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Ants Have Big Impact on Environment as "Ecosystem Engineers"

螞蟻作為“生態系統工程師”對環境影響巨大

Research by the University of Exeter1 has revealed that ants have a big impact on their local

埃克斯特大學所做的研究表明，螞蟻作為“生態系統工程師”和食肉動物的行

environment as a result of their activity as "ecosystem engineers" and predators. The study,

為對當地的環境影響巨大。

published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, found that ants have two distinct effects on their

該研究發表在動物生態雜志上，它表明螞蟻對當地的

local environment.

環境有兩大顯著的影響

Firstly, through moving of soil by nest building2 activity and by collecting food they affect the level of nutrients in the soil. This can indirectly impact the local populations of many animal groups, from decomposers to species much higher up the food chain.

第一，通過筑巢而挪動土壤或采集食物，螞蟻影響土壤的營養水平。這可間接影響當地從腐生物到食物鏈高層的許多動物種群的數量。

Secondly, they prey on a wide range of other animals, including larger prey which can be attacked by vast numbers of ant workers.

第二，它們捕食的動物種類很多，包括那些被大量工蟻攻擊的大獵物。

Dirk Sanders, an author of the study from the university's Centre for Ecology and Conservation, said:"Ants are very effective predators which thrive in huge numbers. They're also very territorial3 and very aggressive, defending their resources and territory against other predators. All of this means they have a strong influence on their surrounding area."

Dirk Sanders是該大學生態和保護中心所做的此項研究的作者，他說：“螞蟻是高效的食肉動物，而且能大量繁殖。它們具有很強的領地意識，并且會竭盡全力對抗其他的食肉動物來保衛自己的領地。所有這些都意味著螞蟻對周圍環境影響巨大。”

"In this research, we studied for the first time how big this impact is and the subtleties of it. What we found is that despite being predators, their presence can also lead to an increase in density and diversity of other animal groups4. They genuinely play a key role in the local environment, having a big influence on the grassland food web," Sanders said.

“在該研究中，我們第一次對螞蟻帶來的影響程度及微妙程度進行研究。所得的發現是：盡管是食肉動物，螞蟻的出現能促使其他動物族群在數量和品種上的增長。并對當地的環境起到切實重要的作用，對大草原的食物鏈影響巨大。”Sanders說。

The study, carried out in Germany, studied the impact of the presence of different combinations and densities of black garden ants and common red ants, both species which can be found across Europe, including in the UK. It found that a low density of ants in an area increased the diversity and density of other animals in the local area, particularly the density of herbivores and decomposers. At higher densities ants had no or the opposite effect, showing that predation is counteracting the positive influence.

該研究在德國進行，它對花園黑螞蟻和一般的紅螞蟻在不同混合程度和不同密度下的影響力進行研究。黑螞蟻和紅螞蟻在整個歐洲包括英國都能找到。研究發現，一個地區的螞蟻密度小，而其他動物尤其是食草動物和腐生物的數量和種類會增多。如果螞蟻的密度大，就不可能產生同樣的影響，或者產生相反的影響，這表明，螞蟻的掠食活動會抵消螞蟻給環境帶來的積極影響。

Dr Frank van Veen, another author on the study, said:"What we find is that the impact of ants on soil nutrient levels has a positive effect on animal groups at low levels, but as the number of ants increases, their predatory impacts have the bigger effect — thereby counteracting the positive influence via ecosystem engineering."

Dr Frank van Veen是本研究的另一作者，他說：“我們的發現是：如果螞蟻的數量少，其對土壤的營養水平的影響會對動物族群產生積極的效果。但是如果螞蟻的數量增加，其捕食的影響會達到最大化，因此會抵消螞蟻通過生態工程給環境帶來的積極影響”。

Ants are important components of ecosystems not only because they constitute a great part of the animal biomass5 but also because they act as ecosystem engineers. Ant biodiversity6 is incredibly high and these organisms are highly responsive to human impact, which obviously reduces its richness. However, it is not clear how such disturbance damages the maintenance of ant services to the ecosystem. Ants are important in below ground processes8 through the alteration of the physical and chemical environment and through their effects on plants, microorganisms, and other soil organisms.

螞蟻是生態系統的重要組成部分，不僅因為它占有很大部分的生物量，而且因為其作為生態系統工程師的角色。螞蟻具有難以想象的多樣性，但極易受人類的影響，這就使它的多樣性有顯著的減少。然而，科學家還不清楚人類對螞蟻這種干擾如何破壞螞蟻對生態系統的維護作用。螞蟻通過變動物理的和化學的環境，通過對植物、微生物和其他土壤生物的影響而對生態環境起至關重要的作用。