Termite Fauna of Gunung Telapak Buruk, Berembun Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

Abstract

Termites have great importance in a tropical terrestrial ecosystem, especially in the decomposition process, mediate ecosystem processes and facilitate in improving the structure and quality of the soil. Termite survey was conducted at Gunung Telapak Buruk, Berembun Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan, during a scientific expedition from 30th March to 1st April 2019. This study aims to provide the first checklist of termite fauna in Gunung Telapak Buruk. Termites were collected using the casual collection method at selected trails around Gunung Telapak Buruk. A total of 21 termite species were recorded in this study. The termite assemblage comprises two families, namely Rhinotermitidae and Termitidae. Family Termitidae dominated the termite assemblage with 90.5% (19 species). The collected termite species in this study comprises 12% of recorded termite species of Peninsular Malaysia by Tho in 1992. The genus Odontotermes from the family Termitidae dominated the assemblage with five species. Four types of feeding groups were identified in this study. The wood feeders recorded highest number species with 66.7%, followed by soil feeders (14.3%), epiphyte feeder (9.52%), and wood-litter feeders (9.52%). All the recorded species are new record for this forest reserve as no previous record was available for this area.  Keywords: Diversity, forest, highland, mountain, termite fauna