Guard your picnic baskets: researchers have estimated that there are about 20 quadrillion ants in the world at any given time.
The biomass of those 20,000,000,000,000,000 individual ants would weigh about 12 megatonnes, more than all the wild birds and mammals in the world put together.
Researchers at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Hong Kong were behind the massive counting project, whose primary focus was on understanding ants' role on the planet and the natural processes of various ecosystems.
“The astounding ubiquity of ants has prompted many naturalists to contemplate their exact number on Earth, but systematic and empirically derived estimates are lacking,” the researchers wrote in their study, which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Integrating data from all continents and major biomes, we conservatively estimate 20 × 1015 (20 quadrillion) ants on Earth, with a total biomass of 12 megatons of dry carbon.”
Sabine S Nooten, an insect ecologist who was a co-author of the study, told CNN: “We virtually didn't have any expectations because the numbers which floated around beforehand in scientific literatures were basically educated guesses, and they had very little empirical data to work from.
“And, so, this is the novelty of our study because we synthesised the data from a lot of empirical studies.”
By integrating data from about 500 different studies — during which scientists often counted all of the ants within the community they were studying — the research team was able to make its estimate, which they stress is “conservative”.
Ants are important ecosystem engineers, moving dirt, distributing seeds and recycling organic matter. They can also be found almost everywhere on the planet, with the exception of the Arctic and Antarctica.
Spec%20sheet
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'Nightmare Alley'
Director:Guillermo del Toro
Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Age: 35
Inspiration: Wife and kids
Favourite book: Changes all the time but my new favourite is Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Best Travel Destination: Bora Bora , French Polynesia
Favourite run: Jabel Hafeet, I also enjoy running the 30km loop in Al Wathba cycling track
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
TOUR DE FRANCE INFO
Dates: July 1-23
Distance: 3,540km
Stages: 21
Number of teams: 22
Number of riders: 198
MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports