ABSTRACT
Termites perform key ecological functions in tropical ecosystems, are strongly affected by variation in rainfall, and respond negatively to habitat disturbance. However, it is not known how the projected increase in frequency and severity of droughts in tropical rainforests will alter termite communities and the maintenance of ecosystem processes. Using a large-scale termite suppression experiment, we found that termite activity and abundance increased during drought in a Bornean forest. This increase resulted in accelerated litter decomposition, elevated soil moisture, greater soil nutrient heterogeneity, and higher seedling survival rates during the extreme El Niño drought of 2015-2016. Our work shows how an invertebrate group enhances ecosystem resistance to drought, providing evidence that the dual stressors of climate change and anthropogenic shifts in biotic communities will have various negative consequences for the maintenance of rainforest ecosystems.
Subject(s)
Droughts , Isoptera/physiology , Rainforest , Soil , Animals , Borneo , Climate Change , El Nino-Southern Oscillation , Seedlings/growth & development , Tropical Climate , WaterABSTRACT
Insects are highly susceptible to the adverse effects of forest fragmentation. It is now beyond any doubt that fragmentation-induced changes in abundance and species richness occur in many insect groups. However, the study of insects in fragmented forests is still in its infancy and lacks real direction. Simple empirical studies are not answering the questions we most want to answer about fragmented systems. Are we in the midst of a mass-extinction crisis? What is the functional significance of the immense insect biodiversity? Does biodiversity loss affect ecosystem functioning? A more focused, functional approach to the study of forest fragmentation is required to move beyond the description of pattern and to determine how changes in insect communities affect ecosystem processes in fragmented forests.
