Termite communities in the Republic of the Congo: Drivers of diversity and ecological impacts

Beyond the hundred or so species of termites that are considered structural and agricultural pests, there are over 3,000 species performing important roles in their ecosystems. Of these, more than 75% fall into just one of the seven termite families – the aptly-named Termitidae. This family likely originated in the rainforests of Central Africa around 50 million years ago, and the region today is a termite biodiversity hotspot. Yet much of this diversity remains uncharacterized, and the ecological factors driving these patterns of diversity remain poorly studied. We systematically surveyed termite communities across Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo, using morphology and COII barcoding to identify cryptic species. Soils cores were analyzed for moisture and nutrient content, and drone-based Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) was used to measure landscape features such as vegetation height and canopy cover. Our work aims to compare the impact of these environmental variables on termite assemblages. Conversely, termites themselves are considered ecosystem engineers in tropical systems. They are highly abundant, particularly in the intricate mounds they build to house their colonies, and they perform essential decomposition activities. While substantial research has focused on mound-building termites in savannas, less is known about their impact in rainforests. We collaborated with researchers at Marien Ngouabi University in Brazzaville to study the relationship between termite mounds and the tree diversity on and around them. Finally, we launched a year-long Park-wide decomposition experiment to shed light on the variation of termite-driven nutrient cycling across the landscape.