| Tunnel geometry of the subterranean termite Reticulitermes grassei （Isoptera： Rhinotermitidae）in response to sand bulk density and the presence of food |
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| 作者姓名： | TANIA NOBRE LINA NUNES DAVID E. BIGNELL |
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| 作者单位： | [1]Laboratorio Nacional de Engenharia Civil, Nucleo de Estruturas de Madeira, Lisboa, Portugal [2]Queen Mary, University of London, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, London, UK [3]Institute of Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia |
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| 基金项目： | TN was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology （ref. SFRH/BD/8761/2002）. Dr. Steve Le Comber provided valuable advice on statistical analysis. |
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| 摘 要： | The cryptic habits of subterranean termites restricts detailed analysis of their foraging patterns in situ, but the process is evidently dominated by tunnel constructions connecting the nest with woody resources discovered within the territory of each colony. In this study, tunnel formation and orientation were studied experimentally in the termite Reticulitermes grassei （Clement）, using 2-dimensional laboratory foraging arenas con- taining fine sand as the substratum. The building of exploratory tunnels over a 10-day period and the geometry of the resulting network are described. Fractal analysis showed that tunnel geometry had a fractal dimension, regardless of the total length tunnelled whether foragers encountered the food source or not. The bulk density of the sand in the arenas affected the distances tunnelled, with higher density reducing construction, but did not affect tunnel geometry. Tunnels were not discernibly orientated with respect to the positioning of the food source, even in a situation where termites had failed to find the food source at a distance of less than 50 mm, suggesting that volatiles from wood are not attractants.
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| 关 键 词： | 白蚁 地下通道 分形分析 隧道几何学 |
| 收稿时间： | 2007-08-22 |
Tunnel geometry of the subterranean termite Reticulitermes grassei (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in response to sand bulk density and the presence of food |
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| Authors: | TÂNIA NOBRE LINA NUNES DAVID E BIGNELL |
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| Institution: | Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil, Núcleo de Estruturas de Madeira, Lisboa, Portugal;Queen Mary, University of London, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, London, UK;Institute of Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia |
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| Abstract: | The cryptic habits of subterranean termites restricts detailed analysis of their foraging patterns in situ, but the process is evidently dominated by tunnel constructions connecting the nest with woody resources discovered within the territory of each colony. In this study, tunnel formation and orientation were studied experimentally in the termite Reticulitermes grassei (Clément), using 2‐dimensional laboratory foraging arenas containing fine sand as the substratum. The building of exploratory tunnels over a 10‐day period and the geometry of the resulting network are described. Fractal analysis showed that tunnel geometry had a fractal dimension, regardless of the total length tunnelled whether foragers encountered the food source or not. The bulk density of the sand in the arenas affected the distances tunnelled, with higher density reducing construction, but did not affect tunnel geometry. Tunnels were not discernibly orientated with respect to the positioning of the food source, even in a situation where termites had failed to find the food source at a distance of less than 50 mm, suggesting that volatiles from wood are not attractants. |
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| Keywords: | foraging gallery fractal analysis Reticulitermes grassei search pattern subterranean termites tunnel geometry |
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