The abundance, biomass, and distribution of ants on Earth
University of Würzburg · University of Hong Kong · +3 more institutions
Abstract
Knowledge on the distribution and abundance of organisms is fundamental to understanding their roles within ecosystems and their ecological importance for other taxa. Such knowledge is currently lacking for insects, which have long been regarded as the “little things that run the world”. Even for ubiquitous insects, such as ants, which are of tremendous ecological significance, there is currently neither a reliable estimate of their total number on Earth nor of their abundance in particular biomes or habitats. We compile data on ground-dwelling and arboreal ants to obtain an empirical estimate of global ant abundance. Our analysis is based on 489 studies, spanning all continents, major biomes, and habitats. We…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 46.97
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 93
Authors
6- PSPatrick SchultheissCorresponding
University of Würzburg, University of Hong Kong
- SSSabine S. Nooten
University of Würzburg, University of Hong Kong
- RWRunxi Wang
University of Hong Kong
- MKMark K. L. Wong
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, The University of Western Australia, University of Hong Kong
- FBFrançois Brassard
Charles Darwin University, University of Hong Kong
Topics & keywords
- Abundance (ecology)
- Biome
- Ecology
- Arboreal locomotion
- Biomass (ecology)
- Habitat
- Ecosystem
- Foraging
- Life in Land