Soil termites for ecological restoration?

Termites that live in the soil are abundant in tropical regions and play an important role in the alterations of the soil sediment (bioturbation) through the activity of feeding and construction of their nests, participating in the cycle of organic matter, modifications of the texture and structure of the soil, which affect, directly or indirectly, the diversity of plants and other organisms.

In the genealogy of termites, the Apicotermitinae is the subfamily that belongs to the Termitidae, the most diverse family of termites. These soil-feeding insects are the least studied, probably because many species do not have soldiers, making identification difficult. The function of soldiers for termites (in addition to helping to study them) is to ensure the safety of the colony against attack by other individuals, especially ants.

Although the evolutionary relationships of termites are generally quite resolved and complete, among the representatives of Apicotermitinae many aspects are still unknown. Discontinuous studies by the scientific community on this subfamily of termites raise the need to review and update the knowledge of the Apicotermitinae that inhabit Argentina. In this sense, the student of a Bachelor of Biological Sciences, Alan Ezequiel Soto Castillo, accessed a Scholarship to Stimulate Scientific Vocations (EVC-CIN) proposing to expand the knowledge of the genera and species of Apicotermitinae present in the Argentine province of Corrientes. and in the northeastern region of Argentina (NEA) and clarify the ecological role they play in the ecosystems of the area.

The proposed Work Plan is called “biotaxonomy of the Apicotermitinae (Blattodea, Termitoidea) of the province of Corrientes, Argentina” and will be under the direction of Juan Manuel Coronel and Clara Etchverry, professors-researchers of the Invertebrate Biology chair, in the Department of Zoology of the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences and Surveying of the National University of the Northeast (UNNE) in Argentina.

Members of the research team. From left to right: Alan Ezequiel Soto Castillo, Clara Etcheverry and Juan Manuel Coronel. (Photo: National University of the Northeast / Argentina Investiga)

For Soto Castillo, the results of the study that he will carry out will allow us to deepen our knowledge of the biodiversity of Argentina on the social insects of the NEA and the province of Corrientes in particular. “The contributions will be of interest to biologists specializing in the study of different groups of organisms, both plants and animals, and their relationship with the environment.”

What was expressed by the scholar is based on the fact that Apicotermitinae are considered ecosystem engineers due to the changes they generate at ground level and acting as an important link in the natural interconnection of food chains in an ecological community (food webs). “Consequently, all the results of the research will be very enriching to understand the diversity of termites in our region and how they interact with the environment,” he said.

Given that they assume different roles, the Apicotermitinae would be fundamental for the reestablishment and restoration of those natural environments that have been affected.

To carry out the scholarship, we will work with the material deposited in the FACENAC Collection, which has more than 200 samples of Apicotermitinae from the province of Corrientes and that have not yet been identified.

This collection belongs to the FaCENA of the UNNE and is under the responsibility of the Research Group that carries out this project, with leading researchers who began the study of different aspects of the biology of termites in the 1980s.

In terms of new scientific knowledge, the work will generate information on the biodiversity and biotaxonomy of this subfamily. “Specifically, the diagnostic characters that were taken into account for the identification of the various species of the Apicotermitine subfamily from the province of Corrientes will be announced, as well as the ecological role of these according to the specific site in which they were collected. ”.

Once the work plan for the study of this subfamily is completed, it would open avenues of research oriented towards the ecological role they play in ecosystems. Especially in those that have gone through some imbalance or alteration, whether natural or anthropic (due to human activity). (Source: Juan Monzón Gramajo / National University of the Northeast / Argentina Investiga)