Termites And Sustainable Management. Volume 1. Biology, Social Behaviour And Economic Importance Biology, Social Behaviour And Economic Importance Biology, Social Behavior And Economic Importance

This Volume comprises 12 chapters in an attempt to bring available information on biology, social behavour and economic importance of termites. Chapters in this book dealing with termites identification provide a review on most updated information of their systematics. Ecologically, termites interact with living and non-living surroundings and deliver a wide range of behaviors. In a separate chapter termites ecology is examined and explored. Termites depend on their gut microbes for digestion of complex polysaccharides of wood into simpler molecules. Information provided on termite gut microbiome and lignocellulose degradation constitutes an important contribution. Termite biology and social behaviour have been addressed comprehensively. Trail pheromones are responsible for the orientation and recruitment of nestmates to the food sources. Once arriving at a potential food source, termites assess its quality using a different set of cues. A separate chapter on trail pheromones, cues used during foraging and food assessment, with preferences for foraging sites, contributes a wealth of information. Emphasis has been given on reviewing ecological benefits of termites in other chapters. The information with respect to termite species as an edible insect and the overall role it plays in food and nutrition security in Africa is quite informative. A separate chapter dealing with importance of termites and termitaria in mineral exploration constitutes a significant step in addressing the economic importance of this insect group. Front Matter ....Pages i-xii Termites: An Overview (Md. Aslam Khan, Wasim Ahmad)....Pages 1-25 Termites Identification (Nivaarani Arumugam, Nurul Syuhaddah Mohd Kori, Homathevi Rahman)....Pages 27-45 Ecology of Termites (Syed Kamran Ahmad, Hassan Ali Dawah, Md. Aslam Khan)....Pages 47-68 Termite Gut Microbiome (Navodita Maurice, László Erdei)....Pages 69-99 Lignocellulose Degradation by Termites (Paola Talia, Joel Arneodo)....Pages 101-117 Termite Biology and Social Behaviour (Ahmad Pervez)....Pages 119-143 Trail Pheromones in Termites (Paulo F. Cristaldo)....Pages 145-158 Cues Used by Subterranean Termites During Foraging and Food Assessment (Timothy M. Judd)....Pages 159-180 Termite Preferences for Foraging Sites (Ibrahim G. Ali, Berhan M. (Shiday) Ahmed, Gary Sheridan, John R. J. French)....Pages 181-199 Ecological Impacts of Termites (Md. Aslam Khan, Wasim Ahmad, Bishwajeet Paul)....Pages 201-216 Termites as Food in Africa (Forkwa T. Fombong, John N. Kinyuru)....Pages 217-240 Economic Importance of Termites and Termitaria in Mineral Exploration (Emmanuel Arhin, Millicent Captain-Esoah, Belinda S. Berdie)....Pages 241-258 Back Matter ....Pages 259-265