![]() In some cases clay is placed within excavations of their wooden food, such as living trees or timber in buildings however the purpose for this clay is unclear. Many termite species use clay to build foraging galleries and mound-nests. Results presented here have practical implications for food choice experiments and for studies concerned with communication in termites as well as their ecology and coevolution with trees as their major food source. acinaciformis prefer denser wood with large early wood content, preferably humid and highly damped. aci-naciformis takes into account multiple factors when making foraging decisions. A multifactorial analysis of variance was compared to a permutation analysis of the results indicating for the first time that C. By applying a fuzzy c-means clustering technique, these veneer discs were optimally paired for treatment and control trials to study food preference by termites based on these five key material properties. By employing a correlation analysis, 17 measured physical properties of 1417 Pinus radiata veneer discs were reduced to five key material properties: density, moisture absorption, early wood content, first resonance frequency and damping. A statistical analysis framework is developed here to design a single bioassay experiment to study multifactorial foraging choice (Pinus radiata) in the basal Australian termite species Coptotermes (C.) acinaciformis (Isoptera: Rhi-notermitidae). Bioassay choice experiments used to determine food preferences in animals often consider single factors only but foraging decisions can be influenced by multiple factors such as the quantity and quality of the food and the wood as a medium for communication. The drywood termites appear to avoid confrontation by eavesdropping on the subterranean termites these results provide further evidence that vibro-acoustic cues are important for termite sensory perception and communication.Īs eusocial and wood-dwelling insects, termites have been shown to use vibrations to assess their food, to eavesdrop on competitors and predators and to warn nest-mates. This response increased with decreasing wood size, corresponding with both increased risk and strength of the cue. The drywood termite was attracted to its own vibration cues, but was repelled by those of the subterranean species. ![]() We show, using choice experiments and recordings, that the drywood termite Cryptotermes secundus can distinguish its own species from the dominant competitor in the environment, the subterranean termite Coptotermes acinaciformis. We investigated whether drywood termites could eavesdrop on vibration cues from subterranean species. Termites communicate vibro-acoustically and, as these signals can travel over long distances, they are vulnerable to eavesdropping. This is especially surprising when drywood species, with colonies of a few hundred, are found cohabiting with subterranean species, with colonies of millions. Termites compete for resources with deadly consequences, yet more than one species can be found feeding in the same wooden resource. Eavesdropping on passive walking signals explains the predator detection and foraging behaviours in this ancient relationship, which may be applicable to many other predator–prey relationships.Ĭompetition exclusion, when a single species dominates resources due to superior competitiveness, is seldom observed in nature. Comparison of 16 termite and ant species found the ants-walking signals were up to 100 times higher than those of termites. We found the termite Coptotermes acinaciformis detected their major predator, the ant Iridomyrmex purpureus, through thin wood using only vibrational cues from walking, and not chemical signals. We observed termites foraging within millimetres of ants in the field, suggesting the evolution of specialised detection behaviours. Termites communicate mostly by way of substrate-borne vibrations, which suggest they may be able to eavesdrop, using two possible mechanisms: ant chemicals or ant vibrations. Communication signals of social species may be particularly vulnerable to eavesdropping, such as pheromones produced by ants, which are predators of termites. Eavesdropping has evolved in many predator–prey relationships.
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