Recent research by the University of Wyoming has indicated that lions in Kenya have been greatly affected by an invasion of big-headed ants originating from Mauritius.
The research released on Thursday showed that the big-headed ants are disrupting the ecosystem hence changing the hunting habits of the lions in Laikipia County.
These ants, in warm climates, are capable of eliminating competition from other ant species due to their large heads that help them attack competitors.
Unlike the native acacia ants, the big-headed ants do not maintain an ecosystem-friendly relationship with the whistling thorn trees that define the landscape of the area and are the dominant species in East Africa.
“We show that a tiny invader reconfigured predator-prey dynamics among iconic species,” the researchers wrote, led by PhD student Douglas Kamaru from the University of Wyoming’s Department of Zoology and Physiology.
This research highlighted that by killing the native ants, the big-headed species expose the trees to elephants which end up clearing the vegetation and leaving the land bare.
The native ants have been protecting the landscape and maintaining a symbiotic relationship with the whistling thorn trees. The trees provide nectar to the ants while the ants release formic acid and also bite off animals that try to feed on the trees.
Elephants therefore have ended up feasting on the trees. With a bare and dry landscape, lions can no longer be able to camouflage while hunting zebras their most preferred prey.
Wyoming University research showed that the proportion of zebras killed by lions had dropped in the area from 67% to 42% within the last 20 years.
Similarly, it indicated that while the rate of hunting zebras was going down, the lions had resorted to buffalos killing and also risked the population of the elephants.
Further, they indicated that the effect of this disruption of the ecosystem in the long term was not yet known. The population of the lions had not yet been directly affected by this disruption.
The hypothesis of the scientists is, that in the long run, the invasion by the big-headed species may end up changing the dynamics of lion prides.
