The Influence of Dominant Habitats on Termite Species Diversity and Community Structure in the Brazilian Savanna

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ABSTRACT The termite species composition across landscapes is strongly influenced by habitat structure and heterogeneity, which in turn shape the dynamics of termite diversity at various spatial scales. Understanding how habitat structure influences termite species is important for predicting their interactions and responses to changes in their ecosystems. In this study, we investigated how termite species and feeding group richness, diversity and community structure varied across five distinct savanna habitats of the Brazilian Savanna. We expected that more heterogeneous habitats would host a greater diversity of termite species, and more structurally dissimilar habitats would have more dissimilar termites. We sampled across five savanna habitats across three disparate locations for a total of 15 areas, searching for termites using established sampling protocols. We described the five savanna habitats based on soil properties (water gravimetric content and pH), vegetation structure and vegetation cover indexes characterised from drone images. Our findings indicated that habitat heterogeneity was a significant driver of termite diversity. Higher termite species richness and diversity were observed in more structurally complex and heterogeneous habitats, such as woody savannas. We also noted a high dissimilarity in termite species richness among the habitats, but only slight similarity in terms of feeding group composition. Overall, we showed substantial shifts in termite species composition and diversity between open and woody habitats, as well as between dry and wet environments, and demonstrated the highest termite species diversity in woody and dry habitats. These findings highlight that habitat heterogeneity influences termite dynamics in the Brazilian Savanna and that changes in habitat structure can significantly alter termite communities.

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