Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T16:07:20.092Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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, 680–8553 Japan
Toshiyuki Wakatsuki
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, Kinki University, Nara, 631–8505 Japan
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

ABE, S. S., MASUNAGA, T., YAMAMOTO, S., HONNA, T. & WAKATSUKI, T. 2006. Comprehensive assessment of the clay mineralogical composition of lowland soils in West Africa. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 52:479–488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ABE, S. S., OYEDIRAN, G. O., MASUNAGA, T., YAMAMOTO, S., HONNA, T. & WAKATSUKI, T. 2007. Primary mineral characteristics of topsoil samples from lowlands of seven West African countries. Japanese Journal of Tropical Agriculture 51:35–39.Google Scholar
ABE, S. S., YAMAMOTO, S. & WAKATSUKI, T. 2009. Physicochemical and morphological properties of termite (Macrotermes bellicosus) mounds and surrounding pedons on a toposequence of an inland valley in the southern Guinea savanna zone of Nigeria. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BAGINE, R. K. N. 1984. Soil transportation by termites of the genus Odontotermes (Holmgren) (Isoptera: Macrotermitinae) in an arid area of northern Kenya. Oecologia 64:263–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
EKUNDAYO, E. O. & AGHATISE, V. O. 1997. Soil properties of termite mounds under different land use types in a Typic Paleudult of Midwestern Nigeria. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 45:1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FALL, S., BRAUMAN, A. & CHOTTE, J.-L. 2001. Comparative distribution of organic matter in particle and aggregate size fractions in the mounds of termites with different feeding habits in Senegal: Cubitermes niokoloensis and Macrotermes bellicosus. Applied Soil Ecology 17:131–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GEE, G. W. & OR, D. 2002. Particle-size analysis. Pp. 255–293 in Dane, J. H. & Topp, C. (eds.). Methods of soil analysis, part 4, physical methods. SSSA Book Series No. 5, Soil Science Society of America, Madison, Wisconsin.Google Scholar
HOLT, A. J. & LEPAGE, M. 2000. Termites and soil properties. Pp. 389–407 in Abe, T., Bignell, D. E. & Higashi, M. (eds.). Termites: evolution, sociality, symbioses, ecology. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JOUQUET, P., LEPAGE, M. & VELDE, B. 2002. Termite soil preferences and particle selections: strategies related to ecological requirements. Insectes Sociaux 49:1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JOUQUET, P., TESSIER, D. & LEPAGE, M. 2004. The soil structural stability of termite nests: role of clays in Macrotermes bellicosus (Isoptera, Macrotermitinae) mound soils. European Journal of Soil Biology 40:23–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JOUQUET, P., DAUBER, J., LAGERLÖF, J., LAVELLE, P. & LEPAGE, M. 2006. Soil invertebrates as ecosystem engineers: intended and accidental effects on soil and feedback loops. Applied Soil Ecology 32:153–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JOUQUET, P., BOTTINELLI, N., LATA, J.-C., MORA, P. & CAQUINEAU, S. 2007. Role of the fungus-growing termite Pseudacanthotermes spiniger (Isoptera, Macrotermitinae) in the dynamic of clay and soil organic matter content: an experimental analysis. Geoderma 139:127–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KANG, B. T. 1978. Effect of some biological factors on soil variability in the tropics. III. Effect of Macrotermes mounds. Plant and Soil 50:241–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KORB, J. 2003. Thermoregulation and ventilation of termite mounds. Naturwissenschaften 90:212–219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
LAVELLE, P., BLANCHART, E., MARTIN, A., SPAIN, A. V. & MARTION, S. 1992. Impact of soil fauna on the properties of soils in the humid tropics. Pp. 157–185 in Lal, R. & Sanchez, P. A. (eds.). Myths and science of soils of the tropics. SSSA Special Publication No. 29, Soil Science Society of America & American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin.Google Scholar
LEE, K. E. & WOOD, T. G. 1971. Physical and chemical effects on soils of some Australian termites and their pedological significance. Pedobiologia 11:376–409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LOBRY DE BRUYN, L. A. & CONACHER, A. J. 1990. The role of termites and ants in soil modification: a review. Australian Journal of Soil Research 28:55–93.Google Scholar
NOIROT, C. & DARLINGTON, J. P. E. C. 2000. Termite nests: architecture, regulation and defense. Pp. 121–139 in Abe, T., Bignell, D. E. & Higashi, M. (eds.). Termites: evolution, sociality, symbioses, ecology. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SHEIKH, K. H. & KAYANI, S. A. 1982. Termite-affected soils in Pakistan. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 14:359–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WINDMEIJER, P. N. & ANDRIESSE, W. 1993. Inland valleys in West Africa: an agro-ecological characterization of rice-growing environments. ILRI Publication No. 52, International Institute for Land Reclamation & Improvement, Wageningen. 160 pp.Google Scholar