Trail-Pheromone Specificity of Two Sympatric Termites (Rhinotermitidae) from Southeastern Brazil

Nenhuma Miniatura disponível

Data

2004-02-17

Orientador

Coorientador

Pós-graduação

Curso de graduação

Título da Revista

ISSN da Revista

Título de Volume

Editor

Tipo

Artigo

Direito de acesso

Acesso restrito

Resumo

Studies on pheromone specificity are of ecological interest in termite biology where different species share the same habitat. In this work we evaluated the role of the trail pheromones as a mechanism for the isolation of sympatric populations of Coptotermes gestroi and Heterotermes tenuis (Rhinotermitidae) in Brazil. Based on our results, we conclude that trail pheromones are potentially capable of separating sympatric colonies of these species. Furthermore, the trail-pheromone specificity found in these species could be explained by quantitative differences of the common component of the trail pheromone. However, secondary components on the trail pheromone may neutralize the quantitative differences of a common component. Activity bioassays showed that synthetic (Z,Z,E) 3,6,8-dodecatrien-1-ol may act as the common component of the trail pheromone of these species. Further studies should focus on the chemical identification of the trails laid by the termites.

Descrição

Idioma

Inglês

Como citar

Sociobiology, v. 43, n. 2, p. 377-387, 2004.

Itens relacionados

Financiadores