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.