Development 34:429-440.
Dietemann V, Liebig J, Hölldobler B, Peeters C, 2005. Changes in the cuticular hydrocarbons of incipient reproductives correlate with triggering of worker policing in the bulldog ant Myrmecia gulosa. Beh. Ecol. Sociobiol. 58:486-496.
Liebig J, Monnin T, Turillazzi S, 2005. Direct assessment of queen quality and lack of worker suppression in a paper wasp. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B 272:1339-1344.
Endler A, Liebig J, Schmitt T, Parker JE, Jones GR, Schreier P, Hölldobler B, 2004. Surface hydrocarbons of queen eggs regulate worker reproduction in a social insect. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101:2945-2950.
Hölldobler B, Morgan ED, Oldham NJ, Liebig J, Liu Y, 2004. Dufour gland secretion in the harvester ant genus Pogonomyrmex. Chemoecology 14:101-106.
Jarvis PA, Liebig J, Hölldobler B, Oldham NJ, 2004. Biosynthesis of the insect pheromone (S)-4-methyl-3-heptanone. Chem. Commun.:1196-1197
Liebig J, Poethke J, 2004. Queen lifespan and colony longevity in the ant Harpegnathos saltator (Jerdon). Ecol. Entomol. 29:203-207.
Dietemann V, Peeters C, Liebig J, Thivet V, Hölldobler B, 2003. Cuticular hydrocarbons mediate recognition of queens and reproductive workers in the ant Myrmecia gulosa. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 100:10341-10346.
Helms Cahan S, Blumstein DT, Sundström L, Liebig J, Griffin A, 2002. Social trajectories and the evolution of social behavior. OIKOS 96:206-216.
Hölldobler B, Liebig J, Alpert GD, 2002. Gamergates in the myrmicine genus Metapone (Hymenoptera:Formicidae). Naturwissenschaften 89:305-307.
Hölldobler B, Oldham NJ, Alpert GD, Liebig J, 2002. Predatory behavior and chemical communication in two Metapone species (Hymenoptera:Formicidae). Chemoecology 12:147-151.
Hölldobler B, Morgan ED, Oldham NJ, Liebig J, 2001. Recruitment pheromone in the harvester ant genus Pogonomyrmex. J. Ins. Physiol. 47:369-374.
Liebig J, Peeters C, Oldham NJ, Markstädter C, Hölldobler B, 2000. Are variations in cuticular hydrocarbons of queens and workers a reliable signal of fertility in the ant Harpegnathos saltator? Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97:4124-4131.
Peeters C, Liebig J, Hölldobler B, 2000. Sexual reproduction by both queens and workers in the ponerine ant Harpegnathos saltator. Insect. Soc. 47:325-332.
Gronenberg W, Liebig J, 1999. Smaller brains and optic lobes in reproductive workers of the ant Harpegnathos. Naturwissenschaften 86:343-345.
Liebig J, Peeters C, Hölldobler B, 1999. Worker policing limits the number of reproductives in a ponerine ant. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B 266:1865-1870.
Wheeler DW, Liebig J, Hölldobler B, 1999. Atypical vitellins in ponerine ants (Formicidae: Hymenoptera). J. Ins. Physiol. 45:287-293.
Liebig J, Hölldobler B, Peeters C, 1998. Are ant workers capable of colony foundation? Naturwissenschaften 85:133-135.
Liebig J, Heinze J, Hölldobler B, 1997. Trophallaxis and aggression in the ponerine ant Ponera coarctata: implications for the evolution of liquid food exchange in the Hymenoptera. Ethology 103:707-722.
Liebig J, Heinze J, Hölldobler B, 1995. Queen size variation in the ponerine ant Ponera coarctata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 102:1-12.