- AuthorWonju Jeon, Sang-Hee Lee.
-
JournalApplied entomology and zoology 49(4), 579-590 (2014
- Classification of papersSCI
The foraging territories of two subterranean
termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki and Reticulitermes
flavipes (Kollar), were simulated using a two-dimensional
model to explore how territorial competition
changes according to two variables characterizing territory
formation: the total number of territories, and the blocking
probability. Meanwhile, the blocking probability quantitatively
describes the likelihood that a tunnel will be terminated
when another tunnel is encountered. In our previous
study, we introduced an interference coefficient c to characterize
territorial competition, and obtained c as a function
of the total number of territories and the blocking probability
for a single termite species by model simulation. In
the field, the territorial competition of more than two termite
species is frequently observed. Here, we extended the
c function to be able to explain the competition between
the two species by applying statistical regression to the
simulation data. Further, we statistically checked the
extended c function by comparing the c function for a
single species. We also discuss another approach to
mathematically derive the extended c function, which can
be easily generalized for use in cases of territorial competition
involving more than two termite species.
The foraging territories of two subterranean
termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki and Reticulitermes
flavipes (Kollar), were simulated using a two-dimensional
model to explore how territorial competition
changes according to two variables characterizing territory
formation: the total number of territories, and the blocking
probability. Meanwhile, the blocking probability quantitatively
describes the likelihood that a tunnel will be terminated
when another tunnel is encountered. In our previous
study, we introduced an interference coefficient c to characterize
territorial competition, and obtained c as a function
of the total number of territories and the blocking probability
for a single termite species by model simulation. In
the field, the territorial competition of more than two termite
species is frequently observed. Here, we extended the
c function to be able to explain the competition between
the two species by applying statistical regression to the
simulation data. Further, we statistically checked the
extended c function by comparing the c function for a
single species. We also discuss another approach to
mathematically derive the extended c function, which can
be easily generalized for use in cases of territorial competition
involving more than two termite species.