Trading Elephants for Ants: Efficient Post-attack Reconstitution

Defensive Plant-Ants Stabilize Megaherbivore-Driven Landscape Change in an African Savanna

Tree cover in savanna ecosystems is usually regarded as unstable, varying with rainfall, fire, and herbivory. In sub-Saharan Africa, elephants (Loxodonta africana) suppress tree cover, thereby maintaining landscape heterogeneity by promoting tree-grass coexistence. In the absence of elephants, tree encroachment may convert savannas into closed-canopy woodlands; when elephants increase in abunda...

Of Ants and Elephants: Measuring Student Appreciation for Insects and Charismatic Megafauna During an African Safari

Community Ecology: Top-Down Turned Upside-Down

Within African savannas, elephants often damage individual trees to the extent that they influence tree density. New research shows that mutualistic ants inhabiting certain species of Acacia protect trees from catastrophic herbivory by elephants. Protection by the ants stabilizes tree cover across savannas in what is otherwise a highly dynamic biome.

Of Ants and Elephants

Investigations of multi-robot systems often make implicit assumptions concerning the computational capabilities of the robots. Despite the lack of explicit attention to the computational capabilities of robots, two computational classes of robots emerge as the focal points of recent research: Robot Ants and robot Elephants. Ants have poor memory and communication capabilities, but are able to c...

Of robot ants and elephants

Investigations of multi-robot systems often make implicit assumptions concerning the computational capabilities of the robots. Despite the lack of explicit attention to the computational capabilities of robots, two computational classes of robots emerge as focal points of recent research: Robot Ants and robot Elephants. Ants have poor memory and communication capabilities, but are able to commu...