Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T17:45:48.588Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Nutrient enrichment of ecosystems by fungus-growing versus non-fungus-growing termites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2018

Anthony J. Mills  and
Clélia Sirami
Anthony J. Mills*
Affiliation:
Department of Soil Science, Stellenbosch University, Matieland 7602, South Africa Postal address: 9 Mohr Road, Tokai, 7945, South Africa
Clélia Sirami
Affiliation:
U.M.R. 1201 Dynafor, I.N.R.A. – I.N.P. Toulouse – E.N.S.A.T., Chemin de Borde Rouge BP 52627, 31326 Castanet Tolosan Cedex, France
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Fungus-growing termites (Macrotermitinae) collect water to air-condition their fungi and have been recorded tunnelling deeper than 80 m for groundwater. This collection of water ultimately results in solute accumulation and nutrient enrichment of their termitaria. We consequently hypothesized that nutrient enrichment of termitaria constructed by fungus-growing termites would be greater than by non-fungus-growing termites. To test this, we compared nutrient enrichment of termitaria of fungus-growing Macrotermes spp. in Namibia and termitaria of two non-fungus-growing termites – Trinervitermes trinervoides in South Africa and Nasutitermes triodiae in Australia. Compared with adjacent topsoils, Macrotermes termitaria were significantly enriched in 18 elements whereas T. trinervoides and N. triodiae termitaria were enriched in only one and five elements, respectively. Nutrients particularly enriched in Macrotermites termitaria included Ca (an enrichment factor of 12), Mg (2.9), Co (2.8), Fe (2.4), Mn (2.3), Se (2.2) and Cu (2.0). We suggest that fungus-growing termites that collect water for air-conditioning their fungi have the potential to inadvertently boost – to a far greater degree than non-fungus-growing termites – the availability of nutrients to local plants and herbivores.

Keywords

deep-tunnellingecosystem engineeringenrichmentfertilizationgroundwatersoil nutrientssolutes
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 34 , Issue 6 , November 2018 , pp. 385 - 389
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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

ADAMS, S., TITUS, R., PIETERSEN, K., TREDOUX, G. & HARRIS, C. 2001. Hydrochemical characteristics of aquifers near Sutherland in the Western Karoo, South Africa. Journal of Hydrology 241:91–103.Google Scholar
CLOUD, P. E., GUSTAFSON, L. B. & WATSON, J. A. L. 1980. The works of living social insects as pseudofossils and the age of the oldest known Metazoa. Science 210:1013–1015.Google Scholar
DANGERFIELD, J. M., MCCARTHY, T. S. & ELLERY, W. N. 1998. The mound-building termite Macrotermes michaelseni as an ecosystem engineer. Journal of Tropical Ecology 14:507–520.Google Scholar
FOTI, F. L. 1994. The possible nutritional/medicinal value of some termite mounds used by Aboriginal communities of Nauiyu Nambiyu (Daly River) and Elliott of the Northern Territory, with emphasis on mineral elements. MSc dissertation, The University of Queensland.Google Scholar
LEPAGE, M. 1984. Distribution, density and evolution of Macrotermes bellicosus nests (Isoptera: Macrotermitinae) in the north-east of Ivory Coast. Journal of Animal Ecology 53:107–117.Google Scholar
LOCK, N. P. 1985. Kimberlite exploration in the Kalahari region of southern Botswana with emphasis on the Jwaneng kimberlite province. Pp. 183–190 in Davis, G. R. (ed.). Prospecting in areas of desert terrain. Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, London.Google Scholar
LOVERIDGE, J. P. & MOE, S. R. 2004. Termitaria as browsing hotspots for African megaherbivores in miombo woodland. Journal of Tropical Ecology 20:337–343.Google Scholar
MADUAKOR, H. O., OKERE, A. N. & ONYEANUFORO, C. C. 1995. Termite mounds in relation to the surrounding soil in the forest and derived savanna zones of southeastern Nigeria. Biology and Fertility of Soils 20:157–162.Google Scholar
MARAIS, E. & IRISH, J. 1989. Typhlops schlegelii petersii (Squamata: Typhlopidae) in a cave: accidental or incidental? Cimbebasia 11:145–146.Google Scholar
MILEWSKI, A. V. & DIAMOND, R. E. 2000. Why are very large herbivores absent from Australia? A new theory of micronutrients. Journal of Biogeography 27:957–978.Google Scholar
MILLS, A. J., MILEWSKI, A., FEY, M. V., GROENGROEFT, A. & PETERSON, A. 2009. Fungus culturing, nutrient mining and geophagy: a geochemical investigation of Macrotermes and Trinervitermes mounds in southern Africa. Journal of Zoology 278:24–35.Google Scholar
PETERSEN, A. 2008. Pedodiversity of southern African drylands. Dissertation, Hamburger Bodenkundliche Arbeiten.Google Scholar
ROULAND-LEFÈVRE, C. & BIGNELL, D. E. 2001. Cultivation of symbiotic fungi by termites of the subfamily Macrotermitinae. Pp. 731–756 in Seckbach, J. (ed.). Symbiosis. Springer, Dordrecht.Google Scholar
RUGGIERO, R. G. & FAY, J. M. 1994. Utilisation of termitarium soils by elephants and its ecological implications. African Journal of Ecology 32:222–232.Google Scholar
SEYMOUR, C. L., MILEWSKI, A. V., MILLS, A. J., JOSEPH, G. S., CUMMING, G. S., CUMMING, D. H. M. & MAHLANGU, Z. 2014. Do the large termite mounds of Macrotermes concentrate micronutrients in addition to macronutrients in nutrient-poor African savannas? Soil Biology and Biochemistry 68:95–105.Google Scholar
SYLVESTER-BRADLEY, R., BANDEIRA, A. G. & DE OLIVEIRA, L. A. 1978. Fixacao de nitrogenio (reducao de acetileno) em cupins (Insecta: Isoptera) de Amazonia Central. Acta Amazonica 8:621–627.Google Scholar
TURNER, J. S. 2006. Termites as mediators of the water economy of arid savanna ecosystems. Pp. 303–313 in D'Odorico, P. & Porporato, A. (eds). Dryland ecohydrology. Springer, Dordrecht.Google Scholar
WEST, W. F. 1970. The Bulawayo Symposium Papers, No. 2: termite prospecting. Chamber of Mines Journal 30:32–35.Google Scholar