First Peoples' knowledge leads scientists to reveal 'fairy circles' and termite linyji are linked in Australia.

ABSTRACT: In the past, when scientists encountered and studied 'new' environmental phenomena, they rarely considered the existing knowledge of First Peoples (also known as Indigenous or Aboriginal people). The scientific debate over the regularly spaced bare patches (so-called fairy circles) in arid grasslands of Australian deserts is a case in point. Previous researchers used remote sensing, numerical modelling, aerial images and field observations to propose that fairy circles arise from plant self-organization. Here we present Australian Aboriginal art and narratives, and soil excavation data, that suggest these regularly spaced, bare and hard circles in grasslands are pavement nests occupied by Drepanotermes harvester termites. These circles, called linyji (Manyjilyjarra language) or mingkirri (

SUBMITTER: Walsh F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10089917 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature