Respiratory gas exchanges of termites from the Sabah (Borneo) assemblage

Abstract.Oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide release at 28°C were determined in worker castes of twenty-six species of forest termites from the Danum Valley Conservation Area, south-east Sabah, by Warburg manometry. Metabolic rate varied inversely with body weight in a suite of soil-, wood/soil- and wood-feeding species, giving a slope (in a log–log plot) of – 0.63. However, a number of large species, actively foraging forms such as Macrotermes malaccensis, M. gilvus, Havilanditermes atripennis and Hospitalitermes hospitalis, but also the wood-feeding Schedorhinotermes sarawakensis, showed an oxygen consumption greater than expected for their body weight. Rates of methane emission were above 0.100 μmol g^–1 h^–1 in seventeen species, with very high fluxes in two wood/soil-feeders, Termes borneensis (0.546 ± 0.163 μmol g^–1 h^–1) and Prohamitermes mirabilis (0.303 ± 0.123 μmol g^–1 h^–1). Of the fifteen remaining species, seven were soil-feeders, five were wood-feeders, two were wood/litter-feeders and a single species fed on lichen and moss. Low or negligible CH₄ emissions (< 0.100 μmol g^–1 h^–1) were observed in three other species, all wood-feeders. An apparent respiratory quotient (RQ_app) was calculated using xCO₂ and xO₂ (corrected for methane emission, but not hydrogen). Mean RQ_app was at or above 1.00 in eleven species and between 0.95 and 1.00 in a further six species, the two sets of species together representing all trophic groups, including lichen-feeders. This is argued to be consistent with carbohydrate being the principal substrate supporting respiration.     

Vertical stratification of the termite assemblage in a neotropical rainforest

The importance of termites as decomposers in tropical forests has long been recognized. Studies on the richness and diversity of termite species and their ecological function have flourished in more recent times, but these have been mostly conducted in a thin stratum within a standing man’s reach. Our aims were to evaluate the specific richness and composition of the termite assemblage in the canopy of a tropical rainforest and to determine its originality with respect to the sympatric ground-level fauna. We conducted systematic searches for canopy termites, together with conventional sampling of the sympatric ground-level fauna, in the San Lorenzo forest, Panama. We hypothesized that (1) the canopy accommodates two categories of wood-feeding termites (long-distance foragers and small-colony “one-piece” species) and possibly soil-feeders in suspended soil-like habitats; (2) due to the abundance of soil-feeders, the overall diversity of the ground fauna is higher than that of the canopy; (3) differences in microclimate and resource accessibility favour vertical stratification among wood-feeders. Sixty-three canopy samples yielded ten species of termites, all wood-feeders. Five of these were not found at ground level, although a total of 243 ground samples were collected, representing 29 species. In addition to long-distance foragers (Microcerotermes and Nasutitermes spp.) and small-colony termites (mostly Kalotermitidae), the canopy fauna included Termes hispaniolae, a wood-feeding Termitidae from an allegedly soil-feeding genus, living in large dead branches. Soil-feeders were absent from the canopy, probably because large epiphytes were scarce. As predicted, the ground fauna was much richer than that of the canopy, but the species richness of both habitats was similar when only wood-feeders were considered. Vertical stratification was strongly marked among wood-feeders, as all common species, apart from the arboreal-nesting Microcerotermes arboreus, could unequivocally be assigned to either a ground or a canopy group. The canopy, therefore, contributes significantly to the total species richness of the termite assemblage, and the diversity, abundance and ecological importance of canopy termites in tropical rainforests may be higher than previously recognized.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available to authorized users in the online version of this article at .     

