|
Press Release 05-020
Hang Gliding, Ant Style
Tree-dwelling ants falling from the rainforest canopy chart specific courses to safety
February 9, 2005
Keen observation by Stephen Yanoviak, a researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch, revealed that certain species of rainforest ants use “directed descent” when recovering from a treetop fall. The ants purposefully glide towards the trunk of their home tree – even making 180-degree mid-air turns to avoid ending up on the forest floor.
As he was climbing around 100 feet up in the trees, Yanoviak noticedthat whenever he brushed off attacking ants, the vast majority landed on the same tree’s trunk and quickly made their way back from where they had fallen.
This wasn’t the focus of Yanoviak’s research, but the ever-curious scientist became intrigued. By marking the ants with a spot of white nail polish and capturing impressive video images, Yanoviak proved his initial supposition. In fact, about 85 percent of the falling ants glided to their originating tree trunk.
Yanoviak teamed up with Robert Dudley of the University of California, Berkeley, an expert on gliding animals, and Michael Kaspari, an ant ecologist from the University of Oklahoma, to report the findings in the Feb. 10 issue of the journal Nature.
Alan Tessier, whose environmental biology program at the National Science Foundation, supported part of the research said, “This novel finding illustrates an adaptation to life in the forest canopy, and is likely to stimulate widespread research on gliding in insects and other arthropods. The discovery of this directed-gliding ability adds new perspective to life in a 3-dimensional world.”
Perhaps E.O. Wilson, the father of sociobiology and world-renowned expert on ants, captured it best: “When you have seen one ant, one bird, one tree, you have not seen them all.”
For the full story, including video of the ants, see: http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/02/09_ants.shtml
-NSF-
Media Contacts
Randy Vines, NSF (703) 292-8070 rvines@nsf.gov
Program Contacts
Alan J. Tessier, NSF (703) 292-8481 atessier@nsf.gov
Related Websites
UC Berkeley Press Release: http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/02/09_ants.shtml
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2009, its budget is $9.5 billion, which includes $3.0 billion provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 44,400 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.
 Get News Updates by Email
Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov
NSF News: http://www.nsf.gov/news/
For the News Media: http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp
Science and Engineering Statistics: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
Awards Searches: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/
| 
