Scientists thought that fencing in some African acacia trees would make them healthier so that they were inaccessible to elephants, giraffes and other animals. Scientists assumed once these trees are no longer losing their leaves these animals, the trees would thrive.
The scientists learned from the study that the fenced-in acacia trees began looking sickly and grew more slowly than the unprotected trees. It means when the herbivores were not able to eat the plant leaves, the tree stopped needing ants to avert the herbivores. The tree no longer took care of the ants, this resulted in reduced nectar production and the trees made fewer swollen thorns. This impacted the acacia trees in a very negative manner, the ants either began damaging the trees or were replaced by other insects that made holes in the trees. The study points out that the balance among species is extremely precarious - If the large mammals begin to disappear then the other species will also be impacted by this.
The effects of the experiments can be reversed by allowing the large animals to feed on the acacia trees that were fenced-in. This can help in recovering the relationship between trees and ants.
To know more about acacia trees refer to: https://brainly.com/question/3213995
#SPJ9
