The Impact of Constrictotermes cyphergaster (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae) Termites on Semiarid Ecosystems in Brazil: A Review of Current Research

Abstract

Termites have global distributions and play important roles in most ecosystems, often with high nest densities and interesting associations with other organisms. Constrictotermes cyphergaster, is a termite endemic to South America, widely distributed and very conspicuous, and has therefore been considered a good model for filling in gaps in general termite ecology and their relationships with other organisms (e.g., termitophily). A systematic review (content and bibliometric analyses) was used to gather all published scientific knowledge related to C. cyphergaster as well as to observe trends, verify gaps, and direct new perspectives for future studies of this species. We identified 54 studies, of which more than 50% were published in the last five years (28 articles). The majority of the articles investigated the relationships between C. cyphergaster and macroorganisms (44.4%), followed by specific aspects of its biology (25.9%). The collaboration network revealed that links between researchers are still limited and modular, but trending topics have changed over time. Additionally, there are differences in the aims of the studies being carried out in the Caatinga and Cerrado domains, with some information focusing only on one of those environments. Our results show that some gaps in the biology and ecology of C. cyphergaster remain to be explored, although collaborative efforts between researchers open opportunities for suggesting future studies that would make relevant contributions to the general knowledge of termites.

Keywords: Blattaria; Isoptera; review; tropical forests.

Figure 1

Nest of Constrictotermes cyphergaster (Blattodea, Termitidae) in a Caatinga forest, Northeastern, Brazil. Scale bar on top right = 30 cm.

Figure 2

Distribution of the 54 papers evaluated in the present study over the time (years).

Figure 3

(A) Authors collaboration network. Different colors represent clusters formed according to links between authors. (B) Papers production of top authors over time (Years). Colors are linked to the colors of webs’ clusters. N. articles is the number of articles published.

Figure 4

Trend topics observed in keywords of the 54 works about Constrictotermes cyphergaster utilized in present study. The plot shows the frequency of terms (dots) over years and in which years terms were present (whiskers).

Figure 5

Analysis of content present in the papers analyzed. (A) The central pizza plot shows the fractions of the total number of papers (n = 54). The top left piechart plot shows the divisions of papers produced inside the “Relationships with macroorganisms” category (n = 24). The bottom right piechart shows the divisions of papers produced inside the “Species/specific aspects” category (n = 14). (B) Number of papers produced which aimed C. cyphergaster (host), its guest (termitophiles/inquilines), and both (host/guest).

Figure 6

Foraging trail of Constrictotermes cyphergaster (Blattodea, Termitidae). The arrow shows a Corotoca sp (beetle that lives only inside the nests of C. cyphergaster in the semiarid areas of South America) larva being carried by a termite worker. Scale bar on the top right = 1 cm.

Figure 7

Individuals of Constrictotermes cyphergaster (Blattodea, Termitidae) foraging on lichen. Scale bar = 0.5 cm.