Ant invasion reduces lion predation on zebras by disrupting a mutualism that protects trees against elephants.

GPS tracking of mammals over five continents shows how animal movements changed during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Euclea divinorum, a fast establishing, unpalatable, and fire resistant bush is considered an invasive species in some parts of its range…

New research led by a University of Wyoming graduate student shows that invasive ants in a Kenyan savanna have caused lions to change their predatory behavior.

When people talk about the interconnectedness of nature, the usual example involves a little fish that eats a bug, a bigger fish that eats the little fish, and an even bigger fish at the top of the chain. But in reality, the interconnected relationships in an ecosystem can be a lot more complicated. That was certainly the case in a recent study, published in the journal Science, which describes how the arrival of an invasive ant species changed the number of zebras that get eaten by lions on the Kenyan savannah.

Fresh findings led by a University of Wyoming graduate student indicate that invasive ants in a Kenyan savanna have prompted shifts in lions’ predatory behavior. As reported today in the journal Science, the investigators discovered that the incursion of big-headed ants at Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy reduces lions’ efficiency in hunting zebras, their primary prey…

The presence of invasive ants in trees indirectly reduced the number of zebras preyed upon by lions, researchers observed in a study at a nature reserve in Kenya.

Published in Science, the study noted that the invasive big-headed ant species disrupted a relationship between native ants and the region’s thorny acacia trees that cover 40% of the Ol Pejeta reserve in southern Kenya. The native ants prevented grazing animals from eating the trees, and in their absence, elephants destroyed the trees at five to seven times the rate in areas where they were displaced by invasive ants.

How a tiny invasive ant is affecting the mighty lion on the savannahs of Kenya, demonstrating the ecological connections between all life regardless of how great or small

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“UW’s outstanding researchers are published regularly in major scientific journals, but the past month has brought the most sustained and widest stretch of international exposure over a short perio…

Tiny insects have upended a Kenyan ecosystem

COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 reduced human mobility, providing an opportunity to disentangle its effects on animals from those of landscape modifications. Using GPS data, we compared movements and road avoidance of 2300 terrestrial mammals (43 species) during the lockdowns to the same period in 2019. Individual responses were variable, with no change in average movements or road avoidance behavior, likely due to variable lockdown conditions. However, under strict lockdowns, 10-day 95th percentile displacements increased by 73%, suggesting increased landscape permeability. Animals’ 1-hour 95th percentile displacements declined by 12%, and animals were 36% closer to roads in areas of high human footprint, indicating reduced avoidance during lockdowns. Overall, lockdowns rapidly altered some spatial behaviors, highlighting variable but substantial impacts of human mobility on wildlife worldwide.

UW graduate student-led study finds invasive ants alter lion hunting behavior in Kenyan savanna.

Invasive ants are having an outsized effect on savanna ecology, impacting even the largest mammals.

As protective trees are damaged, landscapes change, lions adapt their diet

Lions changed their diet after the arrival of big-headed ants.

In a study published in the journal Science, a team of scientists report that a tiny and seemingly innocuous invasive ant species is changing tree cover in an East African wildlife area, making it harder for lions, the world’s most iconic predator, to hunt its preferred prey, zebra.

A tale of elephants, thorn trees, and the sensitivity of ecosystems

Research at a conservancy in Kenya has revealed how lion predation is being hindered by an invasive ant species that causes the destruction of whistling-thorn trees, prime spots for ambushing zebras.

Big-headed ants are invading new territories in Kenya—and the consequences are rippling through the whole ecosystem, scientists have found

A known as the big-headed ant is subtly but significantly altering the dynamics of a well-established ecosystem and the lions that live there

The invasion of non-native species can sometimes lead to large and unexpected ecosystem shifts, as Douglas Kamaru and colleagues demonstrate in a

In a study a team of scientists reports that a tiny and seemingly innocuous invasive ant species is changing tree cover in an East African wildlife area, making it harder for lions to hunt its preferred prey, zebra.

On a conservancy of Kenya, lions are struggling to hunt zebras. An invasive insect may be to blame.

A newly published research paper demonstrates how a tiny, invasive insect has helped make savanna landscapes safer for zebras.

A joint project, including researchers from the University of Wyoming and UBC Okanagan, shows how invasive big-headed ants in a Kenyan savanna have caused lions to change their predatory habits– shifting their preferred prey from the iconic zebra to buffalo.

What makes the little old ant think he can disrupt the life of an African lion? Researchers say it’s more than just high hopes. In a study published in the journal Science, a team of scientists reports that a tiny and seemingly innocuous invasive ant species is changing tree cover in an East Africa…

Study shows that big-headed ants force lions in Kenya to change their diet preferences from Zebras to buffalo

You may have heard of the butterfly effect , but how about the ant effect ? Research published Thursday has shown how an ant muscled into a Kenyan savannah and sparked such a dramatic transformation in the landscape that even the local lions changed the way they hunt .

Scientists reveal how an unassuming ant in East Africa is forcing the area’s lions to pivot away from hunting zebra and turn their attention to buffaloes. 

In a new study, researchers said that big-headed ants started an “ecological chain reaction” in a Kenya conservancy, impacting lions and other animals.

It all starts with the whistling-thorn acacia trees in the plains of Laikipia, Kenya.

New research led by a University of Wyoming graduate student shows that invasive ants in a Kenyan savanna have caused lions to change their predatory behavior. During a recent appearance on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse, UW Director of Institutional Communications Chad Baldwin shared the news of this discovery. Detailed in the journal Science, the researchers […]

Jacob R. Goheen Some ant species are among the worst invaders in the world, and an invasion can come with strong consequences for ecosystem functioning. One infamous invasive species is the big-headed ant (BHA) Pheidole megacephala.

The lions were said to have changed tactics after the big-headed ants invaded Kenya.

The arrival of big-headed ants ‘spells almost certain doom’, one study found

How an army of big-headed ants saved zebras from hungry lions in Kenya – The arrival of big-headed ants ‘spells almost certain doom’, one study found

Hunting by Kenyan lions impeded in ‘ecological chain reaction’ as big-headed ants fail to stop elephants stripping acacia trees – the cats’ ambush cover

In the fall issue of UWyo Magazine, meet more than 40 University of Wyoming changemakers, including alumni, faculty members and students. These generous individuals give of their time and talent right here in Wyoming and around the world. Plus, read about UW programs making a difference, the impact of philanthropy and much more.

https://www.uwyo.edu/uwyo/current/index.html

On this week’s #SciencePodcast with @boron110, @NerdyChristie, and Douglas Kamaru:
-A hangover-fighting enzyme
-The failure of a promising snakebite treatment
-How ants change lion behavior

An invasion of big-headed ants has changed the landscape at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya. Elephants wander a landscape that has fewer trees and more open grasslands.

A hangover-fighting enzyme, the failure of a promising snakebite treatment, and how ants change lion behavior…

LES DOCS NATURE. Dans ce territoire en pleine savane, les lions ont longtemps régné en maîtres… jusqu’à ce que leur comportement soit complètement perturbé à cause d’un animal de quelques millimètres à peine. La responsable ? Une minuscule fourmi, à l’origine d’une gigantesque réaction en chaîne. Et l’humain n’est pas totalement étranger à cette situation. Alors comment cette fourmi a bouleversé la vie des lions ? Et quelles conséquences ça peut avoir ? C’est ce que Lucas a voulu comprendre dans ce nouvel épisode des docs nature.