New York City is housing a unique species of ants that is primarily characterized by its preference for human food, a group of researchers from the State University of North Carolina discovered. One of the biggest factors for this occurrence is the City's high availability of edible waste such as street foods, pizza, and junk foods.
Clint Penick, the study's lead researcher, explained that together with his colleagues, wanted to know why there are species that want to live alongside humans while some prefer to thrive in non-urban environments.
"We wanted to learn more about why some ant species are able to live alongside us, on sidewalks or in buildings, while other species stay on the outskirts of human development. This could also help us determine which species are doing the most to clean up our trash," the Eureka Alert published.
Researchers gathered 100 samples of ants from Manhattan's streets, parks, and sidewalks. These samples were representatives of 21 species- all examined to identify their bodies' isotope levels.
The results revealed that people and animals have the ability to absorb carbon in food items. Carbon 13, the component abundant in corns and sugar canes, are present in most of the foods that NY people consume. During the assessment, Penick and colleagues were able to discover that ants collected from pavements, those that are specifically found in sidewalks and medians, have the most Carbon 13 in their system while those that were from parks had the lowest.
Published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B journal, the study emphasized that ants that are exposed to what humans consume adapt their system's chemistry to their surroundings.