Intro to Australian Ants – Australia Video Report #1

Dr. Corrie Moreau tells us about the surprisingly beneficial role of ants in the environment and how they can be used as indicators of habitat health and disturbance. This is the first installment in a three-part series of video reports documenting the role of ants in the Australian rainforest and what their DNA can tell us about climate change and conservation priorities.

Dr. Moreau is the Assistant Curator of Insects in the Department of Zoology at The Field Museum. During February through April of 2010, Dr. Moreau conducted an inventory of ant diversity in the Australian Wet Tropics of Queensland. Back in the Museum’s Pritzker Laboratory, DNA sequencing of these ants provided insight into the effects of climate change on species’ diversity.

Be sure to check out Video Report #2 “Sequencing Ant DNA.”

Want to learn more about Field Museum scientific expeditions around the world? Please visit www.fieldmuseum.org/expeditions.