Effect Of Urbanization And Abiotic Factors On The Colony Size Foraging Behavior And Foraging Phenology Of The Western Subterranean Termite Reticulitermes Hesperus Banks

Author : Tae Young Lee
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (14 download)

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Download or read book Behaviorally Characterizing Chemical Cues from Wood and Nestmates that Mediate Food Discovery in the Eastern Subterranean Termite, Reticulitermes Flavipes (Kollar) written by Tae Young Lee and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Termite sociality is commonly assumed to be similar to ants when in fact, termites inhabit a wide array of niche. Variation in the life history of termites is most evident in nest types, and termites display adaptive behaviors most appropriate to the ecological challenges associated with their nesting habit. Termite nest types are categorized into one-piece, the drywood and dampwood termites colonizing a single wooden piece, intermediates, the subterranean termites colonizing multiple resources via underground tunnels, and separate, the higher termites that include the builders of elaborate mounds. Foraging behaviors of termites, which occurs in the phases of discovery, quality assessment, and recruitment, and are impacted by different nest habits of termites. Various mechanisms of resource quality assessment have been observed in one-piece termites, as a colony consumes a single resource colonized by the founding reproductive. In contrast, due to the need to relocate resources to a centralized nest, separate nest types have developed efficient recruitment mechanisms. Intermediate nest type termites construct tunnels to forage and must efficiently discover resources, as well as have mechanisms to distribute nestmates among feeding sites. Numerous cues associated with the foraging behaviors of subterranean termites have been identified, yet how these mechanisms are integrated into a system of effective foraging strategy has not been considered. In particular, several cues suggested to mediate search patterns are likely involved in later stages of settlement at resources instead. Therefore, further investigations are necessary to determine what cues subterranean termites use to initially discover food resources. The first objective was to investigate termite response to distant odors from wood and nestmates and determine whether this behavioral response was due to attraction or arrestment. The response of Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) workers to wood and nestmates was measured using choice olfactometers that either allowed or prohibited departure from the treatments. Significant response to both wood and nestmates in the no-exit olfactometer indicated a direct orientation to cues and therefore attraction. In addition, the response to wood alone indicated mediation by volatile odors.