蚂蚁作为“生态系统工程师”对环境影响巨大.docVIP

Ants Have Big Impact on Environment as Ecosystem Engineers 蚂蚁作为“生态系统工程师”对环境影响巨大 　　Research by the University of Exeter1 has revealed透露 that ants 蚂蚁have a big impact影响 on their local当地的 environment环境 as a result of their activity活动 as ecosystem engineers and predators捕食者. The study, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, found that ants have two distinct effects on their local environment. 　　Firstly, through moving of soil by nest building2 activity and by collecting food they affect the level of nutrients in the soil. This can indirectly impact the local populations of many animal groups, from decomposers to species much higher up the food chain. 　　Secondly, they prey on a wide range of other animals, including larger prey which can be attacked by vast numbers of ant workers. 　　Dirk Sanders, an author of the study from the universitys Centre for Ecology and Conservation, said:Ants are very effective predators which thrive in huge numbers. Theyre also very territorial3 and very aggressive, defending their resources and territory against other predators. All of this means they have a strong influence on their surrounding area. 　　In this research, we studied for the first time how big this impact is and the subtleties of it. What we found is that despite being predators, their presence can also lead to an increase in density and diversity of other animal groups4. They genuinely play a key role in the local environment, having a big influence on the grassland food web, Sanders said. 　　The study, carried out in Germany, studied the impact of the presence of different combinations and densities of black garden ants and common red ants, both species which can be found across Europe, including in the UK. It found that a low density of ants in an area increased the diversity and density of other animals in the local area, particularly the density of herbivores and decomposers. At higher densities ants had no or the opposite effect, showing that predation is count