Apicotermitinae (Blattaria, Isoptera, Termitidae) from the upper Madeira River region, Rondônia, Brazil: taxonomy and dimensions of diversity

• Grant number: 20/06041-4
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2021
• End date: January 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Tiago Fernandes Carrijo
• Grantee: Tiago Fernandes Carrijo
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: Santo André
• Associated researchers: Alberto José Arab Olavarrieta ; Eliana Marques Cancello ; Ives Haifig ; Joice Paulo Constantini ; Rudolf H. Scheffrahn ; ‪Thomas Bourguignon
• Associated research grant(s): 24/07410-4 - XXVII International Congress of Entomology, AR.EXT

Abstract

The termite subfamily Apicotermitinae (Termitidae) is extremally abundant in neotropical soils. Besides that, this subfamily is the less known group among termites, being the highest taxonomic challenge in the Termitology. The aim of this project is to contribute to the state of knowledge of the neotropical Apicotermitinae, especially in the Amazon. We will study 2.553 samples collected in the upper Madeira River (Porto Velho, RO, Brazil), giving emphasis to the taxonomy and multiple dimensions of diversity of the group. The taxonomic identification of taxa will use external and internal morphology, as well as morphometric analysis. New taxa will be described along the project. Alfa, beta, gamma and phylogenetic dimensions of diversity will be analyzed to understand different patterns and process driving the Apicotermitinae communities. Our main hypothesis is that soil variables and the edge effect created by the riverbanks will drive the diversity patterns of the group. The combination of phylogenetic and ecological data with a deep taxonomic study will reciprocally illuminate these disciplines. This multidisciplinary approach is the core of science today, especially in areas with such a knowledge gap, like the case of the new world Apicotermitinae. This project also seeks to train qualified people to work with termite taxonomy and diversity, as well as the structuring of the TermitoLab, at UFABC. (AU)

Scientific publications

(6)

(The scientific publications listed on this page originate from the Web of Science or SciELO databases. Their authors have cited FAPESP grant or fellowship project numbers awarded to Principal Investigators or Fellowship Recipients, whether or not they are among the authors. This information is collected automatically and retrieved directly from those bibliometric databases.)

PIE, MARCIO R.; CARRIJO, TIAGO F.; CARON, FERNANDA S.. The diversification of termites: Inferences from a complete species-level phylogeny. ZOOLOGICA SCRIPTA, JUN 2021. (20/06041-4)

SCHEFFRAHN, RUDOLF H.; CARRIJO, TIAGO F.. Chasitermes pax, a new genus and species of soldierless termite (Termitidae, Apicotermitinae) from the island of Trinidad. ZOOKEYS, v. N/A, n. 1139, p. 10-pg., 2023-01-11. (20/06041-4)

KOHARI, KAROLINA S.; PALMA-ONETTO, VALERIA; SCHEFFRAHN, RUDOLF H.; VASCONCELLOS, ALEXANDRE; CANCELLO, ELIANA M.; SANTOS, RAFAELLA G.; CARRIJO, TIAGO F.. Evolutionary history of Nasutitermes kemneri (Termitidae, Nasutitermitinae), a termite from the South American diagonal of open formations. FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, v. 10, p. 9-pg., 2022-12-22. (13/20068-9, 13/03767-0, 20/06041-4)

PIE, MARCIO R.; CARRIJO, TIAGO F.; CARON, FERNANDA S.. The diversification of termites: Inferences from a complete species-level phylogeny. ZOOLOGICA SCRIPTA, v. 50, n. 6, p. 769-779, NOV 2021. (20/06041-4)

CARRIJO, TIAGO F.; CASTRO, DANIEL; WANG, MENGLIN; CONSTANTINI, JOICE P.; BOURGUIGNON, THOMAS; CANCELLO, ELIANA M.; ROISIN, YVES; SCHEFFRAHN, RUDOLF H.. Diminishing the taxonomic gap in the neotropical soldierless termites: descriptions of four new genera and a new Anoplotermes species (Isoptera, Termitidae, Apicotermitinae). ZOOKEYS, v. N/A, n. 1167, p. 36-pg., 2023-06-14. (20/06041-4, 14/11982-1)

CARRIJO, T. F.; ENGEL, M. S.; CHOUVENC, T.; GILE, G. H.; MIKAELYAN, A.; DEDEINE, F.; WARE, J. L.; HAIFIG, I.; ARAB, A.; CONSTANTINI, J. P.; et al. A call to termitologists: it is time to abandon the use of "lower" and "higher" termites. Insectes Sociaux, v. N/A, p. 5-pg., 2023-08-23. (20/06041-4, 18/22839-6, 20/08121-5, 14/11982-1, 17/11768-8)