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Population structure and predation in the harvester termite, Trinervitermes trinervoides (Sjöstedt).cwwpirk@zoology.up.ac.za
Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2021
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| _version_ | 1867613612460212224 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Pirk, Christian Walter Werner |
| author_browse | Pirk, Christian Walter Werner |
| author_facet | Pirk, Christian Walter Werner |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/79707 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:38:54.752Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/79707 Population structure and predation in the harvester termite, Trinervitermes trinervoides (Sjöstedt).cwwpirk@zoology.up.ac.za Pirk, Christian Walter Werner cwwpirk@zoologyup.ac.za Dalerum, Fredrik Theron, Charmaine Dawn UCTD Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013. Little information is available on the termite species in southern Africa, especially Trinervitermes trinervoides (Sjöstedt). This is an endemic, non-detrimental harvester termite that performs vital ecosystem functions in the semi-arid grassland ecosystem of southern Africa. T. trinervoides is the only termite species that does not compete with grazers for foraging material since they harvest litter grass. T. trinervoides are highly eusocial, mound-building, nasute termites. The ability to construct mounds has facilitated colonies in obtaining a population of thousands of individuals. Nevertheless it is unclear if T. trinervoides is monodomous (single mound) or polydomous (several mounds). The large population sizes in terms of individuals per mound and mound density of T. trinervoides have allowed for predator specialisation. In southern Africa the most destructive predator of T. trinervoides is the aardvark, Orycteropus afer (Pallas). In order to determine the impact of predation from the aardvark, the social structure of T. trinervoides first has to be understood. Using aggression as a proxy for nestmate recognition I found that each T. trinervoides colony occupies a single mound. The aggression structure was uniform across the population and most likely driven by resource competition. Aardvark predation risk was highest in the wet season, but predation severity was also uniform across the population. Predation from the aardvark may be driving T. trinervoides social structure towards monodomy in this area. Polydomy may decrease colony survival as resources are spread throughout a wide area. Furthermore this study reveals that large scale studies are important in ecological studies as small scale studies over emphasise variance in data that is reduced on a large scale. NRF Zoology and Entomology MSc Unrestricted 2021-04-30T12:32:51Z 2021-04-30T12:32:51Z 2013 2013-12-18 Dissertation Theron, C( 2013, Population structure and predation in the harvester termite, Trinervitermes trinervoides (Sjöstedt).cwwpirk@zoology.up.ac.za, MSc Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/79707> M14/9/224 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/79707 en © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD Population structure and predation in the harvester termite, Trinervitermes trinervoides (Sjöstedt).cwwpirk@zoology.up.ac.za |
| title | Population structure and predation in the harvester termite, Trinervitermes trinervoides (Sjöstedt).cwwpirk@zoology.up.ac.za |
| title_full | Population structure and predation in the harvester termite, Trinervitermes trinervoides (Sjöstedt).cwwpirk@zoology.up.ac.za |
| title_fullStr | Population structure and predation in the harvester termite, Trinervitermes trinervoides (Sjöstedt).cwwpirk@zoology.up.ac.za |
| title_full_unstemmed | Population structure and predation in the harvester termite, Trinervitermes trinervoides (Sjöstedt).cwwpirk@zoology.up.ac.za |
| title_short | Population structure and predation in the harvester termite, Trinervitermes trinervoides (Sjöstedt).cwwpirk@zoology.up.ac.za |
| title_sort | population structure and predation in the harvester termite trinervitermes trinervoides sjostedt cwwpirk zoology up ac za |
| topic | UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/79707 |