The tiny ant species Pheidole megacephala has a significant impact on the ecosystem in Kenya's Ol Pejeta Nature Reserve. It disrupts the mutualistic relationship between acacia trees and another ant species, which historically protected the trees from large herbivores, such as elephants.
The consequences of this disruption are far-reaching; The trees, which are no longer tangled as before, do not provide the lions, the top predators that dominate the area, with the shelter they are used to.