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Quantitative characterization of a subtropical dry forest termite community (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae, Rhinotermitidae, Termitidae).
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Genet, John A. Genet, Kristen S. Burton, Thomas M. W. Murphy, Peter G. |
| Copyright Year | 2000 |
| Abstract | Given the variety of nesting locations (e.g., arboreal, epigeal, subterranean) and range of colony sizes exhibited by termites, a quantitative sampling scheme must incorporate multiple techniques in order to ascertain the abundance of all termite species in a particular area (Eggleton & Bignell 1995). A protocol for sampling the termite community of a subtropical dry forest is presented here. This protocol utilizes the colony as the sampling unit because, as a result of their reproductive division of labor, the effective population size of social insects is better represented by the abundance of colonies rather than the abundance of individuals. Previous studies investigating the abundance of termite colonies have been restricted to species that construct epigeal mounds (e.g., Redford 1984) or arboreal nests (e.g., McMahan 1996). Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to report the abundance of colonies for an assemblage of termite species with a variety of nest types. Colony densities for species belonging to the primitive family Kalotermitidae are presented here for the first time. The majority of southwestern Puerto Rico is classified as subtropical dry forest life zone (sensu Holdridge 1967) by Ewel & Whitmore (1973). Annual precipitation in this life zone is seasonal and ranges from 600 mm in the west to 1000 mm in the east. Guánica Commonwealth Forest, situated within the center of the dry forest life zone, represents one of the best remaining examples of subtropical dry forest in the world (Murphy & Lugo 1990). It is comprised of three major intergrading plant associations: coastal scrub forest, deciduous forest and semievergreen forest. Deciduous and coastal scrub forest account for most forest cover, with semievergreen forests restricted to ravines and sinkholes (Lugo et al. 1978). Therefore, two deciduous-forest sites and one coastal-scrub site were selected in order to characterize termite communities in this subtropical dry forest. The two deciduous-forest sites differed in their history of human disturbance. One of the deciduous-forest sites is a mosaic of recovering and relatively unimpacted forest stands while the other site is located in an area that has received a minimal amount of human disturbance over the past 60 years. This quantitative survey of the termites of Guánica Forest was conducted during the summer of 1997. Previous collections of termites from Puerto Rico (Jones & Scheffrahn, unpublished) documented 10 species (3 families, 8 genera) from th e islan d’s su btropical dry forest life zon e. Due to the variability in size and location of the termite colonies found in this region, two sampling regimes Tropical Ecology 41(1): 119-122, 2000 ISSN 0564-3295 © International Society for Tropical Ecology |
| Starting Page | 119 |
| Ending Page | 122 |
| Page Count | 4 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 41 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://www.tropecol.com/pdf/open/PDF_41_1/kp41120.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
