Elephant (2 of 3) (IMAGE) Rice University Caption Rice University graduate student Therese Lamperty with Prince Mokuoapamba, a master's student at Masuku University of Science and Technology in Franceville, Gabon. Lamperty studied how the presence of megafauna like African forest elephants affected insect populations in preserved and hunted forests in Gabon. The study showed that termite populations in particular suffered when elephants are absent. Credit Photo courtesy of Therese Lamperty/Rice University Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.