ISSN:
1570-7458
Keywords:
Foraging behavior
;
Gnathamitermes perplexus
;
Heterotermes aureaus
;
interspecific aggression
;
Isoptera
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract We examined interspecific aggression between two subterranean termite species, Heterotermes aureus (Snyder) (Rhinotermitidae) and Gnathamitermes perplexus (Banks) (Termitidae). In laboratory tests with worker termites, neither species was the inherently superior fighter, but rather the outcome of interspecific encounters depended on the number of conspecifics. We then investigated patterns of resource use by these species during a 13-month period in the Sonoran Desert. Baits consisted of toilet-paper rolls, which have been shown to be a mutually acceptable food source. Analyses of foraging activity demonstrated that the two species did not forage independently of each other. Not only were the two species negatively associated spatially, but extended periods of temporal segregation were observed. G. perplexus took significantly longer to return to sites that it had simultaneously occupied with H. aureus than to sites that G. perplexus had occupied alone. The pattern of co-occurrence of these two species is consistent with the hypothesis that interspecific interference competition affects their spatial and temporal distribution.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00367171
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