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Updated: Jun 11, 2026
21:02
Investigating the Microbial Community in the Termite Hindgut - Interview
Published on: May 28, 2007
Ecological competition favours cooperation in termite societies
1University of Osnabrueck, Germany. Judith.Korb@biologie.uni-osnabrueck.de <Judith.Korb@biologie.uni-osnabrueck.de>
Ecology Letters
|June 30, 2010
Summary
Ecological competition intensifies within-species conflict in termites, leading to colony collapse. This suggests competition drives the evolution of cooperation within species.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Sociobiology
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- The interplay between societal conflicts and ecological competition is not well understood.
- Termites provide a model system to study these interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how within-species conflict (king and queen loss) and between-species competition (cohabitation) affect termite colonies.
- To examine the interaction between these two types of conflict.
Main Methods:
- Two sympatric termite species, Cryptotermes secundus and Cryptotermes domesticus, were used in 2-year experiments.
- Within-species conflict was manipulated by removing reproductives (king and queen).
- Between-species competition was manipulated by allowing or preventing cohabitation.
Main Results:
- Neither within- nor between-species conflict alone significantly impacted colony survival.
- Combined within- and between-species conflict led to rapid colony death in both species.
- Colony loss was faster in Cryptotermes domesticus than in Cryptotermes secundus under high conflict conditions.
Conclusions:
- Ecological competition exacerbates the negative effects of internal conflicts within termite colonies.
- These findings suggest that interspecific competition can be a driving force for the evolution of intraspecific cooperation.
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