The role of termites in an equatorial rain forest ecosystem of West Malaysia

Abstract

1. Density of nests, population number, biomass, nitrogen and carbon content, calorific content and respiration rate of termites were studied at Pasoh Forest, West Malaysia mainly with four dominant species of epigeous nest builders, Macrotermes carbonarius, Dicuspiditermes nemorosus type-a, type-b and Homallotermes foraminifer, to reveal their role in the ecosystem. 2. The density of nests or mounds was 15-41/ha in M. carbonarius, 60-110/ha in the two types of D. nemorosus and 85-165/ha in H. foraminifer. 3. The population number per nest or mound was about 88,000 in M. carbonarius, 45,000 in D. nemorosus type-a, 47,000 in D. nemorosus type-b and 13,000 in H. foraminifer. The population number per hectare was about 1.8x10 for M. carbonarius, 4.3x10 for D. nemorosus type-a, 5.2x10 for D. nemorosus type-b and 2.1x10 for H. foraminifer. 4. The ratio in number of workers to soldiers was 6.4 for M. carbonarius, 19.0 for D. nemorosus type-a, 23.1 for D. nemorosus type-b and 8.9 for H. foraminifer. The ratio in number of adults (workers plus soldiers) to larvae was 1.4 for M. carbonarius, 0.59 for D. nemorosus type-a, 1.76 for D. nemorosus type-b and 3.84 for H. foraminifer. 5. The number of adults per nest of D. nemorosus type-a, type-b and H. foraminifer was linearly correlated with the weight of nest on the log-log coordinates. 6. The ratio of dry body weight to live weight was 0.24-0.30 for workers, 0.19-0.29 for soldiers and 0.15-0.22 for larvae. 7. The ash content of termite body was 26-66% for workers, 2-24% for soldiers and 1-4% for larvae. 8. The carbon content ranged from 45% to 66% of ash-free dry weight and the nitrogen content from 5.6% to 12.6%. 9. The mean calorific value of termite body was 5.3 gcal/mg in workers and soldiers on an ash-free weight basis, but was greater in nymphs and winged reproductives in the nest (6.7-6.9 gcal/mg) owing probably to their large fat storage. 10. The relation of CO evolution rate to temperature in these termites was similar to what has been found in other insects. 11. The total biomass of the four termite species was estimated at 6.01 kg ash-free dry weight/ha, equivalent to 0.55 kg nitrogen/ha and 3.09 kg carbon/ha. 12. The role of the fungi cultivated by M. carbonarius on their fungus combs was discussed in relation to the nutrition of termites and the decomposition of leaf-litter with special reference to their nitrogen metabolism. The high nitrogen content of fungus spherules growing on fungus combs seemed to have an important bearing on the nutrition of termites. 13. It was concluded that the termites played a very important role in the organic matter decomposition cycle of Pasoh Forest.

Understanding the impact of fire on termites in degraded tropical peatlands and the mechanisms for their ecological success: current knowledge and research needs

“…They provide ecosystem services in natural forests and human-dominated agro-land as main decomposers (Matsumoto and Abe 1979), and improving soil health and elevating soil nutrients ) to increase crop production (Evans et al 2011). Their roles in fire-impacted ecosystems such as tropical grasslands and savannas are well documented.…”

Monopolization of litter processing by a dominant land crab on a tropical oceanic island

“…A variety of macroinvertebrates are critical in litter dynamics, both as``litter transformers'' and``ecosystem engineers'' (Lavelle 1997). In continental tropical rain forests, for example, species suites of termites, cockroaches, and earthworms consume large fractions of annual litter production (Matsumoto 1978;Irmler and Furch 1979;Matsumoto and Abe 1979;Ananthakrishnan 1996;Edwards and Bohlen 1996;Cornu et al 1997;Yamashita and Takeda 1998) and can exert strong in¯uences on soil structure, porosity, nutrients, and organic matter (Petersen and Luxton 1982;Collins 1989;Swift and Anderson 1989;Lavelle et al 1993). …”

Termitomyces Species from Tanzania, Their Cultural Properties and Unequalled Basidiospores

“…Several roles of symbiotic fungi have been proposed, including the provision of glycosyl hydrolases Martin and Martin (1978), enrichment of nitrogen (Collins, 1983;Matsumoto, 1976) and lignin degradation (Grassé and Noirot, 1958 ;Rohrmann, 1978;Hyodo et al, 2003) with the significance of each role apparently varying in importance among host termite species (Rouland, 2000;Hyodo et al, 2003). Because of the complex character of their ecosystem, presently no one has succeeded in domesticating these mushrooms.…”