Ant-termite interactions: an important but under-explored ecological linkage
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60076658%3A12310%2F20%3A43901499" target="_blank" >RIV/60076658:12310/20:43901499 - isvavai.cz</a>
Alternative codes found
RIV/60077344:_____/20:00525182
Result on the web
<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/brv.12577" target="_blank" >https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/brv.12577</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/brv.12577" target="_blank" >10.1111/brv.12577</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Ant-termite interactions: an important but under-explored ecological linkage
Original language description
Animal interactions play an important role in understanding ecological processes. The nature and intensity of these interactions can shape the impacts of organisms on their environment. Because ants and termites, with their high biomass and range of ecological functions, have considerable effects on their environment, the interaction between them is important for ecosystem processes. Although the manner in which ants and termites interact is becoming increasingly well studied, there has been no synthesis to date of the available literature. Here we review and synthesise all existing literature on ant–termite interactions. We infer that ant predation on termites is the most important, most widespread, and most studied type of interaction. Predatory ant species can regulate termite populations and subsequently slow down the decomposition of wood, litter and soil organic matter. As a consequence they also affect plant growth and distribution, nutrient cycling and nutrient availability. Although some ant species are specialised termite predators, there is probably a high level of opportunistic predation by generalist ant species, and hence their impact on ecosystem processes that termites are known to provide varies at the species level. The most fruitful future research direction will be to evaluate the impact of ant–termite predation on broader ecosystem processes. To do this it will be necessary to quantify the efficacy both of particular ant species and of ant communities as a whole in regulating termite populations in different biomes. We envisage that this work will require a combination of methods, including DNA barcoding of ant gut contents along with field observations and exclusion experiments. Such a combined approach is necessary for assessing how this interaction influences entire ecosystems. © 2019 Cambridge Philosophical Society
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
10618 - Ecology
Result continuities
Project
<a href="/en/project/GA19-14620S" target="_blank" >GA19-14620S: Network ecology in the big data age: understanding changes in species interaction specificity along environmental gradients</a><br>
Continuities
S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach
Others
Publication year
2020
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Biological Reviews
ISSN
1464-7931
e-ISSN
—
Volume of the periodical
95
Issue of the periodical within the volume
3
Country of publishing house
US - UNITED STATES
Number of pages
18
Pages from-to
555-572
UT code for WoS article
000504254300001
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-85077363198