Ant tree

An elephant feeds on Acacia trees in Kenya in the summer of 2007. Scientists have discovered that elephants and other large browsing mammals are key to the Acacia’s unique interdependent relationship with ants that live in its boughs. Trying to ward off the mammals, the Acacia’s “hire” and support the ants as bodyguards – but when the mammals disappear, the trees slash their support to the ants. As a result, parasitic insects, including a wood-boring beetle, begin to take over, hurting the trees. The research has important implications for conservation because many of Africa’s largest mammals are threatened by growth, hunting and other human activities.

(Kathleen Rudolph/University of Florida)
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