Keywords :
Bomb Carbon; Feeding Habit; Isoptera; Termitidae; Tropics.
บทคัดย่อ :
Stable (d13C and d15N) and radio- (14C, 137Cs and 210Pb) isotopes were determined for termites that have been sampled from a dry evergreen forest in Thailand. A wood-feeding termite, Microcerotermes crassus, was separated from soil-feeders: Termes propinquus, Termes comis and Dicuspiditermes makhamensis by d13C and d15N values. The Termes group in Thailand had less diverse values in d13C and d15N than those in Australia, where the feeding habits of the Termes group are more diverse. Other soil feeding termites produced similar d13C values, but a larger range in d15N values. 14C-percent modern carbon (pMC) values suggest that the soil-feeding termites used younger carbon than the wood- feeding termites, and this was consistent with the termites from Cameroon, central Africa. Values of d13C and 14C-pMC indicate that surface soil was used by a soil-feeding termite, D. makhamensis, in making the nest mounds, and deeper soil (10-30 cm) by a fungus-growing termite, Macrotermes carbonarius. 210Pb and 137Cs were scarcely incorporated into the termites, although 214Pb was recovered from the workers. The results suggest that stable- and radioisotopes are useful in the study of detritivorous animals, organic matter decomposition and ecosystem engineering.
เอกสารอ้างอิง :
Tayasu, I., Nakamura, T., Oda, H., Hyodo, F., Takematsu, Y., & Abe, T. (2002a). Termite ecology in a dry evergreen forest in Thailand in terms of stable ((Delta) 13 C and (Delta) 15 N) and radio (14 C, 137 Cs and 210 Pb) isotopes. Ecological Research, 17(2), 195-206.
