Mravenci jsou jednou z nejpočetnějších skupin bezobratlých živočichů žíjících v korunách tropických stromů. Tým vědců z Českých Budějovic objasnil otázky ohledně biodiverzity a ekologických nároků stromových společenstev mravenců za pomoci nejrůznějších metod od vykácení a rozebrání celých kusů pralesa, sestrojení experimentálních pastí až po počítačové simulace. Výzkum pomohl získat klíčové poznatky nejen o tropických lesích pro vědu, ale přispět i k jejich ochraně a vzdělání domorodých obyvatel, kteří v nich žijí.

Použitá a citovaná liáteratura:
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CTFS (The Center for Tropical Forest Science). Forest Global Earth Observatories [online 17-06-2015]. 2015, dostupné z: http://www.forestgeo.si.edu
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FAYLE T.M., TURNER E.C., SNADDON J.L., CHEY V.K., CHUNG A.Y.C., ET AL. Oil palm expansion into rainforest greatly reduces ant biodiversity in canopy, epiphytes and leaf-litter. Basic and Applied Ecology. 2010, vol. 11, s. 337-345.
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Ants are one of the most abundant groups of invertebrates living in the canopies of tropical trees. In their research a team of scientists from České Budějovice clarified the drivers of high diversity and the ecological preferences of ant arboreal communities using a variety of techniques from felling and dissecting trees in entire forest plots and the construction of special experimental traps to computer simulations. This research helped to advance not only our knowledge about tropical rainforests, but it was also significant for tropical forest conservation and the education of the native people depending on them.