<
https://freedium.cfd/https://medium.com/gardening-birding-and-outdoor-adventure/invasive-ants-disrupt-lions-hunting-behavior-in-kenya-7f5b05953147>
"In a remarkable, but accidental, real-life experiment demonstrating the
ecological connections between all life regardless of how great or small, a
study recently came out that documents how a tiny ant is affecting the mighty
lion on the savannahs of Kenya.
This ant is invasive and it's far from home. It probably arrived from the
island of Mauritius, located in the Indian Ocean, early during the last
century, and began establishing itself in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya
around 20 years ago.
"It showed up in people's houses and other centers of human activity," said the
study's senior author, animal ecologist Jacob Goheen, a Professor of Zoology &
Physiology and of Botany at the University of Wyoming. Professor Goheen's
expertise is linking theory with data as he works to better understand
community dynamics and structure, animal-plant interactions, and conservation
biology.
"To the best of our knowledge, it was introduced in bushels of produce from
somewhere in the Indian Ocean," Professor Goheen stated.
The ants, known as big-headed ants,
Pheidole megacephala, build and live in
huge underground metropolises, like most of the ant species that you're
familiar with. After they invaded, these small ants hunted down and killed the
native acacia ants, and ate their pupae, and eggs."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
