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Ants (N) and Biomass - with datasets

  • 1.  Ants (N) and Biomass - with datasets

    Posted 09-22-2022 15:05

    Occasionally we have the opportunity to work with  H.S.,  undergraduate or graduate students. It can be handy to have a dataset(s) to provide to students.
    This may be a useful example.

    Links below to an interesting paper, ---with datasets available for download, and perhaps an opportunity for an exploratory analysis statistics project for students in say , a classroom setting. A study of the number, biomass and worldwide geographic distribution of Ants (6 legged)
    The main finding
    The total number (N) of Ants  in the world is "conservatively " estimated to be 20 Quadrillion.
    And their total biomass is 12 megatons and that is about 12% of human biomass.

    This is a meta-type analysis assembled from much more basic publications (cited in the paper). The datasets and calculations details are in the appendix materials. The paper is available from PNAS for download for $10. And a link to the paper on research gate.

    • I have all the downloads, and the paper . due to copyright issues, I don't post the paper and appendices on my website.


    and if the insert worked, a picture of an ANT!


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    Chris Barker, Ph.D.
    2022 Statistical Consulting Section
    Chair-elect
    Consultant and
    Adjunct Associate Professor of Biostatistics
    www.barkerstats.com


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    "In composition you have all the time you want to decide what to say in 15 seconds, in improvisation you have 15 seconds."
    -Steve Lacy
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