Do some types of ants prefer areas with above average electromagnetic field levels?

Fort Collins, Colorado
BiologyEcology
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About This Project

I am interested to know if some types of ants prefer to reside in areas with some electromagnetic activity. I have found that when presented with the opportunity, many ants prefer to live near people. Typically humans could be associated with areas with high EMF levels, so I assert that this may be informing the ants of our presence and the potential abundance of food, water and shelter.

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What is the context of this research?

I have been keeping a colony of Tetramorium for almost a year now. They are particularly fascinating to me because the Pavement Ant is native to Europe, and was introduced to the Americas (possibly by trade). I find Pavement Ants most commonly in the nests they make between slabs of concrete in the city. Humanity provides these ants with suitable conditions to thrive with our sidewalks, sprinkler systems and garbage. I think that this species in particular may be fond of residing near people, and that electromagnetism may be queuing them in.

What is the significance of this project?

Ants help scatter seeds, provide nutrients to the soil and clean up carrion. They are an influential force in the world's ecosystem, and studying where and how they like to live is something that I would consider most important. Understanding their affinity/aversion to electromagnetic fields should be taken into consideration because it may explain how the ants and humanity interact on an invisible level.

What are the goals of the project?

I would like to provide evidence to assess whether some genuses/subfamilies of ant are more commonly found in areas with significant EMF level readings. I will do this by carefully documenting each nest site and taking EMF levels for those locations. I want to look into royalty-free maps, so that I may distribute my information graphically without having to pay an outragious sum of money to get it.

Budget

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I believe that I have the resources to undertake this project at the present time, but I have budgeted for a basic notebook because I must have at least one item. I prefer to take my notes on paper in the field, to avoid bringing some of my more valuable equipment that may become damaged by dust or moisture.

Meet the Team

Ryan D. Cutter
Ryan D. Cutter

Lab Notes

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Additional Information

This is my current data sheet. It contains my observations since having recieved my current EMF tester: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1n-iFrqZ1hR...


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