Scientists Estimate the Ant Population on Earth
2022-09-26
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1Researchers have made the most in-depth estimate yet of the world's ant population.
2The total number of these resourceful insects was estimated to be 20 quadrillion.
3A quadrillion is expressed with a one, followed by 15 zeros.
4The estimate means that there are about 2.5 million ants on Earth for every human.
5Ants have been on the planet since the dinosaur age.
6The oldest-known ant fossil dates back about 100 million years to the Cretaceous Period.
7There are more than 12,000 known species of ants.
8Generally, the insects are black, brown or red, with bodies divided into three parts.
9They range in size from about 1 millimeter to 3 centimeters long.
10They like living in soil and attaching themselves to plants.
11Patrick Schultheiss is an insect expert with the University of Würzburg in Germany and the University of Hong Kong.
12He was the co-writer of a study that describes the estimate in the publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
13Schultheiss told Reuters that ants play a very important part in almost every ecosystem on Earth.
14For example, they aid in the cycling and breaking down process of plants.
15They help to spread seeds and soil.
16"But most of all, it is their high abundance that makes them key ecological players," Schultheiss said.
17Ants - whose closest relatives are bees and wasps - are native to nearly everywhere on Earth, except for Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland and some island nations.
18"I was amazed that the ants' biomass was higher than that of wild mammals and birds combined," said Sabine Nooten, another lead researcher.
19She noted that the insects' biomass reaches 20 percent of the human biomass.
20That, she said, shows the importance of their influence in nature.
21The scientists based their research on 489 studies of ant populations across the continents where they live.
22"Our dataset represents a massive collecting effort of thousands of scientists," Schultheiss said.
23He added that the team used the data to estimate the number of ants for different areas of the world as well as the total worldwide number and biomass.
24Most ants were estimated to live in the hottest and wettest parts of the world.
25Forest environments and dry areas had larger populations than cities.
26"There are certain parts of the world where we have little data and we cannot reach reliable estimates for all continents," Schultheiss said.
27Africa is one such example.
28"We have long known that it is a very ant-rich continent but also very under-studied," he added.
29Ants generally live in colonies, some of which include millions of insects.
30They are divided into groups with different jobs, such as workers, soldiers and queens.
31The workers, all females, care for the bigger queen and her babies.
32They also take care of the nest and search for food.
33Males mate with the queens, then die.
34Schultheiss said that while humans might find ants "annoying," there are many reasons we should be thankful for their existence.
35"Think about the amount of organic matter that 20 quadrillion ants transport, remove, recycle and eat," he said.
36In fact, Schultheiss said ants are so necessary for a series of biological processes that they can be seen as ecosystem engineers.
37He noted that the late ant scientist E.O. Wilson once called the insects 'the little things that run the world.'
38I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Researchers have made the most in-depth estimate yet of the world's ant population. The total number of these resourceful insects was estimated to be 20 quadrillion. 2A quadrillion is expressed with a one, followed by 15 zeros. The estimate means that there are about 2.5 million ants on Earth for every human. 3Ants have been on the planet since the dinosaur age. The oldest-known ant fossil dates back about 100 million years to the Cretaceous Period. 4There are more than 12,000 known species of ants. Generally, the insects are black, brown or red, with bodies divided into three parts. They range in size from about 1 millimeter to 3 centimeters long. They like living in soil and attaching themselves to plants. 5Patrick Schultheiss is an insect expert with the University of Würzburg in Germany and the University of Hong Kong. He was the co-writer of a study that describes the estimate in the publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 6Schultheiss told Reuters that ants play a very important part in almost every ecosystem on Earth. For example, they aid in the cycling and breaking down process of plants. They help to spread seeds and soil. "But most of all, it is their high abundance that makes them key ecological players," Schultheiss said. 7Ants - whose closest relatives are bees and wasps - are native to nearly everywhere on Earth, except for Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland and some island nations. 8"I was amazed that the ants' biomass was higher than that of wild mammals and birds combined," said Sabine Nooten, another lead researcher. She noted that the insects' biomass reaches 20 percent of the human biomass. That, she said, shows the importance of their influence in nature. 9The scientists based their research on 489 studies of ant populations across the continents where they live. 10"Our dataset represents a massive collecting effort of thousands of scientists," Schultheiss said. He added that the team used the data to estimate the number of ants for different areas of the world as well as the total worldwide number and biomass. 11Most ants were estimated to live in the hottest and wettest parts of the world. Forest environments and dry areas had larger populations than cities. 12"There are certain parts of the world where we have little data and we cannot reach reliable estimates for all continents," Schultheiss said. Africa is one such example. "We have long known that it is a very ant-rich continent but also very under-studied," he added. 13Ants generally live in colonies, some of which include millions of insects. They are divided into groups with different jobs, such as workers, soldiers and queens. The workers, all females, care for the bigger queen and her babies. They also take care of the nest and search for food. Males mate with the queens, then die. 14Schultheiss said that while humans might find ants "annoying," there are many reasons we should be thankful for their existence. 15"Think about the amount of organic matter that 20 quadrillion ants transport, remove, recycle and eat," he said. In fact, Schultheiss said ants are so necessary for a series of biological processes that they can be seen as ecosystem engineers. He noted that the late ant scientist E.O. Wilson once called the insects 'the little things that run the world.' 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 18___________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20fossil - n. something (such as a leaf, skeleton, or footprint) that is from a plant or animal which lived in ancient times and that you can see in some rocks 21species - n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants 22ecosystem - n. everything that exists in a particular environment 23abundance - n. a large amount of something 24biomass - n. dead plant and animal material 25reliable - adj. able to be depended upon to do something 26annoying - adj. making a person feel slightly angry of irritated 27______________________________________________________________________ 28What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 29Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.