Scientists have discovered how the ants were able to spread across the Land
These insects not only in Antarctica.
GENEVA, may 10. /Offset. TASS Konstantin Gain/. Ants are quick to adopt areas of Land where they lived.
They unwittingly helps people: expanded in the era of globalization, transport and international trade give the opportunity for insects to travel great distances.
To such conclusion scientists from the University of Lausanne.
Now the ants are present on all continents, except Antarctica. Of the approximately 13 thousand currently known species 241 species were inadvertently transferred by the person to places that were not their original area of distribution, said in a message posted on the University website. Of this number, 19 species are considered invasive because of the damage they cause to biodiversity, agriculture and the overall economy in new areas of habitat.
To better understand the processes of invasion and spread of the ants, the researchers bertelsmeier Cleo, and Laurent Keller analyzed the data collected at airports and seaports the United States and New Zealand. It turned out that over the last 100 years we have imported from distant countries ants there has intercepted more than 4 thousand 500 times. While in the United States in 75% of cases, as established scientists, the insects do not profit from their “Motherland”, and from the regions that they colonized.
In New Zealand the figure is even higher — about 90%. “In both cases, the insects penetrated geographically close areas, using intensive manufacturing, in particular, fruits and vegetables from Latin America they were in the US, and the Pacific Islands (Tonga, Fiji, Samoa) to New Zealand,” said Bertelsmeier.