How Many Ants Are There Per Person on Earth?
WouterCounting ants is virtually impossible, but there’s an estimated total of 20 quadrillion on Earth. That’s 2.5 million ants per person, or the equivalent of 20,000,000,000 ants per wild bird or wild mammal on the planet.
This number was calculated by researchers at the University of Hong Kong. They reviewed 489 published studies on ant populations. They found that ants are distributed widely throughout the globe. The ants are most concentrated in the tropics. The study also found that ants were less common in human-made habitats.
The total ant mass on the planet is estimated to be 12 megatons of dry carbon. This is much higher than the combined mass of wild mammals and wild birds.
Scientists were concerned that ant populations were declining. The decline is due to habitat destruction, climate change, pesticide use, and other factors. The study also found that ants are particularly abundant in tropical forests. However, the number of ants in human-inhabited areas was lower than expected.
The researchers found that the number of ants per person on earth is about two to five times as high as the number of human inhabitants. However, this is still a conservative estimate. There are over seven billion people living on the planet, so the true number of ants is probably much higher.
The study found that there are over 13,000 different species of ants in the world. Two-thirds of ants live in tropical forests. However, there are also many ants in arid regions. Despite this, scientists believe that more research is needed to understand the role of ants in terrestrial ecosystems.
