A checklist of the termites of Kruger National Park, South Africa

Abstract

The protection of biodiversity is critical to ecosystem function and is a primary management goal for conservation areas globally. Maintaining a current inventory of known diversity is a central component of achieving this goal and serves as an essential starting point for future research endeavours. Since the first published survey of termites in South Africa’s Kruger National Park (KNP) over 55 years ago, our understanding of termite diversity has expanded sufficiently to merit an update and formal checklist. Here we revise the inventory of termite diversity in KNP and summarise the taxonomic and functional diversity of termites in the park. A thorough review of recent termite research in KNP added 6 new genera and 13 species to what was found in Coaton’s original survey, with one genus, Anenteotermes, recorded for the first time in southern Africa. Based on the updated species checklist, the majority of genera in the park belong to Feeding Group II (39%) and the Termitidae family (75%).Conservation implications: In savannas, termites play crucial roles in nutrient cycling, water redistribution and plant dynamics. Systematically cataloguing termite diversity and assemblage composition in the park provides an essential baseline for scientific research, aids biodiversity conservation efforts and encourages scientists and managers to consider termites in ecosystem functioning and management. Having more detailed descriptions of genera, species and feeding groups allows for more tangible, ecologically relevant attributions of termite influence, facilitates enhanced inquiry and allows for more realistic quantification of termite roles in key ecosystem processes.

Coexistence of two termite‐eating specialists (Araneae)

“…Most of the prey detected in the guts could not be identified to species level because of a lack of reference sequences for South African invertebrates, a number of undescribed species present, and also the difficulty discriminating between related termite species (Uys, 2002; Lind & Davies, 2019). The unidentified sequences might also represent erroneous reads, particularly when they were represented by a low number of copies (Coissac et al ., 2012), and therefore we did not include those rare prey into the final dataset.…”

Resistance of termite mounds to variation in long‐term fire regimes across semi‐arid African savannas

“…Termite genera known to build mounds in Kruger comprise of Macrotermes , Odontotermes and Trinervitermes (Lind & Davies, 2019). Odontotermes and Trinervitermes build mounds that are mostly too small to be recorded using LiDAR data, and Trinervitermes are comparatively rare in Kruger (Davies et al, 2012).…”

“…Termite genera known to build mounds in Kruger comprise of Macrotermes, Odontotermes and Trinervitermes (Lind & Davies, 2019).…”

Estimating the distribution and habitat suitability for aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) in Kruger National Park, South Africa

“…First, as an index of prey availability, we used a metric based on mean annual precipitation. Termite species and likely ants are influenced by rainfall (Davies et al, 2014; Lind & Davies, 2019). Although we did not make species‐specific predictions, Davies et al, (2015) sampled termites in KNP and Hluhluwe‐Imfolozi and observed that termite species diversity, frequency of termite activity and intensity of termite activity all were highest at sites with intermediate (~550 mm) annual precipitation; this was true for sampling in dry, wet and transitional seasons alike.…”

“…Ant and termite distributions are influenced primarily by rainfall, geology (soil type), degree of inundation and interactions with vegetation (e.g. Dalerum et al, 2019; Davies et al, 2014; Lind & Davies, 2019). For instance, mound‐building Macrotermes in Kruger National Park (hereafter, KNP) are associated with woody vegetation, granitic soils, areas of lower rainfall and higher elevations (Davies et al, 2014), while mound‐building Odontotermes prefer undulating topography and granitic soils (Meyer et al, 1999).…”