Find research datasets worth reusing
Search datasets from major research repositories and use ShareScore to quickly assess how well each record supports discovery, access, and reuse.
25
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.9.0
Dataset results
25 results for “termite mound”
FIG. 5 in Bryophytes associated with termite mounds on the northeastern Nigerian highlands
FIG. 5. — Neighbour joining clustering of countries/territories from which species collected from termite mounds on eastern Nigerian Highlands are known, indicating greatest similarity to the Nigerian mound bryophytes to the left and least similarity to the right.
FIG. 4 in Bryophytes associated with termite mounds on the northeastern Nigerian highlands
FIG. 4. — Distributional affinities of species collected from termite mounds from northeastern Nigerian Highlands.
FIG. 1 in Fissidens ezukanmae Brugg.-Nann., sp. nov. (Fissidentaceae, Bryopsida), a new species from termite mounds in Nigeria
FIG. 1. — Fissidens ezukanmae Brugg.-Nann., sp. nov.: A, stem with terminal perichaetium; B, branched vegetative stem; C, part of stem with axillary archegonia (upper one left anomalously developed); D-G, leaves; H, basal part of vaginant lamina of subperichaetial leaf with limbidium; I, leaf apex; J, mid leaf; K, insertion of leaf; L, detail mid-vaginant lamina; M, cross-section of stem; N, cross-section of leaf with bryoides-type of costa. All from holotype. Scale bars: A,B, 1 mm; C, 0,5 mm; D, 0,1 mm; E-G, 0,1 mm; H, 50 µm; I, 100 µm; J,K, 50 µm; L, M, 50 µm.
Data for: Mutualistic Acacia Ants exhibit reduced aggression and more frequent off-tree movements near termite mounds
<p>These are the raw data used in the paper "Mutualistic Acacia Ants exhibit reduced aggression and more frequent off-tree movements near termite mounds". Please see the README file for a more detailed description of the two CSV files. </p>
Data from: How the thermal environment shapes the structure of termite mounds
<p>A computational model has been developed to predict the role of environment in the forms and functions of termite mounds. The proposed model considers the most relevant forces involved in the heat transfer process of termite mounds, while also reflects their gasexchange function. The method adopts a system configuration procedure to determine thermally optimized mound structures. The model successfully predicts the main architectural characteristics of typical Macrotermes michaelseni mounds for the environmental conditions they live in. The results indicate that the mound superstructure and internal condition strongly depend on the combined effect of environmental forces. It is noted that mounds being exposed to higher solar irradiances develop intricate lateral channels, inside, and taller and more pronounced spire tilt towards the sun, outside. It is also found that the mounds' spire tilt angle depends on the geographical location, following the local average solar zenith angle for strong irradiances. Although wind does not influence the overall over-ground mound shape, it significantly affects the mound internal condition. The results of this study resonate with what is seen in nature. The proposed approach provides a broader view of the factors that are effective in the form and function of a naturally made structure.</p>
FIG. 3 in Bryophytes associated with termite mounds on the northeastern Nigerian highlands
FIG. 3. — Bryophyte mats at the base of termite mound. Mambilla Plateau, Nigeria.
FIG. 2 in Bryophytes associated with termite mounds on the northeastern Nigerian highlands
FIG. 2. — Termite mound with bryophyte mats at the base. Mambilla Plateau, Nigeria.
