Termitofauna associated to tree species located in the Botanical Garden of the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro

• Main Authors: A. C. C. Oliveira, T. S. Souza, M. O. Lima, V. S. Gazal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de Rondonópolis 2019-02-01
• Series: Scientific Electronic Archives
• Subjects: Tree termite; foraging preference; Termitidae
• Online Access: http://www.seasinop.com.br/revista/index.php?journal=SEA&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=621&path%5B%5D=pdf
• ISSN: 2316-9281; 2316-9281

The Botanic Garden of the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ) is located in the municipality of Seropédica-Rio de Janeiro and contribute to the conservation of the flora, especially on endangered Atlantic Forest species. The increase of green areas in the urban centers some botanical species can be used places of foraging and termite feeding. This study aimed to identify tree species in the Botanic Garden of UFRRJ and verify, under field conditions, whether termite species exhibit foraging preference. For this purpose, the area was randomly inspected so that the entire area was represented homogenously. During this course all the trees were inspected to verify the occurrence of termites. The termites were collected and preserved in alcohol 70% for later identification. As results of the investigation, we found the total of 225 surveyed trees, 24% (n = 54) were infested by termites, two native species of the Termitida family were identified: Microcerotermes strunckii (Söerensen, 1884) and Nasutitermes jaraguae (Holmgren, 1910). The most frequent species was M. strunckii (χ2 = 12.5; g.l. = 1; p <0.001), occurring in 63% of the infested trees and the N. jaraguae species running in 37% of the infested trees. In general, termites M. strunckii and N. jaraguae showed no significant preference for foraging between native and exotic tree species. However, the trees of the Botanical Garden are infested by native termites, where the term M. strunckii is predominant.