Implications for comparability of laboratory experiments revealed in studies on the effects of population density on the vigour in groups of Coptotermes lacteus (Froggatt) and Nasutitermes exitiosus(Hill) (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae, Termitidae)
IRG/WP 1197
M Lenz, R A Barrett, E R Williams
(Summary of paper 1194)
The vigour - survival and wood consumption - of groups of Coptotermes lacteus and Nasutitermes exitiosus was measured when termites were kept at different population densities (g termites/ mL) by changing group size and/or volume of the holding container. A characteristic pattern emerged. At low population densities (< 0,01 g/mL) performance of termites improved with an increase in group size; at higher population densities it tended to decline. The impact of altering group size and container volume on termite vigour was most pronounced at low densities; at higher population densities, performance tended to be more stable but declined markedly when termites became overcrowded. In most jar-type experiments on termites, especially those conducted in Europe and the U.S.A., small groups of termites are housed in disproportionately large jars, resulting in very low, sub-optimal population densities. Suggestions are made for improvements in experimental design that would lead to an enhancement of the comparability of results from different laboratories.