Fruit consumption by carnivores in Mediterranean Europe

• 1 We reviewed patterns of fruit consumption amongst 10 species of mesocarnivores: red fox Vulpes vulpes, weasel Mustela nivalis, stoat Mustela erminea, polecat Mustela putorius, stone marten Martes foina, pine marten Martes martes, Eurasian badger Meles meles, common genet Genetta genetta, Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon and wildcat Felis silvestris in Mediterranean Europe.
• 2 The 65 reviewed studies recorded 79 different fruits eaten by carnivores, 58 of which were identified to species. Most records (63%) were of fleshy fruits with high pulp content. The frequency of occurrence of fruit items varied widely amongst species and regions. Four of the carnivore species (red fox, stone marten, badger and common genet) included more than 30 fruit species in their diet.
• 3 A longitudinal pattern was detected in the consumption of fruit in the Mediterranean region, with the frequency of occurrence of fruit consumption increasing towards the east.

     

Colonization of disturbed Scots pine trees by bark‐ and wood‐boring beetles

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Interference competition,not predation,explains the negative association between wood ants (Formica rufa) and abundance of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

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Vibratory Alarm Signals in Two Sympatric Higher Termite Species: Pseudacanthotermes spiniger and P. militaris (Termitidae, Macrotermitinae)

When they are disturbed, soldiers of the two termite species Pseudacanthotermes spiniger and P. militaris hit the substratum with their head, thereby producing sounds. High-speed video recordings allowed us to analyze the movement. The sound emissions were recorded and their temporal structure was analyzed. Artificial stimulation proved that head-banging acts as an alarm signal transmitted through the vibrations produced in the substratum. Perception of these vibrations induced a polyethic response. Workers reacted to head-banging by escaping. Minor soldiers reacted by escaping, becoming immobile, or head-banging, thereby indicating the existence of positive feedback in signal production. Differences in the time patterns of the drumming appeared between both species but could not be shown to play a role in species recognition.     

Insights into intraspecific wood density variation and its relationship to growth,height and elevation in a treeline species

• The wood economics spectrum provides a general framework for interspecific trait–trait coordination across wide environmental gradients. Whether global patterns are mirrored within species constitutes a poorly explored subject. In this study, I first determined whether wood density co‐varies together with elevation, tree growth and height at the within‐species level. Second, I determined the variation of wood density in different stem parts (trunk, branch and twigs).
• In situ trunk sapwood, trunk heartwood, branch and twig densities, in addition to stem growth rates and tree height were determined in adult trees of Nothofagus pumilio at four elevations in five locations spanning 18° of latitude. Mixed effects models were fitted to test relationships among variables.
• The variation in wood density reported in this study was narrow (ca. 0.4–0.6 g cm^?3) relative to global density variation (ca. 0.3–1.0 g cm^?3). There was no significant relationship between stem growth rates and wood density. Furthermore, the elevation gradient did not alter the wood density of any stem part. Trunk sapwood density was negatively related to tree height. Twig density was higher than branch and trunk densities. Trunk heartwood density was always significantly higher than sapwood density.
• Negative across‐species trends found in the growth–wood density relationship may not emerge as the aggregate of parallel intraspecific patterns. Actually, trees with contrasting growth rates show similar wood density values. Tree height, which is tightly related to elevation, showed a negative relationship with sapwood density.

     

Host selection behaviour of the banded pine weevil,Pissodes castaneus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

1. Pissodes castaneus represents an emerging pest species for Pinus spp. production in Latin America. This species attacks all the cultivated pine species in Patagonia Argentina causing wood damage and tree death. The objectives of this work were to describe the host preference behaviour of P. castaneus and the influence of wood damage by conspecifics on its host selection.
2. In two-choice bioassays, P. castaneus showed a feeding preference for Pinus contorta over P. ponderosa. However, percent weight gain when feeding on either species was similar.
3. In other bioassays, P. castaneus spent more time in areas with twigs on which other conspecifics had recently fed, although they were able to successfully feed on twigs without previous damage.
4. These results show that while P. castaneus can successfully colonize different pine species, P. contorta may be more susceptible to attack than P. ponderosa. Silvicultural management should be prioritized considering the weevil's preference for attacking damaged hosts.

