A computer game once given away in kids' cereal boxes is helping Australia eradicate an invasive ant species.
Using the game, the research team built armies and battlegrounds of different sizes and shapes and watched them fight, then mapped the results.
The armies created in the game behaved in a simple, predicable and quantifiable way, allowing mathematical models of warfare to emerge.
The researchers then conducted laboratory experiments with ants and compared the models to the "messy" real-world examples, using actual animals that behaved unpredictably.
Despite the challenges, Dr Booth said Australia has established itself as a world leader in invasive ant eradication.
But she said improving biosecurity measures to stop them arriving was still important, as well as investing in research to better understand ant invasions and develop new methods for detecting and controlling them.
The original article contains 491 words, the summary contains 132 words. Saved 73%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A computer game once given away in kids' cereal boxes is helping Australia eradicate an invasive ant species.
Using the game, the research team built armies and battlegrounds of different sizes and shapes and watched them fight, then mapped the results.
The armies created in the game behaved in a simple, predicable and quantifiable way, allowing mathematical models of warfare to emerge.
The researchers then conducted laboratory experiments with ants and compared the models to the "messy" real-world examples, using actual animals that behaved unpredictably.
Despite the challenges, Dr Booth said Australia has established itself as a world leader in invasive ant eradication.
But she said improving biosecurity measures to stop them arriving was still important, as well as investing in research to better understand ant invasions and develop new methods for detecting and controlling them.
The original article contains 491 words, the summary contains 132 words. Saved 73%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!