Temperate forest termites: ecology, biogeography, and ecosystem impacts

Abstract

Abstract. 1. Wood decomposition in temperate forests is dominated by termites, fungi, and some species of ants and beetles. Outside of urban areas, temperate termite ecology is largely unknown, particularly when compared to tropical termites and other temperate organisms in the functional guild of wood-decomposing animals.2. This review combines climate habitat modelling with knowledge of species physiology, behaviour, and community interactions to identify and prioritise future research on temperate termite ecology and biogeography.3. Using a correlative climate model, the regional distributions of three common temperate forest termite species are shown to correlate with different aspects of climate (e.g. mean versus minimum monthly temperature), but that overall their distributions within temperate systems correlate more strongly with temperature variables than with precipitation variables.4. Existing data are synthesised to outline how the subterranean, wood-nesting behaviour of most temperate forest termite species links their activity to an additional set of non-climate controls: wood type and tree species, soil depth, fungal activity, ant abundances and phenology, and competitive asymmetries among termite species.5. Although fine-scale estimates of temperate termite abundances are rare, we provide upper bounds on their ecosystem impacts and illustrate how their regional abundances may influence forest structure and habitat availability for other organisms.6. This review highlights that rigorous ecological studies in non-urban, intact ecosystems -with a particular focus on community interactions -are critically needed to accurately project future abundances, economic impacts, and ecosystem effects of temperate forest termites.

Towards the general mechanistic prediction of community dynamics

“…The beginning of the physiological tolerance approach is illustrated by Maynard, Crowther, King, Warren, and Bradford (), who correlated the distributions of three termite species with climatic variables across the eastern United States. They demonstrated dramatic interspecific variation in thermal tolerances, then mined the ecological literature to determine the abiotic and biotic predictors of each species’ distribution.…”

Consistent effects of eastern subterranean termites (Reticulitermes flavipes) on properties of a temperate forest soil

“…The extent to which temperate forest termites vertically move soil particles is unresolved (Maynard et al, 2015). We found upward translocation of soil from below 6-cm depth, albeit the amount brought up was very minimal, and we did not quantify whether termites moved soil horizontally or downward.…”

“…Like other invertebrate macrofauna engineers, such as ants and earthworms, their tunneling activities can alter soil drainage (L eonard and Rajot, 2001;L eonard et al, 2004;Turner, 2006;Mettrop et al, 2013). Yet it is virtually unknown as to how such changes in soil inputs and structure translate to changes in soil microbial biomass, carbon (C) availability, pH and moisture (Maynard et al, 2015). That is, soil properties that strongly influence biogeochemical process rates and plant communities.…”

“…provide an important role in forest ecosystems (La Fage and Nutting, 1978;Ulyshen and Wagner, 2014). It is conceivable that factors such as climate warming will permit these species to increase their abundances and hence ecosystem effects at more northerly latitudes (Maynard et al, 2015). A paucity of data regarding their functional roles in temperate ecosystems currently prevents reliable projections of how changes in their abundances and geographic distributions will affect soil properties and hence forest structure and function.…”

Macroecological inferences on soil fauna through comparative niche modeling: The case of Hormogastridae (Annelida, Oligochaeta)

“…It has been implemented in several groups (ground beetles [4], termites [5], millipedes [6]) including earthworms: [7] used MaxEnt to study the effect of large-scale ecological variables in the distribution of Hormogaster elisae, corroborating its high predictive power and the ability to reflect accurately its soil preferences.…”