The structure of termite communities was evaluated at two restinga forests (a characteristic type of vegetation occurring on nutrient-poor sandy soils along the Brazilian coastline), located in the municipalities of Mataraca and Cabedelo, State of Paraíba. A standardised sampling protocol was used in both sites. Twenty-five species were found, 19 of them at Mataraca and 15 at Cabedelo, with just 9 species in common to both sites. Species of Nasutitermitinae and wood-feeding groups were dominant at both study sites. The low species richness and frequency of humus-feeders species, and species of the subfamily Apicotermitinae as well, seem to be related to the restinga soil properties. The conspicuous nest (all arboreal) builders were Armitermes holmgreni Snyder, 1926, Microcerotermes exiguus (Hagen, 1858), M. strunckii (Sörensen, 1884), Nasutitermes corniger (Motschulsky, 1855), N. ephratae (Holmgren, 1910), and N. macrocephalus (Silvestri, 1903). The termite fauna of the studied restinga was composed by typical species of other Brazilian ecosystems, such as Atlantic forest and Cerrado, being in agreement with the general pattern of distribution set up by the plant communities and the fauna of vertebrates described elsewhere for other Brazilian restingas.
Isoptera; biodiversity; geographical distribution; feeding groups; nests
