Niche Differentiation between Two Sympatric Species (Isoptera, Termitidae, Cubitermitinae) Revealed by Stable C and N Isotopes.

Many African termite species are true soil-feeders: how can they coexist, sometimes with high densities? How do they separate their trophic niches? Preliminary results suggest that two coexisting species forage in different soil layers, and stable C and N isotopes show that they feed on different organic material. forages near the soil surface whereas forages in deeper layers; however, unexpectedly, the former shows a higher δN than the latter, highlighting, for the first time, a trophic niche differentiation between two sympatric true soil feeders bearing different enteric valve patterns.

Termite Taxonomy, Challenges and Prospects: West Africa, A Case Example.

Termites are important ecosystem engineers. Yet they are often difficult to identify due to the lack of reliable species-specific morphological traits for many species, which hampers ecological research. Recently, termitologists working with West African termites (West African Termite Taxonomy Initiative) convened for a workshop with the aim of beginning to address this problem.

Development of Issoria lathonia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) on zinc-accumulating and nonaccumulating Viola species (Violaceae).

The larvae of Issoria lathonia L. feed in natural conditions on several Viola spp., among which are the zinc-accumulating Viola calaminaria (Gingins) Lej.

Comparative study of the CCF-like pattern recognition protein in different Lumbricid species.

Coelomic fluid of the Lumbricid Eisenia fetida contains a 42-kDa pattern recognition protein named coelomic cytolytic factor (CCF) that binds microbial cell wall components and triggers the activation of the prophenoloxidase cascade, an important invertebrate defense pathway. Here we report on the sequence characterization of CCF-like molecules of other Lumbricids: Aporrectodea caliginosa, Aporrectodea icterica, Aporrectodea longa, Aporrectodea rosea, Dendrobaena veneta, Lumbricus rubellus and Lumbricus terrestris, and show that CCF from E. fetida has a broader saccharide-binding specificity, being the only one recognizing N,N'-diacetylchitobiose.