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Their tunnels also aerate soil, like earthworms. Though, IMHO, it's pretty foolish to look for specific, enumerated "benefits" of native animals. They co-exist
by AlexandrB 6y ago
Their tunnels also aerate soil, like earthworms. Though, IMHO, it's pretty foolish to look for specific, enumerated "benefits" of native animals. They co-exist with a variety of other organisms in complex ways and removing any one of them can have unexpected fallout[1].
Also, if we're asking this question about ants, I really hope no one asks "But what are the actual environmental benefits of humans?" about us.
[1] https://ethology.eu/how-wolves-change-rivers/ https://ethology.eu/how-wolves-change-rivers/
- aliswe 6y agoI'm not really looking for reasons to wipe out colonies, I'm thinking about reasons for introducing them. For example, can they be beneficial in reversing desertification? Do they help plants by somehow bringing them nutrients? I'm very curious as I'm certain they have huge benefits, I'm just not sure exactly what they are ...
- danparsonson 6y agoTry thinking about it more holistically. It's not so much that ants on their own are great for a specific purpose, but rather that they work together with other parts of the ecosystem to make the whole thing work. If you're so inclined, maybe it's useful to think about neural networks; take a face-recognition network, pick any node, then ask 'what is this good for?'.