A German scientist has do up with an account for the unusual rings of pot that pockmark vast sweep of Africa ’s Namib Desert : A Baroness Dudevant termite known as Psammotermes allocerus . These circles are actually tiny oases built by the insects — and they can allow life to persist in the harsh conditions for one C of year .
scientist have previously attributed these so - anticipate fairy forget me drug — which can stretch out for hundreds of square miles — to grazing ants , poisonous flora , or toxic gases released from the reason . Locals say they ’re the work of supernatural forces .
But as Ed Yongexplainsover at National Geographic , these circles may be cause by untiring termites look to reshape the landscape painting :
The circles , according to [ Norbert Juergens ] , are water traps created by a sand termite . The white ant consume all the skunk within a circular patch , uncover rudimentary sand texture that hive away any fall rainwater . These desolate freckles are workings of ecological engineering , design to keep back precious water in an otherwise teetotal land . They ’re like desert version of beaver dams .
This process , argues Juergens , also drives wider benefits : the termites become a worthful food resourcefulness for a host of other beast such as gecko , moles , aardvarks , jackal , spiders , and ants .
take the entire field of study inScience . And check out Ed Yong’sentire article ; not everyone is convinced that Juergens is correct .
image : Norbert Juergens .
BiologyScience
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