     

Symbionts mediate oviposition behaviour in invasive and native woodwasps

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Robinia pseudoacacia as a surrogate for native tree species for saproxylic beetles inhabiting the riparian mixed forests of northern Italy

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Development of an efficient method for screening microorganisms by using symbiotic association between <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nasutitermes takasagoensis</Emphasis> and intestinal microorganisms

Screening method of microorganisms that utilized the symbiotic association between insect (Nasutitermes takasagoensis: Nt) and intestinal microorganisms was developed. The existence of desired microorganisms that grew by degrading difficult-to-degrade materials in the gut was detected using survivability of Nt as an indicator. The desired microorganisms were isolated from the survived Nt. It was thought that guts of Nt behave as continuous culture systems whereby microorganisms that cannot degrade diet components are washed out, whereas those that can degrade it are retained and concentrated in the gut. About 60% of Nt fed with phenol artificial diet (PAD) died within 7 days, while 4% of termites survived for 9 days. The structure of intestinal microorganisms of the survived Nt fed with PAD differed from the bacterial communities obtained from enrichment culture (which contained phenol) of wood-feeding Nt. Relatively high colonies (650-times) were detected in the gut of Nt fed on phenol artificial diet compared with those obtained when Nt was fed on wood. Seven denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) bands were detected from gut of wood-feeding Nt, whereas 11 DGGE-bands were detected from that of phenol-feeding Nt. Out of 11 DGGE-bands, 5 of them were sequenced, and bacterial species including phenol-degrading bacteria were identified.     

Microclimate in hollow trees and how it affects an inhabiting beetle species,Osmoderma eremita

1. Studies of species' responses to microclimatic conditions have increased our understanding of their habitat requirements and possible responses to climate warming. However, little is known about the role of microclimate for insects inhabiting hollow trees.
2. We explored the relationship between tree characteristics and microclimate, and analysed how the microclimate in tree-hollows affects the occurrence and body size of an endangered beetle species, Osmoderma eremita.
3. We placed temperature data-loggers in wood mould (= loose material in tree-hollows) and surveyed O. eremita in 47 hollows in oak pastures in south-eastern Sweden. We found that tree characteristics previously known to be associated with occurrence of beetle species confined to tree-hollows (larger diameters, more wood mould, entrances higher up, and not directed upwards) tend to decrease moisture and moisture variation, while their effects on temperature and temperature fluctuations differ during different seasons. This indicates that microclimatic conditions are important for beetles in hollow trees, and many specialised species seem to avoid conditions that are too moist.
4. O. eremita occurred more frequently in trees with a warmer and more stable microclimate, while adult body size decreased with a warmer microclimate. A positive effect of a warmer microclimate was expected, since the study was done near the northern margin of the species' range.
5. O. eremita is confined to living in hollow trees, which may be due to the microclimate there being more stable in comparison to both the ambient climate and the microclimate in standing and downed dead wood.

     

Patterns of saproxylic beetle succession in loblolly pine

• 1 Patterns of insect succession in dead wood remain unclear, particularly beyond the first several years of decay. In the present study, saproxylic beetles were sampled from loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) logs aged between 1 month and 9 years old using both emergence traps attached to logs in the field and rearing bags in the laboratory.
• 2 Species richness peaked within the first year as a result of a diverse assemblage of bark beetles, wood‐borers and predators associated with young logs. After the phloem phase, there were no significant differences in species richness among decay classes.
• 3 Beetle communities differed significantly among decay classes, with 25 and seven species being significantly associated with young and old logs, respectively.

