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Erratum

Insectes Sociaux : Volume 50, Issue 2, April 2003

Insectes Sociaux : Volume 50, Issue 1, February 2003

Insectes Sociaux : Volume 49

Insectes Sociaux : Volume 48

Insectes Sociaux : Volume 47

Insectes Sociaux : Volume 46

Insectes Sociaux : Volume 45

Insectes Sociaux : Volume 44

The shape of compass termite mounds and its biological significance

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Korb, J.
Copyright Year	2003
Abstract	In northern Australia, compass termites build tall wedge-shaped mounds with an elongated axis that has a striking north-south orientation. Various hypotheses have been advanced to account for this remarkable mound architecture. However, behavioural aspects of mound orientation have rarely been investigated. The currently accepted hypothesis considers mound orientation as an adaptation to local long-term environmental conditions to maintain a temperature plateau at the eastern face of the mound. According to this hypothesis termites should concentrate at the eastern face when ambient temperature conditions are not ideal. This was tested in the current study by applying a new, non-destructive technique that allows monitoring of termites through solid material. Termatrac®, a tool developed for termite pest detection, uses microwaves to detect the movement of termites. As predicted by the eastern- face-plateau hypothesis, termites concentrated in the morning at the eastern face of the mound. However, this pattern was not found at sunrise or noon despite a similar temperature gradient between eastern and western face. This might indicate that only the morning heating of the eastern face is important for the termites, while it plays no prominent role during the rest of the day. The eastern-face-plateau hypothesis is then compared with other hypotheses to develop a general framework that addresses the different characteristics of compass mound architecture: shape, orientation and geographic variation in orientation.
Starting Page	218
Ending Page	221
Page Count	4
File Format	PDF
ISSN	00201812
Journal	Insectes Sociaux
Volume Number	50
Issue Number	3
e-ISSN	14209098
Language	English
Publisher	Birkhäuser-Verlag
Publisher Date	2003-01-01
Publisher Place	Basel
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Zoology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Insect Science

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