The Relationship between termites and aardvarks essays

The Relationship between termites and aardvarks essays One of the most specialized carnivores found on Boekenhoutkloof farm is the aardwolf which dines most exclusively on harvester termites, namely Trinervitermes This species is responsible for the fantastic "ant heaps" that are seen in the bushveld and consist of four different classes. They are workers, soldiers, kings queens and winged allates. The aardwolf targets mainly the workers because of their size and easy access when foraging. Therefore it is interesting to note that the aardwolf follows the same feeding patterns as the termite. The workers work mainly in the evening and the aardwolf is a nocturnal species. The aardwolf finds his or her quarry through smell .Once it finds the prey he laps up the working termites. The aardwolf obviously consumes a lot of sand and other objects. This is shown in their faeces which contain many foreign and indigestible Once the remaining workers have retreated to the mound, the soldiers viciously attack the aardwolf and squirt specially developed noxious , terpene based substances at the aardwolf. He then moves on to find more unsuspecting workers. It is easy to see the exoskeletons of the termites in the aardwolf's faeces. This is a good example of loss of energy through trophic levels. The worker termites harvest and dry out Russet grass for food. It has been estimated that a population removes about the same amount of grass as domestic livestock. The termites population in Boekenhout ensures the survival of the red data species of the aardwolf. Thus, these mammals are only present if the termite population is wide enough. ...