Ants are not such a peach for many people and are often looked down on due to their size and painful stingy bites. However, there is much more to these social colonial insects that make them worthy of our respect and appreciation.
Ants are resilient creatures; they have survived on a changing Earth for around 140 to 168 million years, not to mention their incredible ability to lift up to 50 times their body weight. Still, ants can be troublemakers; they can alter natural habitats that they invade, and influence the hunting behaviors of predators. Recent studies have shown a dramatic transformation in landscapes just because of ants: “The Ant Effect”.
So, what exactly is it?
In January 2024, a published research paper shed light on the devastating effect of an invasive species* of big-headed ants that forced its way into a Kenyan Savannah, disrupting the landscape and causing lions to change their hunting behaviors.
Throughout history, thorny acacia trees in the plains of Laikipia, Kenya, have developed a mutually beneficial relationship with the local acacia ant. The trees provide shelter and food for the ants; in return, the ants stinging bites discourage elephants from devouring the trees. On the other hand, lions, which rely on surprising hunting tactics, notably zebras, used to hide amongst the acacia trees to ambush their preys.
Around two decades ago, big-headed ants, thought to have originated on an island in the Indian Ocean and brought to Kenya by the movement of people and goods, started killing acacia ants. Now, elephants are left to destroy the acacia trees and lions could hunt far fewer zebras, adjusting their hunting behavior to find alternative targets, namely buffaloes, which are known to be much slower than zebras.
What is next?
The influence of big-headed ants on lions’ hunting behavior seems to be just the beginning of several upcoming ecological and scientific implications. It is anticipated that the big-headed ants would cause trouble for other species that rely on whistling-thorn trees, such as giraffes and black rhinos.
*Read more on invasive species in SCIplanet Magazine, Spring 2022 Issue.
References
natgeokids.com
pestworld.org
expeditions.fieldmuseum.org
today.rtl.lu
en.wikipedia.org
Cover Image by vecstock on Freepik