Definitions:
Feces - digestive waste, or in other words, poop.
Lesions - abnormal tissue from an organism; an injury.
Summary:
In Indonesia, there are yellow crazy ants (image shown above) colonizing there. These ants get their name from their color, and the erratic movements they make when walking. Recently, they have been driving out native ants and taking control of the ecosystem. However, the native Sulawesi toad turns out to be a devourer of ants, even invading ones. "During a week of toad abundance on Sulawesi farms, tests plots hopping with toads had as little as one-third of the invasive ant populations found on plots where fencing kept toads out, Wanger and his colleagues report in a paper released online the week of September 6 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B."
Discussion
These yellow crazy ants are a big issue right now, for they are disrupting ecosystems everywhere, killing off native ant species. The native ants of Indonesia have been shown to help cacao pests away on plantations. But if the yellow crazy ant keeps driving on, they will be pushed into a different area, not being able to help the cacao plantations. Luckily, the Sulawesi toad feasts on these ants, keeping the population in check. So, the toads indirectly help keep cacao plantations safe from pests. Because of their importance to the agriculture and economy in Sulawesi, the local people are trying to conserve the amphibian.
Questions:
1. Are the Sulawesi toads endangered? Is that why they are featured in this article?
2. When did the yellow crazy ants start colonizing in the area and how many are there?
Sources:
Works Cited:
Milius, Susan. “Not in This Toad’s Backyard: Native Indonesian Amphibian Takes on Invading Ants.” ScienceNews. N.p., 7 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Sept. 2010. <http://sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/63119/title/Not_in_this_toad%E2%80%99s_backyard>.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYour article topic is very interesting. You could have explained a little more in your summary, but i totally agree with your Discussion section. Your questions are very insightful, especially the second one.
ReplyDeleteGood job :)
Justin,
ReplyDeleteI found the topic of a yellow crazy ant infestation interesting, and your description and picture of it made it a lot more fun to read. From what you said in your discussion, I hope the toads are not endangered or else the cacao plantations will suffer. Also, your CSB would be even better if the quote from the article wasn't so long that it was half of your summary. Other than that, I especially liked how your question about whether the toads were endangered links directly to what you said in your discussion. Good job!
i agree completly. no but u should try to make the summary a bit longer and complete. and where in indonesia. and you should add a map of area where the ants are taking control and where the toads have influence and where they dont
ReplyDeleteVishal, it is in Sulawesi. I said it was in Sulawesi in the Discussion section. I don't think I can find an actual map where the ants are taking control because it was not specified in the article.
ReplyDeleteHi Justin,
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job with it. The title was good. I think the summary was well stated, however I agree with Vishal that you should state a little bit more on the Sulawesi. Also, the Discussion was great, I think it included many of the topics that the readers wanted to hear about. I agree with your questions, but I would add "After a yellow crazy ant enters an ecosystem, how long does it take for it too overrun other species?"