A quantitative survey of the termite assemblage and its consumption of food in lowland mixed dipterocarp forest of Brunei Darussalam
1996; Springer Science+Business Media; Linguagem: Inglês
10.1007/978-94-009-1685-2_29
ISSN2215-1729
Autores Tópico(s)Animal and Plant Science Education
ResumoPreliminary results of sampling the termite assemblage in the lowland mixed dipterocarp forest of Batu Apoi Forest Reserve in Temburong District, Brunei Darussalam, are presented. Numbers of epigeal and arboreal nests in a one hectare plot were recorded and the populations of termites in soil and dead wood were measured. Termites were initially separated into four taxonomic groups: the family Rhinotermitidae, and the Termitidae subfamilies Termitinae, Macrotermitinae and Nasutitermitinae. The percentage of total density represented by each taxon was 9.2%, 28.8%, 33.9% and 28.1%, respectively. Density above-ground (513 m−2), in dead wood (320 m−2) and in soil (616 m−2) suggests that the total termite population exceeds 1500 m−2. Generalized rates of consumption by each taxon were used to estimate that total consumption of organic matter by termites was 35.2 g (dry weight) m−2 yr−1, which represents approximately 3% of the annual litter production. Odontotermes spp. (Macrotermitinae) were responsible for consuming 67% of the total amount of organic matter taken by termites. Comparisons were made with data from Mulu National Park, Sarawak, and Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia. The combined data suggest that the density of Macrotermitinae (fungus-growers) increases with decreasing annual rainfall.
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