The discovery of this latest skill, which was presented at the annual EuropeanGeosciences Union gathering on April 11th, is a result of a three-year study conducted by a team of German researchers led by Gabriela Berberich. The scientists from the University of Duisburg-Essen began by seeking out the more than 15,000 red wood ant mounds that lie amidst the nooks and crannies of some of Germany's biggest and most active earthquake fault lines.
The ants followed pretty much the same routine every day - Scooting around actively all day, busy with their chores and then resting inside their mounds at night. However, right before an earthquake they seemed to break that routine by spending the entire night, loitering outside their mounds. Only after the earthquake was over, would they relax and go back to their regular way of life. What was even more interesting, is that they didn't not change their behavior for tiny tremors - earthquakes below 2.0, which coincidentally, happens to be the smallest ones humans can feel.
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