A phylogenetic community approach for studying termite communities in a West African savannah

作者：Hau**erger Barbara; Korb Judith^*

来源：Biology Letters, 2015, 11(10): 20150625.

DOI：10.1098/rsbl.2015.0625

• community assembly
• competition
• habitat filtering
• neutral theory
• savannah
• termites

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.

• 出版日期2015-10-1