Activity-density and spatial distribution of termites on a fine-scale in a tropical rainforest in Xishuangbanna, southwest China

Highlights

● Strong associations among soil-wood feeders and fungus growers were observed.

● Weak associations between litter feeders and other feeders were observed.

● TPI and pH had effects on all feeding groups of termites.

● Plant biomass influenced soil-wood feeders and wood feeders.

● Litter mass influenced fungus growers, litter feeders, and soil feeders.

Abstract

The community composition and activity-density of termites can influence nutrient cycling and other ecological functions. However, the spatial distribution and the activity-density of termites on a fine-scale in tropical forests are still unknown. We checked the spatial distribution patterns of the feeding groups and species of termites and their co-occurrence pattern in a 1-ha (100 m × 100 m) plot, and their correlation with the environmental factors. We used a standard protocol to collect termite assemblages and classified them into five feeding groups based on their preferred diet: fungus growers, litter feeders, soil feeders, soil-wood feeders, and wood feeders. We measured the environmental factors: soil pH, litter mass, aboveground plant biomass, and topographic position index (TPI). Soil-wood feeders showed the highest activity-density, followed by wood feeders, fungus growers, soil feeders, and litter feeders. Soil-wood feeders and fungus growers demonstated a strong correlation while litter feeders showed weak correlations with other feeding groups. Termite feeding groups and most of the termite species displayed a positive association with the high TPI and the low soil pH patches. Our results indicated that the examined environmental factors influenced the termite community assemblages and distribution patterns on a fine-scale in tropical rainforests.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Competition / Co-occurrence / Feeding groups / Fine-scale / Spatial distribution / Tropical rainforest

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Acknowledgements

We thank Gan Jianmin, Chen Zhiling, and Li Qiaoshun for their field and laboratory assistance. We also thank Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology/Institute of Biodiversity in Yunnan University for open fund support. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41977057, 41877064), NSFC-UNEP (42061144005), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2019387), Yunnan Applied Basic Research Projects (202001AW070014), and the CAS 135 program (2017 XTBG-T01).

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Author contributions

XDY, LSJ, XSW, and MT designed the experiment. MT and LXB conducted the experiments, MT analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. XSW and CM provided the basic data of the research plot. XDY and AJA helped to revise the manuscript. All authors reviewed and commented on the manuscript.

Electronic supplementary material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s42832-022-0141-7 and is accessible for authorized users.

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