     

Ten years after: Release cutting around old oaks still affects oak vitality and saproxylic beetles in a Norway spruce stand

1. It is often suggested to release oaks (Quercus robur) from competition, to ensure their survival and boost their conservational value. However, few studies have explored how long-lasting this effect is and how it affects saproxylic beetles.
2. Ten years after cutting, we investigated effects of different release cutting levels (high, medium, and no release) around 140-year-old retained oaks in a commercial forest with Norway spruce (Picea abies).
3. We evaluated oak vitality using crown and dead wood measurements. Saproxylic beetles were caught in window traps, identified to species level, and grouped according to their association with oak and/or Norway spruce.
4. Released oaks had more light, higher temperatures, greater crown growth, and less dead wood in the crown compared to the no-release control.
5. After 10 years we still found a higher abundance of oak-associated beetles and higher overall species richness of saproxylic beetles in the released oaks. Beetle species composition significantly differed between released oaks and control.
6. We suggest avoiding planting trees beneath retained oaks when regenerating conifer forests and to proceed with conservation management during subsequent thinning by removing regeneration under the oak crowns. We emphasize the benefits of monitoring the retained oaks to maintain tree vitality, habitat quality, and insolation.

     

Wood‐boring insect abundance in fire‐injured ponderosa pine

• 1 Wood‐boring larvae in the families Cerambycidae and Buprestidae are often found in high densities in burned trees after wildland fires. They play an important role in tree decomposition, often reducing the value of salvageable timber, and represent an important avian food source.
• 2 Three forest areas that experienced wildfires 1–3 years previously were surveyed during the summer of 2004. Ponderosa pine trees with green, scorched and consumed needles were examined for wood borer occurrence. Within each of the three needle damage categories, the mean wood borer incidence was similar between different age fires. Trees with scorched or consumed needles had significantly more wood borers than trees with green needles.
• 3 Larvae collected from under tree bark were identified to family; when possible, cerambycids were identified further to Acanthocinus spp., Monochamus sp., Rhagium inquisitor (L.) and Stictoleptura canadensis (LeConte), and buprestids were identified to Chalcophora spp. and Chrysobothris sp.
• 4 Classification tree models showed that the estimated probability of tree infestation by wood borers varied among needle damage categories. For trees with green needles, tree injury variables of high bole char height and phloem discolouration were important predictive variables. In trees where needles were consumed, tree size variables of diameter at breast height and tree height were important predictive variables.
• 5 More than half the dead trees examined were infested with wood borers, indicating that infestation of fire‐killed ponderosa pine may represent an important food source for species such as woodpeckers and a potential problem for the utilization of infested trees.

     

Stand type is more important than red wood ant abundance for the structure of ground‐dwelling arthropod assemblages in managed boreal forests

• 1 The relationships between red wood ants (Formica rufa group) and other ground‐dwelling arthropods were studied in young managed forests stands in Eastern Finland. The main objectives were: (i) to test the influence of stand type (dominant tree species; age: sapling versus pole stage) and numbers of red wood ants on the occurrence of other ground‐dwelling arthropods and (ii) to study the occurrence of red wood ants versus other arthropods on a distance gradient from ant mounds. We used pitfall traps set in 5–14‐year‐old sapling stands and 30–45‐year‐old pole‐stage stands of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and birch (Betula spp.) forests.
• 2 Pitfall trap catches of red wood ants did not vary significantly between the forest stand types, although some groups of other arthropods showed clear responses to stand type (e.g. catches of other Formicinae and Gnaphosidae were higher in sapling stands than in pole‐stage stands). The number of red wood ants clearly explained less of the variation in assemblages of other ground‐dwelling arthropods than the forest stand type.
• 3 Red wood ant numbers decreased significantly with distance from the mounds, but the other ground‐dwelling arthropods were insensitive to this gradient or even showed a preference for proximity to ant mounds and high ant activity.
• 4 The results obtained in the present study suggest that wood ants do not have strong effects on several other ground‐dwelling arthropod groups in young managed forests other than in the immediate vicinity of their mounds.

     

Recent history,current status,conservation and management of native mammalian carnivore species in Great Britain

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Habitat choice of some field-inhabiting carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) studied by recapture of marked individuals

ABSTRACT.

