Question

How is our quality of life affected if, say, instead of 20,000 we have only 15,000 species of ants on earth?

Answer 1

Part 1: Ecological significance of ants
Ants are an important part of the food web in the following ways:-

• Increase soil fertility: Ants aerate the soil and are detritivores thus increasing soil fertility. The plants grow well in such soil, increasing the primary productivity of the ecosystem.
• Seed dispersal: Ants take seeds down into their tunnel to eat nutritious elaiosomes; these seeds sprout and thus help in seed dispersal.
• Food source: Provide food for other arthropods, birds and mammals.

Part 2: Effect of the population size of ants
A reduction in the number of ants will cause an imbalance in the ecosystem. Some ant species are keystone species (Oecophylla longinoda in South Africa) and play a very important role in symbiotic association in the soil. The reduction of the ants species will cause the extinction of other species as well.