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The thought of termites might make your chest tighten with fear – perhaps they’ve made a feast of the foundations of your house, or maybe you’re simply not keen on creepy crawlies. But new research published today will give you more reasons to find them fascinating.
In today’s lead story, James Cook University soil scientist Alexander Cheesman writes about his worldwide study of termites, and explains just how fast these creatures can devour deadwood.
He and his colleagues placed wood blocks in 130 different sites on six different continents. And they found termites ate wood significantly faster in warmer conditions. For example, thanks to termites, they found wood blocks near Darwin decayed more than ten times faster than those in temperate Tasmania.
These findings have important implications for climate change. When termites eat deadwood, the carbon it stored is released into the atmosphere. As the planet heats, termite habitat expands, which in turn will see more carbon from deadwood enter the atmosphere. And this could start a feedback loop, accelerating the pace of global warming.
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Anthea Batsakis
Deputy Environment + Energy Editor
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Alexander Cheesman, James Cook University; Amy Zanne, University of Miami; Lucas Cernusak, James Cook University
Termites are about to experience a significant global expansion in their prime habitat, thanks to climate change. Here’s what that means for deadwood.
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Sam Rudd, University of South Australia; Drew Evans, University of South Australia
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Vanessa Pirotta, Macquarie University; Justine O'Brien, UNSW Sydney
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Daniel Merino, The Conversation; Gemma Ware, The Conversation
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Daryl Adair, University of Technology Sydney
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Science + Technology
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Books + Ideas
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Meera Atkinson, University of Notre Dame Australia
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Business + Economy
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Adrian Beaumont, The Conversation
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