• 1 Habitat choice of some field-inhabiting carabid beetles was studied in the field, and included the adult-overwintering Bembidion lampros Herbst, Pterostichus cupreus L. and Agonum dorsale Pontoppidan, and the larval-overwintering Trechus secalis Paykull, Pterostichus melanarius Illiger, P.niger Schaller and Harpalus rufipes De Geer. These were compared to the forest-inhabiting and adult-overwintering species, Carabus nemoralis Müller.
• 2 Marked beetles were released in the centre of a circular enclosure which was placed on the edge between a cereal field and a wood. The direction of movement in this circle was compared with that in a control circle placed entirely in the cereal field.
• 3 In the field/wood circle, adult-overwinterers and the larval-overwin-terer H.rufipes choose to move into the cereal field. The majority of T.secalis. P.melanarius and C.nemoralis, however, moved into the wood, while P.niger exhibited no preference.
• 4 In the field circle, adult-overwinterers moved towards the more sun-exposed parts of the circle, whereas the movements of larval-overwin-terers were random.
• 5 Some species-specific characteristics considered important for habitat choice by these carabid beetles, and the relevance of these characteristics for their dispersal behaviour are discussed.

     

Plant functional types broadly describe water use strategies in the Caatinga,a seasonally dry tropical forest in northeast Brazil

1. In seasonally dry tropical forests, plant functional type can be classified as deciduous low wood density, deciduous high wood density, or evergreen high wood density species. While deciduousness is often associated with drought‐avoidance and low wood density is often associated with tissue water storage, the degree to which these functional types may correspond to diverging and unique water use strategies has not been extensively tested.
2. We examined (a) tolerance to water stress, measured by predawn and mid‐day leaf water potential; (b) water use efficiency, measured via foliar δ¹³C; and (c) access to soil water, measured via stem water δ¹⁸O.
3. We found that deciduous low wood density species maintain high leaf water potential and low water use efficiency. Deciduous high wood density species have lower leaf water potential and variable water use efficiency. Both groups rely on shallow soil water. Evergreen high wood density species have low leaf water potential, higher water use efficiency, and access alternative water sources. These findings indicate that deciduous low wood density species are drought avoiders, with a specialized strategy for storing root and stem water. Deciduous high wood density species are moderately drought tolerant, and evergreen high wood density species are the most drought tolerant group.
4. Synthesis. Our results broadly support the plant functional type framework as a way to understand water use strategies, but also highlight species‐level differences.

     

Application of 13C NMR to investigate the transformations and biodegradation of organic materials by wood- and soil-feeding termites, and a coprophagous litter-dwelling dipteran larva

Solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has been used to characterize the C in samples of the food (wood), gut contents and faeces from the wood-feeding termite, Microcerotermes parvus; soil in the guts and mound material from the soil-feeding termite, Thoracotermes macrothorax; and the food and faeces from the litter-feeding, coprophagous larvae of the dipteran fly, Bibio marci. Spectra from the wood-feeding termite indicated preferential loss of polysaccharide and accumulation of lignin with some modification to the O-aromatic-C and methoxyl-C (O-methyl-C) components during passage through the gut. Spectra for the soil-feeding termite indicated little change in the distribution of 13C between resonances following passage through the gut, except for some evidence of preferential polysaccharide loss. Interpretation of the spectra from these organisms was restricted by the relatively low C content of the soils and mound material, and by the large contribution to the NMR spectra from the gut tissue rather than the gut contents. Spectra for the litter-feeding dipteran larvae indicated preferential feeding on the polysaccharide-rich component of the litter and then overall loss of polysaccharide-C and accumulation of both aromatic-C and methoxyl-C in the gut. These changes were greater for the second passage than for the first passage through the gut, suggesting that principally mechanical and physical changes occurred initially and that chemical digestion was prevalent during the second passage.