The importance of termites (Isoptera) for the recycling of herbivore dung in tropical ecosystems: a review

While the key role of termites in the decomposition of litter in the tropics has been acknowledged for a long time, much less information exists on their importance in the recycling of dung of primary consumers, especially herbivores. A review of published studies shows that a diverse group of termites (at least 126 species) has been reported to feed on a wide range of mammalian dung (18 species). Predominantly, wood-feeding and polyphagous wood-litter feeding species were found to feed also frequently on dung. Moreover, we found that termites can quickly remove large amounts of mammalian dung, especially in the dry season, when on average about 1/3 of the dung deposited in a given habitat is removed by termites within one month (with the highest rates observed in savannas). No distinctive preference for mammalian dung over other organic food sources was observed for fungus-growing termites (Macrotermitinae), whereas the majority of the non-fungus growing taxa studied prefer dung over other food. As termites bring large quantities of dung below the soil surface, disturb and enrich soils with nutrients, dung feeding by termites appears to be a previously underestimated process important in the functioning of tropical ecosystems.

[1]  N. Walker.  Soil Biology , 2019, Nature.

[2]  J. Losey,et al.  The Economic Value of Ecological Services Provided by Insects , 2006 .

[3]  U. Mueller,et al.  The Evolution of Agriculture in Insects , 2005 .

[4]  L. Brussaard,et al.  Soil macrofaunal-mediated organic resource disappearance in semi-arid West Africa , 2004 .

[5]  D. Ndiaye,et al.  Experimental manipulation of termites (Isoptera, Macrotermitinae) foraging patterns in a Sahelo-Sudanese savanna: effect of litter quality , 2003, Insectes Sociaux.

[6]  D. Aanen,et al.  The evolution of fungus-growing termites and their mutualistic fungal symbionts , 2002, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[7]  J. Herrick,et al.  Refuse to Refuge: Dry Season Use and Modification of Cattle Dung by Subterranean Termites in Guanacaste, Costa Rica 1 , 2001 .

[8]  P. Holter.  Particle feeding in Aphodius dung beetles (Scarabaeidae): old hypotheses and new experimental evidence , 2000 .

[9]  G. Schuurman,et al.  Foraging by fungus-growing termites (Isoptera: Termitidae, Macrotermitinae) in the Okavango Delta, Botswana , 2000, Journal of Tropical Ecology.

[10]  N. Su,et al.  AMITERMES AMICKI, A NEW SUBTERRANEAN TERMITE (ISOPTERA : TERMITIDAE : TERMITINAE) FROM ARUBA , 1999 .

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

[12]  R. Constantino,et al.  Key to the soldiers of Atlantitermes Fontes 1979, with a new species from Brazil (Isoptera Termitidae Nasutitermitinae) , 1997 .

[13]  R. Lal,et al.  Dung decomposition and pedoturbation in a seasonally dry tropical pasture , 1996, Biology and Fertility of Soils.

[14]  T. P. Burns,et al.  Carbon—nitrogen balance and termite ecology , 1992, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[15]  T. Ridsdill‐Smith,et al.  EFFECT OF SOIL MOISTURE ON BROOD BALL PRODUCTION BY ONTHOPHAGUS BINODIS THUNBERG AND EUONITICELLUS INTERMEDIUS (REICHE) (COLEOPTERA: SCARABAEINAE) , 1986 .

[16]  W. Whitford,et al.  Contributions of subterranean termites to the “economy” of Chihuahuan desert ecosystems , 1982, Oecologia.

[17]  C. Omaliko.  Dung Deposition, Breakdown and Grazing Behavior of Beef Cattle at Two Seasons in a Tropical Grassland Ecosystem , 1981 .

[18]  W. Whitford,et al.  Location of Food Sources by Subterranean Termites , 1980 .

[19]  M. Brian.  Production ecology of ants and termites , 1978 .

[20]  M. Coe.  The role of termites in the removal of elephant dung in the tsavo east national park kenya , 1977 .

[21]  Tadao Matsumoto.  The role of termites in an equatorial rain forest ecosystem of West Malaysia , 1976, Oecologia.

[22]  W. Whitford,et al.  Foraging Ecology and Relative Importance of Subterranean Termites in Chihuahuan Desert Ecosystems , 1975 .

[23]  J. Anderson,et al.  Decomposition of elephant dung in an arid, tropical environment , 1974, Oecologia.

[24]  E. Duffey.  The scientific management of animal and plant communities for conservation , 1973 .

[25]  K. E. Lee,et al.  Termites and Soils , 1971 .

[26]  J. Watson,et al.  TERMITES (ISOPTERA) ASSOCIATED WITH DUNG IN AUSTRALIA , 1970 .

[27]  P. B. Kemp.  The Termites of north-eastern Tanganyika; their Distribution and Biology , 1955 .

[28]  H. Roy,et al.  Bizarre interactions and endgames: entomopathogenic fungi and their arthropod hosts. , 2006, Annual review of entomology.

[29]  R. Buxton.  Changes in the composition and activities of termite communities in relation to changing rainfall , 2004, Oecologia.

[30]  Tadao Matsumoto,et al.  The role of termites in an equatorial rain forest ecosystem of West Malaysia , 2004, Oecologia.

[31]  D. Bignell,et al.  Termites in Ecosystems , 2000 .

[32]  R. Leuthold,et al.  Behavior and Ecology of Foraging in Termites , 2000 .

[33]  P. Eggleton,et al.  Global Patterns of Termite Diversity , 2000 .

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

[35]  D. Rajagopal,et al.  Physico-chemical properties of termite modified soils due to foraging on dung in comparison with surrounding soils. , 1990 .

[36]  J. Holt,et al.  Nutrient cycling by mound building termites in low fertility soils of semi-arid tropical Australia , 1988 .

[37]  B. Mitchell.  Report on a survey of the termites of Zimbabwe. , 1980 .

[38]  R. Coe,et al.  The association between dung middens of the blesbok (Damaliscus dorcas phillipsi Harper) and mounds of the harvester temtite (Trinervitermes trinervoides Sjostedt) , 1978 .

[39]  H. McClure,et al.  The Digestive System , 1978 .

[40]  C. Noirot,et al.  3 – The Digestive System* , 1969 .

[41]  A. Burges.  Chapter 16 – The Decomposition of Organic Matter in the Soil , 1967 .

[42]  N. Hightower.  The digestive system. , 1962, Annual review of physiology.

[43]  S. Skaife.  Dwellers in darkness: an introduction to the study of termites. , 1955 .

[44]  M. Niklewski.  The decomposition of organic matter in the soil. , 1950 .