Cromsigt, Joris
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
Research article2016Peer reviewedOpen access
Gosling, Cleo M.; Schrama, Maarten; Aafke, van Erk; Olff, Han; Cromsigt, Joris
Termites have a large influence on ecosystem functioning. Understanding what drives termite activity patterns improves understanding of nutrient cycling, productivity, and heterogeneity in savannas. We present a mechanistic framework that relates the interactive effects of rainfall, grassland structure, large herbivore presence, and soil factors to termite activity. To test this framework, we used grass litterbags to monitor termite activity at ten sites across Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, South Africa. We assessed the effects of abiotic and biotic factors on termite activity at two scales: the large (landscape) scale, variation in bait removal among 300m2 plots that were distributed across the park and at the small (within-plot) scale (1-300m2). Half of our sites were located inside large herbivore exclosures to test for the effect of mammalian herbivore presence. At the landscape scale, termite grass removal declined towards higher rainfall and in the presence of mammalian herbivores. Removal did not depend on soil factors. At the small scale, removal declined with increasing grass height, particularly in the 1m surrounding the bait bag. Resource quality did not affect bait removal. We suggest that competition for forage drives the negative effect of mammalian herbivores on termites, whereas lower bait removal in taller swards may be due to direct negative effects from rainfall, fire and/or competition with free-living microbes. Ultimately, we suggest that the impact of termites on nutrient cycling is most pronounced when abiotic (rainfall) and biotic conditions (mammalian herbivory) limit grass removal by fire and decomposition by free-living microbes.
abiotic factors; biotic factors; climate; decomposition; nutrient cycling; termites
Biotropica
2016, Volume: 48, number: 5, pages: 656-666
Ecology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12337
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/77370