Hausberger Barbara, Korb Judith
Behavioural Biology, University of Osnabrück, Barbarastrasse 11, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany.
Behavioural Biology, University of Osnabrück, Barbarastrasse 11, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
Biol Lett. 2015 Oct;11(10). doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0625.
Termites play fundamental roles in tropical ecosystems, and mound-building species in particular are crucial in enhancing species diversity, from plants to mammals. However, it is still unclear which factors govern the occurrence and assembly of termite communities. A phylogenetic community approach and null models of species assembly were used to examine structuring processes associated with termite community assembly in a pristine savannah. Overall, we did not find evidence for a strong influence of interspecific competition or environmental filtering in structuring these communities. However, the presence of a single species, the mound-building termite Macrotermes bellicosus, left a strong signal on structuring and led to clustered communities of more closely related species. Hence, this species changes the assembly rules for a whole community. Our results show the fundamental importance of a single insect species for community processes, suggesting that more attention to insect species is warranted when developing conservation strategies.
白蚁在热带生态系统中发挥着重要作用，尤其是筑巢物种对于从植物到哺乳动物的物种多样性提升至关重要。然而，仍不清楚哪些因素控制着白蚁群落的出现和聚集。我们采用系统发育群落方法和物种聚集的零模型，来研究原始稀树草原中与白蚁群落聚集相关的构建过程。总体而言，我们没有发现种间竞争或环境过滤对这些群落结构有强烈影响的证据。然而，单一物种——筑巢白蚁巨白蚁（Macrotermes bellicosus）的存在，在群落结构上留下了强烈的信号，并导致亲缘关系更近的物种形成聚集群落。因此，该物种改变了整个群落的聚集规则。我们的结果表明了单一昆虫物种对群落过程的根本重要性，这表明在制定保护策略时，有必要更多地关注昆虫物种。
