Termites of Agropark, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli Campus: Diversity and Pest Composition

Abstract

Termites play important roles in the ecosystem as detritivores and soil engineers. However,alterations of the forest could change the diversity and abundance of termites. The Agropark atUniversiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Jeli Campus is an agricultural park that is surrounded bysecondary forest and rubber plantations. This study was conducted to determine the diversity andpest species composition of termites at Agropark, UMK. Standardized line transects 100m long ×2m wide and divided into 20 sections (5m long × 2m wide) were conducted at three differentsampling sites in May to September 2015. A total of 29 termite species from 13 genera weresuccessfully identified with relative abundance of 128 (total hits). Diversity indices show highdiversity and evenness among the termite species in the study area. The termites comprise offamily Termitidae (75.9%) and family Rhinotermitidae (24.1%). Subfamily Macrotermitinaerecorded higher a number of species (12 species, 78 hits) compared to other subfamilies recordedin this study. Wood feeders and epigeal mound builders dominated the termite assemblages. Thetotal pest termite species collected is 41.4% (12 species) while 58.6% (17 species) of termitespecies were non-pest species that provide good ecological services to Agropark, UMKKJ. Thepests are mainly from genera Coptotermes, Schedorhinotermes, Macrotermes, Microtermes andGlobitermes. The higher number of pest species shows the possibility of pest attacks to thebuildings around the Agropark. Precautions against termite attack should be taken earlier toprevent serious damage to buildings in the future.