“I Believe Ants Are Wonderful Indicators Of Ecosystem Health”

May 16, 2013 in Excerpts, Science/Tech, Videos | Permalink

Biologist E.O. Wilson, who watches his aunts ants have sex, just did an Ask Me Anything on Reddit. A few exchanges follow.

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Question:

Would you agree with Isaac Asimov’s quote, “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not “Eureka” but “That’s funny…”? 

E.O. Wilson:

Asimov was a genius in science fiction with an amazingly wide-ranging imagination. However, I don’t recall that he made many original discoveries in science, if any. So, if this not too presumptuous, it maybe true that the first thing that passes the mind is: “Hmmm…there is something different here” but quickly the successful scientist learns and thinks enough to say, “a-ha! I think…”

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Question:

Mr. Wilson, what do you think about genetic engineering and its potential impact on biodiversity? 

E.O. Wilson:

A decade ago I made a special study of genetically modified organisms, including crops, and their potential impact on the environment. I don’t believe that what I concluded has changed a great deal. It is that while some risk occurs, it is not profound and it is over weighed by potential good.

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Question:

How devastating would the collapse of the bee population be to the world’s ecosystem?

E.O. Wilson:

Unless we solve the colony collapse syndrome and build up new stocks of honeybees, the result will be a severe loss to agriculture, costing as high as billions of dollars.

Question:

What is presumed to be behind the large losses? Pesticides? Climate change? Thanks for your answer.

E.O. Wilson:

A recent study conducted by a team of experts could find no primary cause of the collapse syndrome. The best they could conclude was that multiple causes are at work, including pesticides and inbreeding. Obviously there is an urgency to deeper studies of the problem.

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Question:

Ants are probably one of the most important invertebrate taxa ecologically, and they certainly deserve more recognition then they get. It is clear that ants are capable of colonizing disturbed environments more effectively than some other insect groups. Despite this talent for dealing with rough environments, do you believe that ant species richness/diversity is a particularly useful measure of forest/ecosystem health?

E.O. Wilson:

I believe ants are wonderful indicators of ecosystem health. There are so many species in most environments, as many 300 in some tropical rainforests, each with its own specialization and requirement of a healthy environment, that even just the presence or absence of a particular species tells us a great deal about whats happening to the local environment.•

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Ant-sploitation from 1977:

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