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VOA科学技术2022--Scientists Estimate the Ant Population on Earth

时间:2022-10-09 03:32:03

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Scientists Estimate the Ant Population on Earth

Researchers 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.

A 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.

Ants have been on the planet since the dinosaur1 age. The oldest-known ant fossil dates back about 100 million years to the Cretaceous Period. 

There 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.

Patrick 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 Proceedings2 of the National Academy of Sciences.

Schultheiss told Reuters that ants play a very important part in almost every ecosystem3 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 ecological4 players," Schultheiss said.

Ants – whose closest relatives are bees and wasps5 – are native to nearly everywhere on Earth, except for Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland and some island nations.

"I was amazed that the ants' biomass was higher than that of wild mammals and birds combined," said Sabine Nooten, another lead researcher. She noted6 that the insects' biomass reaches 20 percent of the human biomass. That, she said, shows the importance of their influence in nature.

The scientists based their research on 489 studies of ant populations across the continents where they live.

"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.

Most ants were estimated to live in the hottest and wettest parts of the world. Forest environments and dry areas had larger populations than cities.

"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.

Ants 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.

Schultheiss said that while humans might find ants "annoying," there are many reasons we should be thankful for their existence.

"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.'

Words in This Story

fossil – 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

species – n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants

ecosystem – n. everything that exists in a particular environment

abundance – n. a large amount of something

biomass – n. dead plant and animal material

reliable – adj. able to be depended upon to do something

annoying – adj. making a person feel slightly angry of irritated


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 dinosaur xuSxp     
n.恐龙
参考例句:
  • Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击?
  • He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。
2 proceedings Wk2zvX     
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
  • to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼
3 ecosystem Wq4xz     
n.生态系统
参考例句:
  • This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
  • We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。
4 ecological IrRxX     
adj.生态的,生态学的
参考例句:
  • The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
  • Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.
5 wasps fb5b4ba79c574cee74f48a72a48c03ef     
黄蜂( wasp的名词复数 ); 胡蜂; 易动怒的人; 刻毒的人
参考例句:
  • There's a wasps' nest in that old tree. 那棵老树上有一个黄蜂巢。
  • We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless ones like moths. 我们不仅生活在对象蜘蛛或黄蜂这样的小虫的惧怕中,而且生活在对诸如飞蛾这样无害昆虫的惧怕中
6 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

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