TERMITE (ISOPTERA) COMMUNITY IN THE WESTERN GHATS, SOUTH-INDIA - INFLUENCE OF ANTHROPOGENIC DISTURBANCE OF NATURAL VEGETATION

A comparative study of termites communities was carried out in the Wes tern chats in order to understand the impact of human disturbance on t he pristine ecosystems such as the wet evergreen forest of South India . Termites communities were studied in six sites with varying degrees of disturbance (3 forests, 2 pastures, 1 Acacia plantation) at six dif ferent times over one year and for three depths of soil. Twelve specie s, representing 3 subfamilies and 9 genera were recorded over a total of 27,879 individuals. These results show that the termite community i n the natural forest system is greatly affected when the habitat is ev en slightly disturbed. One species was recorded exclusively in forest systems (Microcerotermes fletcheri) and two species were found exclusi vely in non-forest sites (Dicuspiditermes pername and Pericapritermes ceylonicus). Maximum number of species was recorded in an undisturbed evergreen forest (10 species) and the minimum in a slightly disturbed forest (4 species). During monsoon, there was a sharp fall in termite abundance and biomass in all the plots while highest abundance and bio mass were observed during the dry season. Finally, termite abundance a nd biomass correlated strongly with soil nitrogen and organic matter.