Differential construction response to humidity by related species of mound-building termites

Abstract

Macrotermes michaelseni and M. natalensis are two morphologically similar species occupying the same habitat across southern Africa. Both build large mounds and tend mutualistic fungal symbionts for nutrients, but despite these behavioural and physiological similarities, the mound superstructures they create differ markedly. The behavioural differences behind this discrepancy remain elusive, and are the subject of ongoing investigations. Here we show that the two species demonstrate distinctive building activity in a lab-controlled environment consisting of still air with low ambient humidity. In these conditions, M. michaelseni transports less soil from a central reservoir, deposits this soil over a smaller area, and creates structures with a smaller volumetric envelope than M. natalensis. In high humidity, no such systematic difference is observed. This result suggests a differential behavioural threshold or sensitivity to airborne moisture that may relate to the distinct macro-scale structures observed in the African bushland.