Abstract:
Seasonal variations in temperature and moisture
are strong drivers of biological activity and diversity. Termites
are an important insect group previously shown to
respond to seasonal variation, but results are mixed with
unclear patterns across habitat types. We investigated seasonal
variation in termite species density, activity levels and
assemblage composition across three seasons (wet, transitional
and dry) and four savanna types across a rainfall
gradient (450–900 mm year-1) in South Africa using cellulose
baits. Termites responded to seasonality in all
savannas investigated, with lower species density and
activity levels during the dry season compared to the wet
and transitional seasons. In the more arid sites (B550 mm rainfall per year) activity levels were highest in the wet
season, while at wetter sites (C750 mm rainfall per year) the
highest activity was recorded in the transitional season.
Assemblage composition did not differ much between
seasons across all sites, but differences in both composition
and activity levels across seasons were more pronounced in
wetter sites compared to drier ones. Our results demonstrate
that seasonal patterns in termite diversity vary with mean
annual rainfall, with larger variation in wetter habitats
where climatic variation between seasons is greater.
