TERMITES AS MEDIATORS OF THE WATER ECONOMY OF ARID SAVANNA ECOSYSTEMS

Large termite mounds, constructed by colonies of various species of macrotermitine termites (Isoptera, Termitidae, Macrotermitinae), are dominant features of the arid and semiarid savannas of southern Africa. These mounds can populate a savanna in very high densities, generally one to four colonies per hectare, containing biomass of termites and symbiotic fungi that exceeds the typical biomass of vertebrate and non-termite arthropod herbivores in these systems. Termites’ construction of nest and mound turns over savanna soils at substantial rates, and, like other central-place foragers, they convey significant quantities of inorganic and organic matter into their nests, concentrating it there. In short, macrotermitine termites are “ecosystem engineers,” structuring and controlling to a large extent the flows of energy and matter through tropical savannas (Dangerfield et al. 1998).

[1]  J. Robert Bridges,et al.  Insect-Fungus Symbiosis , 1980 .

[2]  安部 琢哉,et al.  Termites: Evolution, Sociality, Symbioses, Ecology , 2000, Springer Netherlands.

[3]  K. E. Linsenmair,et al.  Ventilation of termite mounds: new results require a new model , 2000 .

[4]  J. S. Weir,et al.  Air Flow, Evaporation and Mineral Accumulation in Mounds of Macrotermes subhyalinus (Rambur) , 1973 .

[5]  Wendy C. H. Green,et al.  Trade-offs between growth and reproduction in female bison , 1991, Oecologia.

[6]  Albert Eicker,et al.  Species of Termitomyces occurring in South Africa. , 1990 .

[7]  J. M. Moore,et al.  Heuweltjies (earth mounds) in the Clanwilliam district, Cape Province, South Africa: 4000-year-old termite nests , 1991, Oecologia.

[8]  J. Watson Water Movement in Two Termite Mounds in Rhodesia , 1969 .

[9]  J. S. Turner,et al.  On the Mound of Macrotermes michaelseni as an Organ of Respiratory Gas Exchange , 2001, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology.

[10]  J. Watson THE USE OF MOUNDS OF THE TERMITE MACROTERMES FALCIGER (GERSTÄCKER) AS A SOIL AMENDMENT , 1977 .

[11]  S. Nicholson,et al.  The Mean Surface Water Balance over Africa and Its Interannual Variability , 1997 .

[12]  L. L. D. Bruyn,et al.  The role of termites and ants in soil modification - a review , 1990 .

[13]  J. S. Turner,et al.  The Extended Organism: The Physiology of Animal-Built Structures , 2000 .

[14]  Michel Lepage,et al.  Termites and Soil Properties , 2000 .

[15]  L. Stroosnijder,et al.  Effects of termites on infiltration into crusted soil , 1996 .

[16]  J. P. Watson THE DISTRIBUTION OF GOLD IN TERMITE MOUNDS AND SOILS AT A GOLD ANOMALY IN KALAHARI SAND , 1972 .

[17]  A. Mando The impact of termites and mulch on the water balance of crusted Sahelian soil. , 1997 .

[18]  Patrick R. Zimmerman,et al.  Production of metabolic gases by nests of the termite Macrotermes jeanneli in Kenya , 1997, Journal of Tropical Ecology.

[19]  W. Whitford,et al.  The influence of subterranean termites on the hydrological characteristics of a Chihuahuan desert ecosystem , 1986, Oecologia.

[20]  R. Leuthold,et al.  Digestion, diet and polyethism in two fungus-growing termites: Macrotermes subhyalinus Rambur and M. michaelseni Sjøstedt , 1991 .

[21]  Rebecca J. Thomas,et al.  Distribution of Termitomyces and other fungi in the nests and major workers of several Nigerian macrotermitinae , 1987 .

[22]  C. Rouland-Lefèvre Symbiosis With Fungi , 2000 .

[23]  W. Ellery,et al.  The mound-building termite Macrotermes michaelseni as an ecosystem engineer , 1998, Journal of Tropical Ecology.

[24]  A. Curtis,et al.  The effects of decreased pO2 and increased pCO2 on nitrogen fixation rates in termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) , 1996 .

[25]  D. Pomeroy Studies on a population of large termite mounds in Uganda , 1976 .

[26]  J. S. Turner,et al.  Architecture and morphogenesis in the mound of Macrotermes michaelseni (Sjöstedt) (Isoptera: Termitidae, Macrotermitinae) in northern Namibia , 2000 .

[27]  MICHAEL M. Martin,et al.  Cellulose Digestion in the Midgut of the Fungus-Growing Termite Macrotermes natalensis: The Role of Acquired Digestive Enzymes , 1978, Science.

[28]  X. Le Roux,et al.  Influence of large termitaria on soil characteristics, soil water regime, and tree leaf shedding pattern in a West African savanna , 1999, Plant and Soil.

[29]  A. Mermut,et al.  Micropedological Study of Termite Mounds of Three Species of Macrotermes in Kenya1 , 1984 .

[30]  G. Campbell,et al.  An Introduction to Environmental Biophysics , 1977 .

[31]  G. Milne A Soil Reconnaissance Journey Through Parts of Tanganyika Territory December 1935 to February 1936 , 1947 .

[32]  M. Arshad PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF TERMITE MOUNDS OF TWO SPECIES OF Macrotermes (ISOPTERA, TERMITIDAE) AND THE SURROUNDING SOILS OF THE SEMIARID SAVANNA OF KENYA , 1981 .

[33]  J. Korb,et al.  Experimental heating of Macrotermes bellicosus (Isoptera, Macrotermitinae) mounds: what role does microclimate play in influencing mound architecture? , 1998, Insectes Sociaux.

[34]  K. E. Lee,et al.  Soil fauna and soil structure , 1991 .

[35]  K. E. Linsenmair,et al.  The effects of temperature on the architecture and distribution of Macrotermes bellicosus (Isoptera, Macrotermitinae) mounds in different habitats of a West African Guinea savanna , 1998, Insectes Sociaux.