Resistance of termite mounds to variation in long-term fire regimes across semi-arid African savannas
<p>1. Fire regimes are expected to change with climate change, resulting in a crucial need to understand the specific ways in which variable fire regimes impact important contributors to ecosystem functioning, such as mound-building termites. Termite mounds and fire are both important agents of savanna ecosystem heterogeneity and functioning, but there is little understanding of how they interact across savanna types. 2. We used very high-resolution LiDAR remote sensing to measure the size, density, and distribution of termite mounds across approximately 1,300 ha of experimental burn plots in four South African savanna landscapes representing a wide range of fire treatments differing in seasonality and frequency of burning. 3. In nutrient-poor granitic savannas, fire had no impact on termite mound size, densities, and spatial distributions. In nutrient-rich basaltic savannas with high mammalian herbivore abundance and intermediate rainfall, very frequent fires caused a decrease in termite mound size, whereas in arid nutrient-rich basaltic savannas, fires that occurred at intermediate frequencies and in transitional seasons (i.e., late dry season and late wet season) decreased the degree of spatial overdispersal exhibited by mounds. 4. Overall, our results suggest that termite mounds are resistant to variation in fire seasonality and frequency, likely indicating that ecosystem services provided by mound-building termites will be unaffected by changing fire regimes. However, consideration of changes to termite mound size and distribution could be necessary for land managers in specific savanna types, such as nutrient-rich soils with high mammalian herbivore abundance.</p>
Data from: How the thermal environment shapes the structure of termite mounds
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Resistance of termite mounds to variation in long-term fire regimes across semi-arid African savannas
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Moisture alone is sufficient to impart strength but not weathering resistance to termite mound soil
<p>Soil is used for construction of structures by many animals, at times admixed with endogenous secretions. These additives, along with soil components, are suggested to have a role in biocementation. However, the relative contribution of endogenous and exogenous materials to soil strength has not been adequately established. Termite mounds are earthen structures with exceptional strength and durability including weathering resistance to wind and rain. With <i>in-situ</i> and lab-based experiments we demonstrate that the fungus-farming termite <i>Odontotermes obesus</i> which builds soil nest mounds, when given a choice, prefers soil close to its liquid limit for construction. At this moisture content, the soil–water mixture alone even in the absence of termite handling undergoes self-weight consolidation and upon drying attains a monolithic, densely packed structure with compressive strength comparable to the <i>in-situ</i> strength of the mound soil; however, the soil–water mixture alone has lower resistance to water erosion than the <i>in-situ</i> mound samples suggesting that termite secretions impart weathering resistance and thereby long-term stability to the mound. Therefore, weathering resistance and compressive strength are conferred by different aspects of termite soil manipulation. Our work provides novel insights into termite mound construction and strength correlates for earthen structures built by animals.</p>
Data from: Technical note: rapid image-based field methods improve the quantification of termite mound structures and greenhouse-gas fluxes
Termite mounds (TMs) mediate biogeochemical processes with global relevance, such as turnover of the important greenhouse gas methane (CH4). However, the complex internal and external morphology of TMs impede an accurate quantitative description. Here we present two novel field methods, photogrammetry (PG) and cross-section image analysis, to quantify TM external and internal mound structure of 29 TMs of three termite species. Photogrammetry was used to measure epigeal volume (VE), surface area (AE) and mound basal area (AB) by reconstructing 3D models from digital photographs, and compared against a water-displacement method and the conventional approach of approximating TMs by simple geometric shapes. To describe TM internal structure, we introduce TM macro- and micro-porosity (θM and θµ), the volume fractions of macroscopic chambers, and microscopic pores in the wall material, respectively. Macro-porosity was estimated using image analysis of single TM cross-sections, and compared against full x-ray tomography (CT) scans of 17 TMs. For these TMs we present complete pore fractions to assess species-specific differences in internal structure. The PG method yielded VE nearly identical to a water-displacement method, while approximation of TMs by simple geometric shapes led to errors of 4–200 %. Likewise, using PG substantially improved the accuracy of CH4 emission estimates by 10–50 %. Comprehensive CT scanning revealed that investigated TMs have species-specific ranges of θM and θµ, but similar total porosity. Image analysis of single TM cross-sections produced good estimates of θM for species with thick walls and evenly distributed chambers. The new image-based methods allow rapid and accurate quantitative characterisation of TMs to answer ecological, physiological and biogeochemical questions. The PG method should be applied when measuring greenhouse-gas emissions from TMs to avoid large errors from inadequate shape approximations.
