Which Life form dominates Earth?

Are we the dominant species of Planet Earth?

With a population of seven billion and increasing at an exponential rate we seem to think we own our

planet, that we dominate it. But is it true?

There are organisms with are more numerous and have a larger share of the total biomass of the Planet. But a certain six-legged, shrimp-like springtails or collembola cannot be matched in this number game. Ranging from 0.25-10mm in length, there are typically 10,000 of springtails per metre square of soil and may be as high 200,000. Turn a stone and chances are you’ll find a springtail colony living under it. They inhabit every corner of our planet, from icy landmass of Antarctica to highest mountain ranges of our planet. But do they dominate our planets

No, there is only one master. Ants. They control every millimetre of soil, wherever they live. Ants exert their control in a wide range of ingenious ways, from moving more earth about than earthworms, clearing away their dead to reduce the spread of disease and waging war. Leaf cutter ants farm fungi as a food source and use a bacterial pesticide related to penicillin to improve the productivity of their farms, while herder ants keep herds of aphids so they can milk them for a sugary substance called honeydew. But do they dominate our planet?

No. We are living , as Grould wrote, in the Age of Bacteria. Wolbachia provide a particularly good example of the below-the-radar dominance of bacteria. Extremely widespread and devious, they live within the cells of around two-thirds of insects and other arthropods, such as spiders and mites. They can pass between species.However their main method of transmission is through the eggs of host females. And they exert their dominance by messing with the reproduction of almost every animal they infect, causing some species to change sex, killing off males, and altering their sperm. In doing so, they have in turn affected the survival and evolution of thousands of other species. But do They dominate our planet?

No. It is only humans who dominate our planet. Unlike the Springtails, Ants and Bacteria, with our superior cognitive skills, opposable thumbs and will power we have left the bounds of our planet and launched ourselves into infinite space. This not only shows our capacity to leave the planet but also to conquer and dominate it.