干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): Largest on earth: Discovery of a new type of fairy circle in Angola supports a termite origin

Arid

DOI	10.1111/een.12996
	Largest on earth: Discovery of a new type of fairy circle in Angola supports a termite origin
	Jurgens, Norbert; Gunter, Felicitas; Oldeland, Jens; Groengroeft, Alexander; Henschel, Joh R.; Oncken, Imke; Picker, Mike D.
通讯作者	Jurgens, N
来源期刊	ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY
ISSN	0307-6946
EISSN	1365-2311
英文摘要	1. Circular bare patches occur in high numbers among the vegetation of the Namib Desert margin. There is an ongoing scientific debate on the origin of these so-called "fairy circles" (FCs). One of the most frequently discussed hypotheses regards the bare patches to be the result of localised herbivory by sand termites of the genus Psammotermes (family Rhinotermitidae). 2. In all earlier publications, the fairy circles of the Namib Desert region within their entire range from Angola through Namibia to South Africa were, in principle, regarded to be of one type, albeit increasing in size towards the north. Here we present evidence that at -16.23 degrees latitude there is an abrupt discontinuity which separates the FCs on either side from each other. 3. South of this discontinuity all studied FCs share the properties of the previously described fairy circles in Namibia and South Africa, especially the presence of Psammotermes termites. 4. In contrast, north of -16.23 degrees S the FCs are much larger and are caused by a different and undescribed termite species, most closely related to the harvester termite genus Microhodotermes (family Hodotermitidae). The two sets of fairy circles differ in a specific set of morphological features, associated termites, and soil parameters. 5. The observed juxtaposition of the newly discovered large structures caused by a hodotermitid termite and the Psammotermes FCs caused by a rhinotermitid species is interpreted as an interesting example of convergent evolution resulting in similar ecological structures.
英文关键词	Angola termite Namib fairy circle heuweltjie Hodotermitidae
类型	Article ; Early Access
语种	英语
开放获取类型	Other Gold
收录类别	SCI-E
WOS记录号	WOS:000598455600001
WOS关键词	SOUTHERN HARVESTER TERMITE ; SELF-ORGANIZATION ; NAMIB DESERT ; COLONIES ; AFRICA ; MOUNDS
WOS类目	Entomology
WOS研究方向	Entomology
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/328599
作者单位	[Jurgens, Norbert; Gunter, Felicitas; Oldeland, Jens; Oncken, Imke] Univ Hamburg, Inst Plant Sci & Microbiol, Unit Biodivers Evolut & Ecol BEE, Hamburg, Germany; [Groengroeft, Alexander] Univ Hamburg, Inst Soil Sci, Hamburg, Germany; [Henschel, Joh R.] SAEON Arid Lands Node, Kimberley, South Africa; [Picker, Mike D.] Univ Cape Town, Dept Biol Sci, Cape Town, South Africa; [Henschel, Joh R.] Univ Free State, Ctr Environm Management, Bloemfontein, South Africa
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Jurgens, Norbert,Gunter, Felicitas,Oldeland, Jens,et al. Largest on earth: Discovery of a new type of fairy circle in Angola supports a termite origin[J].
APA	Jurgens, Norbert.,Gunter, Felicitas.,Oldeland, Jens.,Groengroeft, Alexander.,Henschel, Joh R..,...&Picker, Mike D..
MLA	Jurgens, Norbert,et al."Largest on earth: Discovery of a new type of fairy circle in Angola supports a termite origin".ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY