bartholomewkelly
Ants on an Apple
On Wednesday April 12, 2017 I spotted these ants on my way back to the Crossing after ecology lecture. This picture is special because it was a time ecology stuck out to me without particularly looking. Ants are of the phylum arthropoda, more species exist in this phylum than any other. My third image also featured arthropods: bumblebees. Arthropods all have an outer cuticle, jointed appendages, and body parts segmented into groups. These ants are exhibiting something unique to them and some other species by acting as a sort of superorganism, a large collective group working for the colony rather than themselves. Many ants are working together here to bring parts of the mostly-eaten apple back to their home. Not pictured were other ants walking with pieces of the apple all in a single direction, most likely the direction of their home. Their are many instances we have covered in class where ants do that such as connecting themselves to make a sort of boat of living ants in water to help the majority of individuals get across, perhaps at the expense of some. We also learned about ants protecting the group by carrying away the bodies of ants infected by the mind-controlling, parasitic fungus cordyceps to prevent others from becoming infected by its spores. In researching I also found out ants can act ecologically by dispersing seeds, since they commonly make tunnels underground their home it is not uncommon for foragers to bring back seeds and put them in the soil which will later germinate since they cannot eat them entirely. This process is something that could happen here if they found any of the apple's seeds. The same source which talked about the seed dispersal also said ants play important roles in soil biogeochemical cycle by aerating the soil and allowing water and oxygen to reach plant roots.
harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/ants/ecological-importance
Ants on an Apple
On Wednesday April 12, 2017 I spotted these ants on my way back to the Crossing after ecology lecture. This picture is special because it was a time ecology stuck out to me without particularly looking. Ants are of the phylum arthropoda, more species exist in this phylum than any other. My third image also featured arthropods: bumblebees. Arthropods all have an outer cuticle, jointed appendages, and body parts segmented into groups. These ants are exhibiting something unique to them and some other species by acting as a sort of superorganism, a large collective group working for the colony rather than themselves. Many ants are working together here to bring parts of the mostly-eaten apple back to their home. Not pictured were other ants walking with pieces of the apple all in a single direction, most likely the direction of their home. Their are many instances we have covered in class where ants do that such as connecting themselves to make a sort of boat of living ants in water to help the majority of individuals get across, perhaps at the expense of some. We also learned about ants protecting the group by carrying away the bodies of ants infected by the mind-controlling, parasitic fungus cordyceps to prevent others from becoming infected by its spores. In researching I also found out ants can act ecologically by dispersing seeds, since they commonly make tunnels underground their home it is not uncommon for foragers to bring back seeds and put them in the soil which will later germinate since they cannot eat them entirely. This process is something that could happen here if they found any of the apple's seeds. The same source which talked about the seed dispersal also said ants play important roles in soil biogeochemical cycle by aerating the soil and allowing water and oxygen to reach plant roots.
harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/ants/ecological-importance