Chapter 1 The Importance of Ants Summary

Ants are a dominant form of animal life on earth. They have complex anatomy, behavior, and social organizations. The importance of ants to global ecosystems is enormous, but poorly understood. Ant population densities are extremely high in nearly all ecosystems. Ants are a very diverse type of insect, having evolved specialization allowing for exploitation of a wide range of resources and colonization of an incredibly wide range of geography and environments. They are able to thrive in disturbed and marginal habitats. They exert a strong influence on local environments and are able to out-compete many other forms of life. Ants offer numerous advantages as a research organism. Their behavioral ecology, sociobiology, complex anatomy, and advanced communication methods all offer areas for further research. Ants have been under-utilized as a research and teaching organism.

Chapter 1 The Importance of Ants Analysis