Potential Impact of Climate Change on Termite Distribution in Africa

B M Ahmed (Shiday); P O Y Nkunika; G W Sileshi; John R J French; P Nyedo; S Jain

doi:10.9734/BJECC/2011/561

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Potential Impact of Climate Change on Termite Distribution in Africa

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Potential Impact of Climate Change on Termite Distribution in Africa

B M Ahmed (Shiday), P O Y Nkunika, G W Sileshi, John R J French, P Nyedo and S Jain

British Journal of Environment and Climate Change, Vol.1(4), pp.172-189

2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.9734/BJECC/2011/561

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Abstract

Zoology

Isoptera

termites

distribution

climate change

Africa

Termites (Order: Isoptera) constitute an integral component of various ecosystems in Africa. Termites are also amongst the most difficult insects to study because of their cryptic behaviour and natural nesting habitat. There are around 2600 species of termites in 280 genera which have been described worldwide and about 39% of the total termite species are found in Africa. Termite identification is crucial to understanding termite distribution and their relationship to climate change. Some termite species are well known pests of agricultural crops, forest trees, wood products and timber-in-service causing considerable damage in Africa. This review paper attempts to collate information on African termite distribution and climate change and highlights some knowledge gaps. Africa is the origin of the termite family of Macrotermitinae. The paper focuses more on economically important termite species in Africa. The use of traditional identification methods coupled with molecular techniques in resolving some of the challenges in termite distribution with particular reference to climate change in Africa are discussed. There is scant information on published literature on the impact of climate change on termites with particular reference to termite distribution in Africa. However there is anectodal evidence to suggest that African termite species will be affected by changes in the local and global climate

Details

Title: Potential Impact of Climate Change on Termite Distribution in Africa
Authors: B M Ahmed (Shiday) (Author) - University of Melbourne
P O Y Nkunika (Author) - University of Zambia, Zambia
G W Sileshi (Author) - World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Kenya
John R J French (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health and Education
P Nyedo (Author) - Makerere University, Uganda
S Jain (Author) - University of Zambia, Zambia
Publication details: British Journal of Environment and Climate Change, Vol.1(4), pp.172-189
Publisher: Sciencedomain International
Date published: 2011
DOI: 10.9734/BJECC/2011/561
ISSN: 2231-4784
Copyright note: Copyright © 2011 Ahmed et al.; This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449464302621
Output Type: Journal article

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