西マレーシアの低地多雨林におけるシロアリの分布と役割に関する研究 : (2)パソー多雨林におけるシロアリの食性

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The range of food materials eaten by termites was studied and biomass of termites consuming different types of food was estimated in a Lowland Rain Forest (Pasoh Forest Reserve) of West Malaysia. Their basic food was dead plant material : fallen leaves, wood and humus. Some species of termites attacked living trees but their density was low. Lichen feeders were also observed, though their density was not necessarily high. The activities of termites as a whole were related to almost all stages of decomposition of leaf and wood litter. Macrotermes malaccensis was a dominant wood feeder and M. carbnarius a dominant leaf feeder. Humus feedders were dominated by Dicuspiditermes nemorosus. The biomass of termites feeding on lichen, humus, and leaf-wood were 0-0.28,2.14-2.86 and 6.52-6.99 g.w.w. per m^2 respectively. Comparing with those of the savannah ecosystems in Africa, the termites in Pasoh Forest were rich in the number of species and biomass of humus feeders.
日本生態学会の論文