On Saturday, January 12, Briarcliff high school students Sydney Zhang, Fareed Mohideen, Zoe London, and Jolie Wasserman accompanied science teacher Dr. Robert Saar to Rockefeller University’s ‘Talking Science’ seminar to hear lectures on the biology and chemistry of ants and their social structure given by insect biologist Dr. Daniel Kronauer. During lunch, the students participated in hands-on activities to learn more about the power of the tiny creatures. All came away with new respect for the insects and the power of interdisciplinary research.
Dr. Saar explained, “Ants are tiny and sometimes a minor annoyance at picnics, but they are biological giants in many rainforest ecosystems. Not only are they present in colonies of 100,000s to millions, but they also have a complex social structure and amazing abilities to communicate with each other. As a team, they can devour a crocodile overnight.”
