Problem: The detrimental effects of important fire ants have been a hot topic in recent research. You have been running a long-term study on burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) population dynamics. Fire ants have recently been spotted in their habitat. How would you quantify fire ants' direct and indirect effects on the owls? Discuss an example of how experimental research helped to better inform conservation efforts for a declining population, where earlier observational research alone could not. What methods can be combined to produce a valuable long-term data set to conclude if RIFA is a factor in the decline of a species?