Data from: Termite mounds differ in their importance for herbivores across savanna types, seasons and spatial scales
Herbivores do not forage uniformly across landscapes, but select for patches of higher nutrition and lower predation risk. Macrotermes mounds contain higher concentrations of soil nutrients and support grasses of higher nutritional value than the surrounding savanna matrix, attracting mammalian grazers that preferentially forage on termite mound vegetation. However, little is known about the spatial extent of such termite influence on grazing patterns and how it might differ in time and space. We measured grazing intensity in three African savanna types differing in rainfall and foliar nutrients and predicted that the functional importance of mounds for grazing herbivores would increase as the difference in foliar nutrient levels between mound and savanna matrix grasses increases and the mounds become more attractive. We expected this to occur in nutrient-poor areas and during the dry season when savanna matrix grass nutrient levels are lower. Tuft use and grass N and P content were measured along transects away from termite mounds, enabling calculation of the spatial extent of termite influence on mammalian grazing. Using termite mound densities estimated from airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), we further upscaled field-based results to determine the percentage of the landscape influenced by termite activity. Grasses in close proximity to termite mounds were preferentially grazed at all sites and in both seasons, but the strength of mound influence varied between savanna types and seasons. In the wet season, mounds had a relatively larger effect on grazers at the landscape scale in the nutrient-poor, wetter savanna, whereas in the dry season the pattern was reversed with more of the landscape influenced at the nutrient-rich, driest site. Our results reveal that termite mounds enhance the value of savanna landscapes for herbivores, but that their functional importance varies across savanna types and seasons.
Dataset from: Termite mounds house a diversity of taxa in oil palm plantations irrespective of understory management
<p>We investigated the effects of oil palm understory vegetation management on termite mound activity and non-termite inhabitants. We found a diversity of taxa, most of which were unaffected by understory management. Mound volume and termite activity had taxa-specific effects on abundance. Preserving mounds in oil palm plantations will benefit biodiversity.</p>
Presents-absents of woody species on termite mounds and the savanna matrix in Africa
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Technical note: rapid image-based field methods improve the quantification of termite mound structures and greenhouse-gas fluxes
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Termite mounds differ in their importance for herbivores across savanna types, seasons and spatial scales
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Dataset from: Termite mounds house a diversity of taxa in oil palm plantations irrespective of understory management
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Moisture alone is sufficient to impart strength but not weathering resistance to termite mound soil
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Excavation and aggregation as organizing factors in de novo construction by mound-building termites
Termites construct complex mounds that are orders of magnitude larger than any individual and fulfil a variety of functional roles. Yet the processes through which these mounds are built, and by which the insects organize their efforts, remain poorly understood. The traditional understanding focuses on stigmergy, a form of indirect communication in which actions that change the environment provide cues that influence future work. Termite construction has long been thought to be organized via a putative 'cement pheromone': a chemical added to deposited soil that stimulates further deposition in the same area, thus creating a positive feedback loop whereby coherent structures are built up. To investigate the detailed mechanisms and behaviours through which termites self-organize the early stages of mound construction, we tracked the motion and behaviour of major workers from two Macrotermes species in experimental arenas. Rather than a construction process focused on accumulation of depositions, as models based on cement pheromone would suggest, our results indicated that the primary organizing mechanisms were based on excavation. Digging activity was focused on a small number of excavation sites, which in turn provided templates for soil deposition. This behaviour was mediated by a mechanism of aggregation, with termites being more likely to join in the work at an excavation site as the number of termites presently working at that site increased. Statistical analyses showed that this aggregation mechanism was a response to active digging, distinct from and unrelated to putative chemical cues that stimulate deposition. Agent-based simulations quantitatively supported the interpretation that the early stage of de novo construction is primarily organized by excavation and aggregation activity rather than by stigmergic deposition.
ScienceDex guides
Understand access before you commit
These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.