Y: Hey Don, have you ever wished we could just rid the world of bugs once and for all?
D: Sure, Yaël, but I think we forget that many of the bugs that we think of as pests actually play important roles in ecosystems.
Y: What about termites? What are they doing useful?
D: Well, it turns out that termites in tropical rainforests actually help mitigate the effects of drought. It’s an idea that’s been around for some time, but until recently no experiment has ever been conducted to test the extent of the role termites play. Scientists set up four control plots, where the termites were allowed to continue living as they normally would, and four plots where the scientists suppressed termite activity. They monitored and tested the properties during the 2015 El Niño drought and again in 2016 when the drought was over. They found that the control plots — those with termites — experienced an increase in termite abundance during drought conditions, which helped reduce the effects of drought in several ways. The termites helped increase leaf litter decomposition and nutrient heterogeneity in the soil. They also helped increase soil moisture, making seedlings more likely to survive. In the plots where termite activity was suppressed, no other invertebrates emerged to do the job, showing the importance of this particular spooky part of the ecosystem.
Y: Okay, you convinced me of termites, but you know, that’s just a mistake on my list.
D: Then put the next one on me. I mean figuratively…
