Ants can’t alter behaviour to deal with warmer climate: Report

Subject :Environment

Section :Climate Change

Context:

Ants may be unable to adapt to global warming, a new study looking at their behavioural flexibility has warned. This leaves them highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, as the insects could not move away from warmer sites despite costs to their well-being.

Climate change impact on insects:

Insects are cold-blooded creatures, also called ectotherms.
Their body temperatures depend on external sources like sunlight.
Humans (endotherms), on the other hand, maintain their body temperature without relying on the environment.
As ants’ body temperature varies with the environment, they are thought to be highly vulnerable to climate change.
If ants warm up due to climate change, they will have a higher metabolism and food demands.
A previous study on 38 insect species found that 19 would suffer population decline in response to warming. Of them, 17 could escape this fate by altering their behaviour.

Significance of ants to the ecosystem:

Ants are often called “ecosystem’s engineers”.
These insects move the soil during nest-building and foraging, affecting the level of nutrients in it.
Some species of ants cultivate fungi. Insects cultivate fungi for food or structure. Diverse lineages of fungi belonging to Ascomycota and Basidiomycota are cultivated.