Influence of Food Resource Size on the Foraging Behavior of Nasutitermes corniger (Motschulsky)

Souza, Thiago Sampaio de; Gazal, Vinícius; Fernandes, Vinicius José; Oliveira, A. C. C.; Aguiar-Menezes, Elen de Lima

doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v65i2.2844

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Soldiers' recruitment in treatments with different amounts of wood was also equivalent, and this outcome indicates that this caste has actively participated in the foraging process at all amounts of wood available, due to the escort by the recruited workers and the gnawing workers who explored the wood blocks. This soldier behavior was also observed by Lima and Costa-Leonardo (2014) in underground termite species and by Souza et al (2018) in N. corniger colonies.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

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Influence of the amount of food resources in the foraging behavior of Nasutitermes corniger (Motschulsky)

et al. 2020

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Food scarcity or abundance are factors regulating termites’ foraging behavior in general. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the influence of four amounts of Eucalyptus grandis on foraging behavior events shown by worker and soldier of Nasutitermes corniger during laboratory tests. The tests were carried out with adult and active N. corniger colonies found in nests collected in the field, which were stored in glass cubes connected to the test arenas. Four different amounts of wood blocks were used in the tests and each amount concerned a treatment and defined a different experimental group: 1, 2, 3 and 4 blocks/arenas, with 5 repetitions. Each test lasted 60 minutes and consisted in observing, or not, the occurrence of behavioral events shown by foragers when they had contact with the treatment. The duration of each event was recorded, whenever it was observed. The number of recruited foragers and the number of workers consuming the blocks were recorded at the end of each test applied to each treatment. Nasutitermes corniger presented the three behavioral events in all treatments; however, there was not significant difference between treatments in the occurrence of the two first events, in the time taken from test start to the occurrence of a new event, in the number of recruited termites and in the number of gnawing workers. Only workers’ mass recruiting was influenced by the amount of wood available. The occurrence of this event was significantly higher in treatments with greater amounts of wood. Thus, N. corniger adjusts its mass recruitment behavior in response to available food amount, which should be considered when developing baiting system for its control.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…Tests were carried out in the foraging arenas of N. corniger, based on the methodology described by Souza et al (2018). The connection between nest and foraging arena was blocked with hydrophilic cotton, 30 minutes before the test had started, in order to block termites' access to the arena.…”

Section: Bioassaymentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of the amount of food resources in the foraging behavior of Nasutitermes corniger (Motschulsky)

et al. 2020

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“…The lab data suggested Macrotermes would be dominant, but the field data showed it was less common than either of the two Odonotermes species. This may be because the sampling did not include trees or large fallen branches, and the size of food resources does influence foraging decisions of species of Macrotermes , Coptotermes and Reticulitermes [59,60,61], and other species [62,63,64]. The lack of sampling of large food resources was an unintended artefact of human disturbance (management) in the Botanical Gardens.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Dominance Hierarchy of Wood-Eating Termites from China

Evans

Kasseney

2019

Insects

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Competition is a fundamental process in ecology and helps to determine dominance hierarchies. Competition and dominance hierarchies have been little investigated in wood-eating termites, despite the necessary traits of similar resources, and showing spatial and temporal overlap. Competition and dominance between five species of wood-eating termites found in Huangzhou, China, was investigated in three laboratory experiments of aggression and detection, plus a year-long field survey of termite foraging activity. Dominance depended on body size, with largest species winning overwhelmingly in paired contests with equal numbers of individuals, although the advantage was reduced in paired competitions with equal biomass. The termites could detect different species from used filter papers, as larger species searched through paper used by smaller species, and smaller species avoided papers used by larger species. The largest species maintained activity all year, but in low abundance, whereas the second largest species increased activity in summer, and the smallest species increased their activity in winter. The termite species displayed a dominance hierarchy based on fighting ability, with a temporal change in foraging to avoid larger, more dominant species. The low abundance of the largest species, here Macrotermes barneyi, may be a function of human disturbance, which allows subordinate species to increase. Thus, competitive release may explain the increase in abundance of pest species, such as Coptotermes formosanus, in highly modified areas, such as urban systems.

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“…However, records on the food selection process of this termite show that it is based on the wood species -these termites prefer Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden (Myrtaceae) to Pinus elliottii Engelm (Pinaceae) (Gazal et al 2010). In addition, wood decomposition levels (Gazal et al 2012), chemical stimuli (Gazal et al 2014a) and size (Souza et al 2018), as well as fecal pheromonal substances that orient individuals toward cellulosic substrates (Gazal et al 2014b), influence its attraction process. Thus, it is essential to understand the foraging dynamics of N. corniger to develop new control techniques for this termite species.…”

Section: Does the Distance Between The Nest And The Food Source Affec...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the distance between the nest and the food source affect the foraging behavior of Nasutitermes corniger (Termitidae)?

Souza,

Gazal,

Aguiar-Menezes

et al. 2023

Biosci. J.

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Research on food finding by pest termites can be used to inform the development of techniques to control their population; however, there is a paucity of information available on the foraging behavior of Nasutitermes corniger, an urban pest in South America. In the present study, we analyzed the effect of the distance between the nest and food on the exploration and recruitment of N. corniger during foraging behavior under laboratory conditions. Nests containing mature colonies were collected in the field and placed in a glass cube connected to a test arena (50.0 × 40.0 cm) in which Eucalyptus grandis blocks were supplied at three different distances: 10, 20 and 30 cm. In each test, the occurrence of the following events were recorded: initial exploitation, initial recruitment, and mass worker recruitment. Individuals in the blocks were counted at the end of each test and divided into the total number of recruited termites, recruited workers, consuming workers and recruited soldiers. Each test lasted 60 minutes and was repeated with 20 colonies. Nasutitermes corniger foragers showed the three behavioral events of interest at all three distances. The occurrences of initial exploitation and initial recruitment, the latency of the three events and the number of foragers were not affected by the distance between the nest and food. The occurrence of mass worker recruitment was the only event affected by this distance, with higher recruitment at shorter distances.

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Influence of Food Resource Size on the Foraging Behavior of Nasutitermes corniger (Motschulsky)

Cited by 6 publications

References 21 publications

Influence of the amount of food resources in the foraging behavior of Nasutitermes corniger (Motschulsky)

Influence of the amount of food resources in the foraging behavior of Nasutitermes corniger (Motschulsky)

The Dominance Hierarchy of Wood-Eating Termites from China

Does the distance between the nest and the food source affect the foraging behavior of Nasutitermes corniger (Termitidae)?

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