Much like flowering plants set the stage for an explosion of herbivore and pollinator diversity, the origin of dead wood in early Devonian forests (~400 mya) was followed by an incredible diversification of life, giving rise to some of the most successful morphological adaptations and symbioses on Earth. Approximately one third of all forest insect species worldwide depend directly or indirectly on dying or dead wood (i.e., saproxylic), with major functional groups including wood feeders, fungus feeders, saprophages, and predators. Although beetles and flies dominate saproxylic insect communities worldwide, other orders are represented by a wide variety of species as well, and the composition of these assemblages varies biogeographically. Most notably, termites (Blattodea) and the subsocial beetle family Passalidae are both largely restricted to the tropics where they play a major role in the decomposition process. The large body of European research linking declines of saproxylic insect diversity to reductions in the amount of dead wood and old trees across the landscape serves as a cautionary tale for researchers and land managers working in other parts of the world. The conservation of saproxylic insects everywhere can be promoted by efforts to provide an adequate amount and variety of dead wood and old trees across space and time. The preservation of old-growth forests is also critically important as they support relict populations of the most sensitive species. There is a strong need for research outside the boreal and temperate zones to develop a more global appreciation for the diversity and ecology of saproxylic insects and to inform management strategies for conserving these organisms in subtropical and tropical forests.

/pdf/an-introduction-to-the-diversity-ecology-and-conservation-of-23hicwe2uw.pdf

An introduction to the diversity, ecology and conservation of saproxylic insects.

Termites as indicators of soil ecosystem services in transformed amazon landscapes

The continuous increase in urbanization has been perceived as a major threat for biodiversity, particularly within tropical regions. Urban areas, however, may still provide opportunities for conservation. In this study focused on Macao (China), one of the most densely populated regions on Earth, we used a comprehensive approach, targeting all the vertical strata inhabited by ants, to document the diversity of both native and exotic species, and to produce an updated checklist. We then compared these results with 112 studies on urban ants to illustrate the dual roles of cities in sustaining ant diversity and supporting the spread of exotic species. Our study provides the first assessment on the vertical distribution of urban ant communities, allowing the detection of 55 new records in Macao, for a total of 155 ant species (11.5% being exotic); one of the highest species counts reported for a city globally. Overall, our results contrast with the dominant paradigm that urban landscapes have limited conservation value but supports the hypothesis that cities act as gateways for exotic species. Ultimately, we argue for a more comprehensive understanding of ants within cities around the world to understand native and exotic patterns of diversity.

High Diversity in Urban Areas: How Comprehensive Sampling Reveals High Ant Species Richness within One of the Most Urbanized Regions of the World

Competition is a fundamental process in ecology and helps to determine dominance hierarchies. Competition and dominance hierarchies have been little investigated in wood-eating termites, despite the necessary traits of similar resources, and showing spatial and temporal overlap. Competition and dominance between five species of wood-eating termites found in Huangzhou, China, was investigated in three laboratory experiments of aggression and detection, plus a year-long field survey of termite foraging activity. Dominance depended on body size, with largest species winning overwhelmingly in paired contests with equal numbers of individuals, although the advantage was reduced in paired competitions with equal biomass. The termites could detect different species from used filter papers, as larger species searched through paper used by smaller species, and smaller species avoided papers used by larger species. The largest species maintained activity all year, but in low abundance, whereas the second largest species increased activity in summer, and the smallest species increased their activity in winter. The termite species displayed a dominance hierarchy based on fighting ability, with a temporal change in foraging to avoid larger, more dominant species. The low abundance of the largest species, here Macrotermes barneyi, may be a function of human disturbance, which allows subordinate species to increase. Thus, competitive release may explain the increase in abundance of pest species, such as Coptotermes formosanus, in highly modified areas, such as urban systems.

https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/10/7/210/pdf

The Dominance Hierarchy of Wood-Eating Termites from China

The intensive agricultural practices used in coffee plantations have profound impacts on invertebrate biodiversity. We surveyed termite diversity in the central highlands of Vietnam and evaluated it relative to the in situ ecological conditions of the coffee farms. Two survey sites were established at farms that were in place for 1 month and 1, 3, 5, and 25 years at the time of sampling. In addition, two models were tested: the diversity–resource relationship and the diversity–disturbance relationship. Our results demonstrated that the loss of termite diversity due to land perturbation in newly cultivated coffee farms may be as high as 86% compared with the nearest forested site. Only two feeding groups of termite (Group II and Group III) were present in the study sites. Termite composition of young and old farms was similar, but they only shared 48% similarity and differed significantly from the composition of the 1, 3, and 5 year old coffee farms. Understory vegetation cover and moisture content were positively associated with the occurrence of Group II and III termites but negatively associated with soil bulk density. Termite species richness did not increase linearly with the increased biomass production (plant litter) that is characteristic of old coffee farms. In contrast, termite species richness and occurrence were related to the intensity of farm management. Farms subjected to an intermediate level of management intensity due to annual crop cultivation recorded the highest diversity. Our study highlights the importance of annual crop cultivation to enhance termite diversity.

Intermediate disturbance promotes termite functional diversity in intensively managed Vietnamese coffee agroecosystems

The conservation of tropical rainforest biodiversity is a pressing issue, due to the rapid rate of deforestation. Secondary forests may provide a useful alternative to old growth forests, as they often contain a substantial proportion of the original biodiversity. In this study, we investigate species richness, density and composition of ants and termites in six forest sites in Singapore, each differing in habitat isolation and land-use history. The six sites include an old growth forest, a selectively logged old growth forest, and four secondary forests: either located on abandoned agricultural lands or in abandoned villages, and either isolated or adjacent to old growth forests. We found that the old growth forest had significantly higher species density of ants and termites than any other site. Rarefaction curves showed that ant and termite species richness were highest in the old growth forest followed by the selectively logged forest albeit these results were not significantly different from other sites. Ant species composition changed along a gradient of fragment isolation. Termite community composition in the old growth forest shared a higher proportion of species with the adjacent secondary forest, than with the selectively logged old growth forest, suggesting that the species pool of adjacent habitats is important for species re-colonisation of regenerating habitats. Our results suggest, albeit without replications, that secondary forests differ in conservation value and that disturbed habitats in continuous forest fragments recover more rapidly than isolated ones. Further, we emphasise the importance of old growth forest fragments within man-made ecosystems as sources of original biodiversity.

Ant and termite communities in isolated and continuous forest fragments in Singapore

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Ant and termite communities in isolated and continuous forest fragments in Singapore