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Soil-particle selection by the mound-building termite Macrotermes bellicosus on a sandy loam soil catena in a Nigerian tropical savanna

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2009

Susumu S. Abe ,
Sadahiro Yamamoto  and
Toshiyuki Wakatsuki
Susumu S. Abe*
Affiliation:
Africa Rice Center (WARDA), 01 B.P. 2031, Cotonou, Benin
Sadahiro Yamamoto
Affiliation:
Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Tottori, 680–8553Japan
Toshiyuki Wakatsuki
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, Kinki University, Nara, 631–8505Japan
*
1Corresponding author. Email: s.abe@cgiar.org
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Extract

Many species of termite (Isoptera) build their nests inside mounds because a mound has direct and positive feedback effects on the termite colonies through the maintenance of humidity and protection of the population from enemies, e.g. ants (Jouquet et al. 2006, Korb 2003, Noirot & Darlington 2000). Soil manipulation by termites (Isoptera) for mound construction is of particular interest for many researchers in terms of pedogenesis of the tropics (Lavelle et al. 1992, Lobry de Bruyn & Conacher 1990). The termites select soil particles according to ecological requirements such as water availability (Jouquet et al. 2002, 2007) and improve soil structural stability by means of application of clay particles and saliva/excreta (Fall et al. 2001, Jouquet et al. 2004). The nest-building activity of the termites inevitably causes regional translocation of soils (Bagine 1984, Holt & Lepage 2000) and distinctive patches in local ecosystems, which contributes to ecological diversity (Lavelle et al. 1992). This is the reason why termites are regarded as an ecological engineer (Jouquet et al. 2006). Soil-particle selection by the termites, however, has not been fully explored in relation to diverse ecologies and landscapes in Africa.

Keywords

argillic horizonparticle-size distributiontermite moundtoposequence
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 25 , Issue 4 , July 2009 , pp. 449 - 452
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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References

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