Abstract
Surveys were undertaken in a mulga Acacia aneura semi-arid woodland in NW New South Wales to determine whether there was any significant spatial patterning of both harvester termite (eg Drepanotermes perniger) pavements and soil hummocks formed primarily by xylophagous termites ((eg Amitermes spp.) feeding in fallen mulga logs. The estimated total number of harvester termite pavements on the 200-ha study site was 11 559 with evidence of slight regularity in the small-scale spatial pattern. Density of harvester termite pavements nests ranged from 30-100 pavements ha-1 with the lowest density being associated with mulga groves which are major sinks for rainwater run-off following episodic rainfall events. The estimated number of log-hummocks formed by xylophagous termites was 27 468 with aggregation indicated in the small-scale spatial pattern. The frequency distributions of log-hummock classes were similar in ecotonal and mulga grove habitats, with a somewhat different distribution in the intergrove habitat where soil hummock development was most pronounced. -from Authors
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Acta Oecologica/Oecologia Generalis |
| Pages | 355-376 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Edition | 4 |
| State | Published - 1989 |
| Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Earth and Planetary Sciences
- General Environmental Science