Termite nests may offer shelter to a number of species, alleviating the effects of environmental harshness. Certain elevational gradients provide variation on edaphoclimatic features, possibly generating harsh environmental conditions and boosting the number of immigrants seeking shelter within termitaria. Therefore, it is expected that metrics describing the community of termitaria cohabitants would correlate with elevation. To test this hypothesis, we surveyed the termitophiles inhabiting 20 nests of Nasutitermes coxipoensis along an elevational gradient in a tropical mountain in Brazil. We assessed the richness, abundance, and composition (β‐diversity) of termite nests' cohabitants, testing nest volume and elevational position as explanatory covariates. We found a positive correlation between the elevation at which termitaria were located and the richness and abundance of cohabiting termitophiles. Additionally, no correlation was found between elevational distance and dissimilarity of cohabitant communities between termitaria. Hence, the understanding that termitaria work as an ‘oasis’ of favorable microclimate is reinforced by our findings that the composition changed but was not correlated to elevation. In short, environmental harshness boosts the establishment of distinct species of termitophiles in termitaria and it does so regardless of the invading species identity.

中文翻译：

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海拔环境压力调节群居昆虫巢中的物种共存

白蚁巢穴可以为许多物种提供庇护所，减轻环境恶劣的影响。某些海拔梯度提供了土壤气候特征的变化，可能会产生恶劣的环境条件并增加在白蚁中寻求庇护的移民数量。因此，预计描述白蚁同居者群落的指标将与海拔相关。为了验证这一假设，我们调查了栖息在巴西热带山区海拔梯度上的 20 个 Nasutitermes coxipoensis 巢穴中的嗜白蚁。我们评估了白蚁巢穴同居者的丰富度、丰度和组成（β-多样性），测试巢穴体积和海拔位置作为解释协变量。我们发现白蚁所在的海拔与同居白蚁的丰富度和丰度之间存在正相关。此外，在海拔距离与白蚁群落之间的同居群落差异之间没有发现相关性。因此，我们的发现加强了白蚁作为有利小气候的“绿洲”的理解，即白蚁的成分发生了变化，但与海拔无关。简而言之，严酷的环境促进了白蚁中不同种类的嗜白蚁的形成，而且无论入侵物种的身份如何，它都会这样做。我们的发现强化了白蚁作为有利小气候的“绿洲”的理解，即白蚁的成分发生了变化，但与海拔无关。简而言之，严酷的环境促进了白蚁中不同种类的嗜白蚁的形成，而且无论入侵物种的身份如何，它都会这样做。我们的发现强化了白蚁作为有利小气候的“绿洲”的理解，即白蚁的成分发生了变化，但与海拔无关。简而言之，严酷的环境促进了白蚁中不同种类的嗜白蚁的形成，而且无论入侵物种的身份如何，它都会这样做。