Wilson, Edward O. Success and Dominance in Ecosystems: The Case of the Social Insects

Oldendorf/Luhe, Germany: Ecology Institute, 1990. — XXI+104 p. — (Excellence in Ecology 2).
The second book in the series 'Excellence in Ecology'. The book addresses success and dominance in ecosystems with a mastership matured over decades of devoted, critical research. Defining 'success' as evolutionary longevity of a clade (a species and its descendents), and 'dominance' as abundance of a clade controlling the appropriation of biomass and energy, Wilson exemplifies his subject by referring to eusocial insects, especially termites and ants but also bees and wasps.
The book consists of the following sections: Preface, (I) The dominance of the social insects, (II) The social insects: A primer, (III) The meaning of success and dominance, (IV) Why are social insects ecologically dominant? (V) The Superorganism, (VI) Social optimization, (VII) Competition and community organization, (VIII) Hawaii: the world without social insects, (IX) General summary.