WHAT ARE ALL THOSE PILES OF DIRT OUT THERE? (A question asked by - TopicsExpress



          

WHAT ARE ALL THOSE PILES OF DIRT OUT THERE? (A question asked by many visitors to the Refuge this spring.) The mounds in this photo were created by the ant Formica montana, sometimes called the prairie mound ant. Ground nesting ant species move prodigious amounts of soil as part of their normal nesting activity. Ants move and aerate the soil, and are more important than earthworms as earth-mixers in prairies. Waste products, discarded remains of their dead, and inedible parts of their food enrich the soil in and around ant mounds. Ant mounds are the preferred habitat for some prairie plants and small animals. Photos: Karen Viste-Sparkman/USFWS https://facebook/photo.php?fbid=617807704964448&set=pcb.617808254964393&type=1&theater
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 00:15:01 +0000

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