

The density of leaf-litter ants is highest in forests, while the numbers of actively ground-foraging ants are highest in arid regions. Abundances of ground-dwelling ants are strongly concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions but vary substantially across habitats. This exceeds the combined biomass of wild birds and mammals and is equivalent to ∼20% of human biomass. The latter corresponds to a biomass of ∼12 megatons of dry carbon. We conservatively estimate total abundance of ground-dwelling ants at over 3 × 10 15 and estimate the number of all ants on Earth to be almost 20 × 10 15 individuals. Our analysis is based on 489 studies, spanning all continents, major biomes, and habitats. We compile data on ground-dwelling and arboreal ants to obtain an empirical estimate of global ant abundance. Even for ubiquitous insects, such as ants, which are of tremendous ecological significance, there is currently neither a reliable estimate of their total number on Earth nor of their abundance in particular biomes or habitats. Such knowledge is currently lacking for insects, which have long been regarded as the “little things that run the world”. Wunderlich J (1982) Mitteleuropäische Spinnen (Araneae) der Baumrinde.Knowledge on the distribution and abundance of organisms is fundamental to understanding their roles within ecosystems and their ecological importance for other taxa. Work TT, Buddle CM, Korinus LM, Spence JR (2002) Pitfall trap size and capture of three taxa of litter-dwelling arthropods: implications for biodiversity studies. Szinetar C, Horvath R (2005) A review of spiders in tree trunks in Europe (Araneae). Southwood TRE, Henderson PA (2000) Ecological methods. Pearce JL, Schuurman D, Barber KN, Larrivée M, Venier LA, McKee J, McKenney D (2005) Pitfall trap designs to maximize invertebrate captures and minimize captures of nontarget vertebrates. Patrick B, Hansen A (2013) Comparing ramp and pitfall traps for capturing wandering spiders. Oger P (2018) Les araignées de Belgique et de France. Nicolai V (1993) The arthropod fauna on the bark of deciduous and coniferous trees in a mixed forest of the Itasca State Park, MN, USA. Nentwig W, Blick T, Gloor D, Hänggi A, Kropf C (2020) Spiders of Europe. Mupepele A, Müller T, Dittrich M, Floren A (2014) Are temperate canopy spiders tree-species specific? PLoS One 9(2):e86571. Hristovski S, Naumova M, Deltshev C (2020) Distribution and community structure of araneocoenoses (Araneae) along an altitudinal gradient on Kozuf Mountain (North Macedonia). Matevski D, Cvetkovska-Gjorgjievska A, Prelić D. Jantscher E (2001) Diagnostic characters of Xysticus cristatus, X. Heimer S, Nentwig W (1991) Spinnen Mitteleuropas: Ein Bestimmungsbuch.

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